Your Guide to
Travel, Entertainment, Business and Expat Life in Lviv, Lwow, Lvov, Lemberg, Ukraine.


View from Lviv's Ratusha

City Hall (Ratusha) (Будинок Львівської міської ради (Ратуша)): Great View of Old Town

Sights and Monuments

The Ratusha is home to Lviv’s City Council and one of the city’s cherished symbols. It’s one Rynok Square's newest buildings–having been completed in 1835–but the first mention of it dates back to 1381. The Ratusha’s observation deck at the very top of the tower is open year-round and offers one of the best views in Lviv, making it a must-see for any tourist.

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Festival-goers on Rynok Square

Rynok Square (Market Square) (Площа Ринок): Lviv’s Top Tourist Attraction

Sights and Monuments

Rynok Square, also known as Market Square (rynok means “market” in Ukrainian), is Lviv’s top tourist attraction. It’s also the center of Lviv’s social, economic and cultural life. Lining the square you’ll find 45 buildings in diverse architectural styles that are all listed by UNESCO as World Heritage sites.

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Lviv Philarmonic concert hall

Lviv Philharmonic (Львівська обласна філармонія): Virtuosi on Tchaikovsky Street

Concert Hall, Theater

Lviv’s Philharmonic was founded in 1902, and since that time it’s been one of Ukraine’s top concert halls. Over its century-long history it has hosted performances by world renowned musicians and composers such as Strauss, Mahler, Bartok, and Rubinstein. The Lviv Philharmonic is located in the city center on Chaikovs’koho Street just off Shevchenko Avenue.

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The Opera House at night

Lviv Opera House (Львівський оперний театр): Lviv’s Architectural Treasure

Concert Hall, Theater

The Lviv Opera House was built in 1900 using forms of Renaissance and Baroque architecture. The result is one of the most beautiful opera houses in Europe with a luxurious interior, including the Mirror Hall and Parnassus Curtain and a stunning facade with ornate sculpture work. The Opera House stands at the very center of Lviv’s main avenue Prospect Svobody, close to all downtown tourist attractions and restaurants.

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The Lviv Art Palace facade

The Lviv Art Palace (Львівський Палац Мистецтв): Ukraine’s Biggest Art Exhibition Space

Gallery

Lviv Art Palace was founded in 1996 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of Ukrainian independence. With 12 exhibition rooms and 8,700 square meters, it’s considered the largest art exhibition space in Ukraine. The Lviv Art Palace is located in the city center on Kopernyka Street next to Potocki Palace and a few steps off the central avenue Prospect Svobody.

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Shevchenkivskyi Hai Kryvka church

Shevchenkivs’kyi Hai (Шевченківський гай): Experience Ukrainian Village Life

Museum

Shevchenkivs’kyi Hai is an open-air museum of Ukrainian village life and a living reproduction of Western Ukraine from centuries past. Here you can experience Ukrainian village just like it was back then in wooden huts, with no electricity and other modern conveniences. Shevchenkivs’kyi Hai is 3 km from Lviv’s center and close to Vysokyi Zamok Park.

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Lychakiv Cemetery main gate

Lychakiv Cemetery (Личаківський Цвинтар): Lviv’s Necropolis

Museum, Sights and Monuments

Lychakiv Cemetery, often called Lychakiv Necropolis, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Europe. Each year its architectural beauty attracts hordes of tourists and it has been compared to famed Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Lychakiv Cemetery is spread over an area of 40 hectares and its main entrance is on Mechnykova Street outside Lviv’s center.

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The National Museum 17th-century iconostasis

The National Museum (Національний музей): Ukraine’s Richest Icons Collection

Museum

The National Museum was founded in 1905 by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, who donated some 10,000 items to the museum and helped raise funds for its endowment and to acquire the gorgeous Neo-Baroque villa that houses the collection. The museum has Ukraine’s largest collection of religious art and artifacts, including many icons that date from the 12th to 18th centuries. The National Museum sits right on Lviv’s central avenue Prospect Svobody close to the Opera House.

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