15 Best Things To Do In Lviv, Ukraine

1. Beer Cultural Experience Center “Lvivarnya”

Visit and explore the Beer Cultural Experience Center “Lvivarnya,” an exquisite contemporary museum devoted to practically everything about beer. It features exhibits that trace the history of breweries in Lviv and explains the entire beer production process. There is even a large vintage fermentation that welcomes you to this lovely museum. And besides the educational aspect of the tour, guests adore the museum’s sophisticated Scandinavian-inspired interior design, even more so the quality of the beer for tasting. Truly, the entire experience makes your yeast-fermented malt alcoholic drink taste extra splendid!

Beer Cultural Experience Center “Lvivarnya”

Address: vul. Kleparivska 18 At the territory of “Lviv Brewery”, Lviv 79007 Ukraine

Opening hours: 10am - 7pm (daily)

Price: 3 USD

2. Armenian Quarter

Catch a glimpse of the kind of life the Armenians led during the Medieval period at the renowned Armenian Quarter. This Lviv attraction now brims with activities, thanks to the surrounding restaurants and shops. You can dine and drink all you want, but not after you’ve seen the surrounding old houses and the 1370-church on-site, known as Virmenski Sobor. The Armenian Cathedral of Lviv is pretty much the highlight of your Armenian Quarter tour. The early Armenian settlers had been in Ukraine even before Lviv became a city, and the cathedral was believed to be their major accomplishment. Witness its fine architecture. To maximize your learning, get a knowledgeable local guide.

Armenian Quarter

Address: Virmens'ka St, 7, Lviv, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, 79000

Opening hours: 12am - 12pm (daily)

3. Museum-Arsenal

Are you a huge fan of old-school weaponry (swords, daggers, rifles, armors)? Visit one of the three oldest armories in Lviv - the two-story Museum-Arsenal on Pidvalna Street. Be fascinated by its exhibit that includes weapons over 1,000 years of age; some come from more than 30 countries. Albeit relatively small in size, the museum offers many sights to explore for guests. Plus, on the lower level, you’ll find a restaurant that serves hot meals, an ideal place where you can continue your conversations about the tools of warfare you’ve just witnessed firsthand.

Museum-Arsenal

Address: Pidvalna St, 5, Lviv, L'vivs'ka oblast, Ukraine, 79000

Opening hours: Thu - Tue: 10am - 5:30pm (closed on Wed)

Price: 2 USD

4. Rynok Square

Market, or Rynok, Square, is the central square of the city. German colonists laid the foundation for the square in the 14th-century. During the Renaissance, Italian artisans came to Lviv to live, work, and build. The architecture of the 50 individual monuments surrounding this square reflect this cultural legacy. The square is home to some of the most magnificent Italian architecture from the 16th and 17th centuries in eastern Europe.

Rynok Square

Website: Rynok Square

5. Potocki Palace

Potocki Palace was built for the former Minister President of Austria, Józef Potocki, during the 1880s and 1890s. The interior of the palace reflects the extravagant style made popular by King Louis XVI of France. The building currently houses the European Painting Collection of the 14th to the 18th centuries of the Lviv National Gallery of Art including works by Guerin and Goya.

Potocki Palace

Address: 15 Mykoly Kopernyka Street, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: Potocki Palace

6. Lviv National Gallery of Art

Lviv National Gallery of Art houses a vast collection of European art. The gallery has an outstanding display of Baroque Austrian paintings. Georges de La Tour’s “At the Moneylender’s” hangs in this museum. Works by Dutch, Flemish, and Spanish masters round out the museum’s treasures. The gallery has an extremely well curated collection of Polish art, including paintings by Artur Grottger and Jan Matejko.

Lviv National Gallery of Art

Address: 3 Stefanyka Street, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: Lviv National Gallery of Art

7. House of Scientists

This neo-Baroque palace, built in 1898, features silk wall paper, marble fireplaces, crystal chandeliers. An intricately decorated oak staircase lends an air of elegance to the inside of the building. The building was once used as a casino. A number of films have been shot at this location.

