When you are visitting ancient Lviv you can use a pocket guide or Android software. Our 22 years experience in the hospitality and incoming travel sphere gives us a right to suggest you our Top 12 Must See places in Lviv:
1. The High Castle Hill
The place where a historic castle used to stand and now stands a mound built in 1869 to commemorate 300th anniversary of Lublin Union. On the mound there is an observation platform with nice views of the city and another sandy mound, which you can also climb, and which has a cross devoted to the dead of the war in Afghanistan. From the mound you can walk around the whole central hill-park of the town.
2. Ploscha Rynok (Market Square)
You can climb the tower of the town hall: go in via the main entrance, wander about until you see a sign ‘вхид на вежу’, then follow those signs up 103 steps to a ticket-office and up 305 more steps to the top of the tower. There’s a great view of the Old Town, and this is clearly one of the romantic spots of the city: I saw a marriage-proposal there.
3. The Chapel of the Boim Family
The Chapel of the Boim family is a famous and very unique late Renaissance monument; it has no analogues, neither in Ukraine nor in the rest of Europe. This unique monument adorns Cathedral Square; this lane leads into one of the best views of Rynok Square and City Hall. Georgiy Boim, a Lviv merchant of Hungarian origin, who grew rich trading wine, obtained Lviv citizenship simultaneously with the post of burgomaster, and decided to build a family chapel of unparalleled beauty. The building, designed by Andrzej Bemer, a constructor from Wroclaw, was consecrated in 1615.
4. Lviv Opera Theatre
The Lviv Opera House (28 Svobody Square) is an architectural gem of Lviv, built in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1901, and one of the most beautiful theatres in Europe. Constructed at the beginning of the 20th century, designed by architect Zygmunt Gorgolewski, the Grand Theatre in Lviv has been compared to the Paris and Vienna opera houses. Standing in front of the magnificent façade of this marvellous building, one can feel the overwhelming power of art, its eternity in contrast with the transience of human life. This building comprises various European architectural styles fashioned in all their lavishness.
5. The Bernardine Church and Monastery
The Bernardine Monastery (now the Greek Catholic Church of St. Andrew) is an impressive monument in the Renaissance, Mannerism, and Baroque styles dating to1600-1630s. This is a fortified medieval monastery.
6. Italian Cortyard
One of the greatest monuments of civil Renaissance architecture of the sixteenth century in Ukraine is the Korniakt House at Rynok Sq., 6 in Lviv. Creator of the building architect Pietero Barbon, Italian in origin, combined the forms of Italian Renaissance and local traditions of ancient construction. The house includes beautiful spacious courtyard in the style of Italian Renaissance with 3-storeyed opened galleries that charm by the rhythm of arcades supported by the columns of Tuscan order. The proportions of the courtyard strike by their harmony.
7. St. George’s (Yura’s) Cathedral
St. Yura’s Cathedral is located on southwest cliff range and dominant in panorama of the city. The temple was built according to draft created by Bernard Merentin, in1744. After Merentin’s death 1759, Klements Fesinger continued with the work and finishes it. The founder of the temple was metropolitante, Anastasiy Sheptitskiy, who spared no effort in establishing and improving Ukrainian church. His desire was to build a great temple that would equal to the greatest cathedrals in Europe.
8. The Palace of Counts Pototskys
The Palace was built from the plans of French palaces on the river Laura. If you walk all inside you will be able to hide from noisy traffic on Kopernika Street, and you’ll have a chance to find a balcony that would suit a perfect place for two loving people. For this moment the Lviv national arts gallery is situated here.
9. The Dominican Church
Impressive Baroque temple built for Dominicans in 18th century. Resembles the church of St. Charles Borromeus in Vienna with its concave facade and huge elliptical dome. After WW2 the building served as a warehouse and later Museum of Religion and Atheism, now it is a Greek Catholic parish church.
10. Brewery Museum
Lviv is home to Ukraine’s oldest known brewery. In 2005 on the brewery’s 290th anniversary one of its old storage vaults was redecorated into a beer hall that became the Brewing Museum. The museum’s collection presents the history of brewing in Lviv and features ancient beer bottles, beer mugs from all over the world, beer barrels and books with beer recipes that date back to the 19th century; all exhibits are all labeled in English. Your admission fee includes a short film about the oldest brewery in Ukraine and a beer tasting (for those over 18, of course).
11. Latin Cathedral
Latin Cathedral temple (1360-1460.) was building longer that human life lasts — around 100 years. Construction began in 60s, XIV century. The first builder was Nichko, a master from Lviv and the overseer was Peter Shteher. During that time building big structures required a lot time – cathedral was finished only in 1481. In 1404, Wrotslav master Ganske covered altar with arcs. It was also Wrotslav masters, Grom and Rabish, who continued their work.
12. Lychakivske Cemetery Museum
The site is under protection of UNESCO. There are about four hundred thousand people buried here, including Ukrainian heroes such as Ivan Franko; the park is enormous, and very pleasant to wander around on a network of variously-maintained paths. At the back of the cemetery is The Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów, a necropolis which honors the Polish war dead from the Battle of Lwów and the 1918-1920 Polish-Soviet War. Destroyed after the Soviet deportation of the city’s Poles, it has recently been restored.