3 Best Sights in Ukraine

Also known by its English name—the Monastery for the Caves—this 11th-century monastery complex houses both a huge cultural museum and an active monastery. The monastery is easily recognizable on the Kiev skyline thanks to its gilded dome-topped bell towers and churches, most of which were built (or rebuilt) in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, it's the monastery's labyrinthine subterranean cave system—full of narrow passageways and even a few mummified monks—that most visitors write home about. The lavra also houses one of the largest museum collections in the city, featuring religious items, books, and textiles.

Among Kiev's most easily recognized sights, St. Sophia's is a stunning amalgamation of Byzantine and Ukrainian baroque architecture. The foundations date back to the 11th century, and though much of it was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries, some of the original frescoes have been preserved. The interiors of this UNESCO World Heritage building are filled with intricate iconographic mosaics and paintings depicting numerous saints—including, of course, Sophia herself—along with images of the family of Yaroslav the wise, the cathedral's founder, whose tomb sits within the complex.

Both sobering and fascinating, this is an interactive museum that was created to educate the public about the extent and continuing human and ecological impacts of the 1986 Chernobyl Disaster. Features include documentation and artifacts, photographs, audiovisual presentations, and art installations pertaining to the accident and its devastating consequences.