What to Do when You Visit Lviv, Ukraine’s Secret Gem

Step one. Get to Lviv.

I mean that’s it, really. From then on you’re set. The good times will just kind of happen to you.

But I understand, you didn’t come here for something so simple. You expect more. Ok, I’m going to spill all the secrets (that I know), but I just want to say that you owe me. I have some misgivings about publicizing this hidden gem of a city. But the truth is, it’s not hidden. European tourists flock to it, knowing it’s one of the best cities to visit in Ukraine. It’s just us thick Americans that have no idea what’s happening.

Just a warning, though, you can’t unsee what you’re about to see. I hope you’ve got a travel fund ready to handle the wanderlust that’s about to set in on you. My parents already have their spring 2017 trip to Ukraine blocked out, and it’s basically because of my Lviv Instagram photos. And while they’re excited about seeing Kiev, they want to know – when will we visit Lviv?

So here’s your basic primer of what to do in Lviv. But one of the best things about Lviv is that it’s a city to go slow, wander, and…

1. Drink coffee

Lviv is known as the coffee and chocolate capital of Ukraine, so when you visit Lviv you know your priorities. There is literally a coffee shop for every mood. You can sip Viennese style coffee at the Viennese Café, the oldest café in the city. You can try all sorts of crazy concoctions and eat gold-dusted chocolates at the Golden Ducat. You can grab a hard helmet and experience the mining of coffee at Lviv Coffee Manufacture. You can steel yourself for the stern Ukrainian women at Virmenka and have ‘eastern style’ coffee seated next to locals.

But my favorite café, by far, was Under the Blue Bottle (or Pid Synioyu Plyashkoyu for the Ukrainian-inclined). You have to wander to the back of a passageway to find the unassuming door to the cave-like room.

The café can only seat about a dozen people, and without any windows you feel like you’re all meeting to discuss secret plans. There are coins and notes wedged into the mortar of the walls, and you can order flaming coffee. This is where you whisper your romantic confessions and make ill-fated plans for revenge.

2. Eat chocolate

I think about the glory of Lviv Handmade Chocolate, and I want to weep. Don’t mind the standoffish girls in the window, stonewalling the gawking tourists while they carve delicate chocolate portraits and plaques. Upstairs is a chocolate lover’s daydream. With bricks of rich chocolate and mounds of handmade truffles, you may feel faint. Keep your sense. Stock up.

And if you see a cart outside doling out warm chocolate for 30 UAH (barely more than a dollar), don’t think twice. Hand over your money.

3. Sneak into secret places

Walk to the back of the hallway and knock on the heavy wooden door there. A man in army fatigues will open up the peephole and demand a password.

“Slava Ukrayina!” you say with loyalty.

The door swings up, the guard ushers you in and welcomes you with a drink of honey vodka, and down you go into the bunker. The exposed brick walls make it look like a sturdy fortification, canvas printed with pictures and schematics stretched above you. Patrons commune at small tables, and servers run around in green army fatigues. A man who could be the Terminator’s cousin speaks into his walkie-talkie, then ushers you into another room, because the bunker is more like a labyrinth, and seats you.

A harried looking recruit/waiter dashes up to your table.

“Slava Ukrayina!” Hail Ukraine, she says.

“Heroyam slava!” Hail the heroes, you respond. At Kryyivka, a night of honey vodka, rousing choruses of Ukrainian songs, and maybe even a little sharpshooting stretches out in front of you.

Or, if you’d like something a little different…

Walk down that same hallway. But turn right and head upstairs to the second floor. You knock at the apartment door – the number’s been known to change, but currently it’s apartment eight. A man who looks like he hasn’t showered, shaved, or changed his out of his pajamas in several days opens the door and graciously welcomes you into his home. And by home I mean itty-bitty kitchen. He congenially offers you potatoes, eggs, tea. You shake your head politely and wonder if maybe you’ve made a terrible mistake, that this is not the secret entrance to Galicia’s most expensive restaurant but rather the kitchen of a slightly unhinged bachelor.

Then he invites you to his bedroom and with nervous titters you follow him. The door swings open… And you are greeted by slick and severe waiters who lead you through a secret Masonic-themed restaurant. After you’re seated, they present your menus in a wooden box. You’re not alarmed by the outrageous prices because you were wise enough to pick up a Lviv tourist card, giving you a 90% discount on the most expensive eatery in town.

The waiters bring over your meals on covered dinner plates, lifting the lids at the same time for a dramatic reveal of your dinner. A talented pianist and violinist set the mood. And you excuse yourself to the bathroom to see what it feels like to sit on a Masonic throne.

These are just two of Lviv’s secrets. I can’t imagine how many more there are.

4. Go to the markets

Lviv has a couple markets scattered around the city. The most remarkable is the book market underneath the monument of Ivan Fedorov. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen so many people actually reading. Close to the opera house is another craft and art market. If you’re looking to wear flowers in your hair or super cozy socks on your feet, head over there.

Close to the opera house is a craft and art market. If you’re looking to wear flowers in your hair or super cozy socks on your feet, head over there.

5. See the city from above

Work off some of that chocolate by heading up the uncountable steps of the City Hall tower. You’ll get some gorgeous views of the city.

You can also get some stunning views at the top of the Dim Legend restaurant. Head up to their roof at sunset – and wonder how they got the car up there.

There’s so much more you can do in Lviv. You can meander out to the peaceful cemetery and wander the grounds. You can head to the opera and then have a nightcap in its basement restaurant. You can duck into the half dozen churches to admire their impressive interiors. You can use it as a jumping off point to see the Internet famous Tunnel of Love.

Or you can spend your days in cafes, drinking coffee and reading, then go for slow strolls throughout the city. Because one of my favorite things about Lviv was watching the locals go about their business, unperturbed by the tourists surging around them. The devout who came late to church and how to stand outside the cathedral, listening to the mass piped through exterior speakers. The men playing chess on a park bench and the enraptured crowds that they drew. The voracious readers absorbed in their books at the market.

Lviv has become my gold standard for small European cities. So rarely have I wanted to return to the same place to go to the same cafes and restaurants. But Lviv’s charm is irresistible. The memories I created were so perfect, all I want to do is go back and live them all over again – and then keep adding more!

Visiting Ukraine? Make sure you check out my Ukraine travel guide page for all my advice, from restaurant suggestions to outdoor adventures!

I hope this has inspired you to visit Lviv! Check out the video below for my travel Snapchats from our weekend visit. You can always follow me on Snapchat for real-time travel adventures at ‘wayfarersbook.’