House of Scientists

Address: 6 Lystopadovoho Chynu Street, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: House of Scientists

8. Boim Chapel

The late-Renaissance Boim Chapel was built in the early 17th-century. Round windows allow light to stream gracefully into the chapel. A beautifully detailed sandstone facade with exquisite carvings of St. Peter, St. Paul, and the death of Christ, adorn the outside of the building. George Boim intended the chapel to serve as a family burial chapel.

Boim Chapel

Address: 1 Katedralna Square, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: Boim Chapel (in Russian)

9. St. George's Cathedral

A church in one form or another has rested on the site occupied by St. George’s Cathedral since the 13th-century. The cathedral serves as an important symbol of the intertwining of Ukraine’s eastern and western heritage. The cathedral houses the 17th-century icon of the Virgin Mary of Terebovlya. Other highlights include Jan Pinsel’s 18th-century sculptures depicting St.George’s dragon slaying activities.

Saint George's Cathedral

Address: 5 Svyatogo Yura Square, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: Saint George’s Cathedral (in Russian)

10. Lviv Metropolita Basilica Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lviv Metropolitan Basilica Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is also known as the Latin Cathedral. Construction began on the building in 1370. The architecture is a mixture of Baroque and Rococo styles. Teodor Axentowicz designed the cathedral’s intricate stained glass window depicting the Virgin Mary holding Polish and Lithuanian symbols.

Lviv Metropolitan Basilica Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Address: 1 Square Katedralna, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: Lviv Metropolitan Basilica Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

11. Lviv Historical Museum

The Lviv Historic Museum offers a number of exhibits including displays of early bronze age materials, ancient manuscripts and early printed books, paintings, clocks, and a vast collection of porcelain and metal artifacts. Also on view are exhibitions of clocks and furniture from various eras. The museum has several different components including: the Archaeology Department, the Department of Ancient History, the Department of Western Ukraine Lands History, Department of History of Ukrainian Diaspora, Department of Liberation Struggle, Department of Historical Treasures, Museum of Historical Treasures, and the Museum-Arsenal. The museum is housed in several different buildings around Lviv.

Lviv Historical Museum

Address: 6 Rynok Square, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: Lviv Historical Museum

12. Bernardine Church

The Bernadine Church was built and consecrated in the 17th-century. The blended architecture has elements of Dutch and Italian influences. Artists redecorated the inside of the church between 1738 and 1740. The bell tower was added to the church in 1773.

Bernadine Church

Address: 3A Soborna Square, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: Bernadine Church

13. Dormition Church

The Dormition Church is also known as the Assumption Church and the Wallachian Church. The church forms part of a complex that also contains the Kornyakta Tower and the Chapel of the Three Saints. The Kornyakta Tower, completed between 1572-1578, resembles Venetian bell towers from the same period. The Chapel of Three Saints and the church combine western European and traditional Ukrainian styles in both architectural and artistic elements. Full of arches and depictions of saints offset by golden trim, the brightness of the church remains subtly restrained.

Dormition Church

Address: 5/7 Ruska Street, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: Dormition Church (in Russian)

14. Dominican Cathedral and Monastery

The Dominican Cathedral is a magnificent Baroque building from the 18th-century. Parts of the complex were used for storage when Lviv was part of the Soviet Union. The monastery currently houses the Lviv Museum of History of Religion.

Dominican Cathedral

Address: Muzejna square. 1, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: Dominican Cathedral (in Russian)

15. High Castle

King Kazimierz of Poland ordered the construction of Lviv’s High Castle in 1360. The fort that once stood at the top of Castle Hill is now in ruins, but the climb is well worth the effort. What’s left of the castle sits in the middle of a municipal park just north of the city. The walk to the top of the park is rewarded by amazing views of the old town and the surrounding countryside.

High Castle

Address: Castle Hill, Lviv, Ukraine

Website: High Castle

One of many crossroads

As travelers we often think of borders we have crossed and places we have been. Lviv challenges our assumptions of what belongs where and to whom. Masterworks of Italian Renaissance architecture, Dutch painting, Greek orthodox monasteries, and Catholic cathedrals live side by side in a place that has been called home by Armenians, Italians, Russians, Poles, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, and Hungarians. Many people from near and far-off lands lived in, worked in and shaped this city. And together they made Lviv unforgettable.