Kyiv is one of the greenest cities in Europe. It is beautiful in any season, whether it is a fairy tale winter, golden autumn or a warm spring.
The city is simply full of beautiful parks and picturesque gardens. It is one of the local traditions to spend an evening in one of the city parks with a cold Kyiv chocolate-banana ice-cream, interesting book or simply a nice company. Let's run through the most famous parks of Kyiv:
Taras Shevchenko Park
One of the smallest and most visited parks in Kyiv is Tarasa Shevchenko Park. It situated in the center of the city on Lva Tolstogo square. The park was opened in 1890; it was designed by a prominent gardener Carl Christiane. Long before there was a statue to Nicolai I, which was soon changed into Taras Shevchenko - the most famous Ukrainian writer. The park is really nice and it truly reflects the spirit of the city. On the both sides it is surrounded by cultural spots such as museums of Foreign and Russian art on one side and the city’s most popular Shevchenko University. It is interesting that trees in the park are individually cut as if they were art-works. The park is always filled with joyful youth who play the guitars and sing popular songs. There is also a special corner where each evening old granddads gather to play chess and domino.
Siretskiy Arboretum
Siretskiy arboretum is a park-monument of garden art and has a status of governmental resort. It is more than 125 years old. It was founded by a German Meier, who was an owner of the floral household. The total area of the park is about 6 ha. It has numerous sorts of plants, bushes and trees that might amaze even a professional gardener. It is one of the most famous places for a calm walk or a nice picnic.
Vladimir Hill
Vladimir hill is one of the oldest places in Kyiv. Long ago it was called Michael’s in honor to Michael’s cathedral, which is situated on its territory. In the middle of the XVIII century Kyiv government decided to make a public park, which was the only free park in the city. Today, it is one of the most favorite places for Kievites. It has a pretty summerhouse which opens a picturesque view to the left bank of the Dnieper River. In addition there are numerous paths and cozy branches where each can enjoy beautiful evenings with a cup of coffee or a traditional tea with lemon. It is also a good place for children as there are no cars and many amusements for kids. One can also take a ride on the city’s oldest funicular; it was built in 1900 and connects lower and upper Kyiv.
Mariinskiy Park
This park can be described with only one word- gorgeous. It is usually on the list of top attractions of the city for tourists. It is surrounded with beautiful architectural buildings of Verkhovna Rada (Parliament’s house), cabinet of Ministers and a Mariinskiy Palace – a truly gorgeous building that was constructed by order of a Russian empress Elizabeth in the XVII century. The park is filled with picturesque sites, fountains and sky decks. Each weekend there is a free concert of a wind orchestra; there are also concerts of folk music or free lessons of tango or salsa. It is a favorite spot for rollers, skaters, and bikers. If to walk down from Arsenalnaya station you will reach a bridge of Lovers, which was a diploma work of a famous architect Paton. Moving further you will see a Water museum and a Doll Theater. At the end you will reach an Arch of Friendship, which was built in honor of friendship between Russia and Ukraine. There are also numerous amusement rides for kids and adults, a bar and a disco club. Recently, there was built the longest sky ride in Ukraine, which takes you from the right bank of Dnieper to the left.
