Kharkiv is a modern city with a 1.5 million population. It was founded in 1654, and is a large industrial, scientific, educational, commercial and transport center of Ukraine.
Amazing is the city in its beauty, monuments and architectural contrasts, with the marvelously interwoven past and present: the aristocratic manors of the nobility, Modern Era buildings, constructivist buildings of 1920s, Stalinist neoclassical structures form the unique architectural style of Kharkiv. The «Seven Wonders of Kharkiv» are the Monument to the Famous Ukrainian Poet Taras Shevchenko, the Mirror Stream fountain (the architectural landmark of the city), the Pokrovsky Cathedral of Kharkiv Pokrovsky Monastery, the Annunciation Cathedral, the Dormition Cathedral, the Derzhprom State Committee for Industrial Policy (Building of State Industry) and the residential building with a spire.
The main symbol of the city is Svobody Square, the largest square in Ukraine and Europe (22.5 thousand square meters), with Kharkiv Regional State Administration, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Taras Shevchenko Garden and Derzhprom around it.
What makes the industrial giant of Kharkiv stand out is that it is very green. Kharkiv is located at the intersection of four rivers (Kharkiv, Lopan, Udy, Nemyshlia). There are 29 gardens and parks, 4 water parks, 92 garden squares, 5 quays and many other places for recreation in its territory. The gem of Kharkiv is Maxim Gorky Central Park for Culture and Recreation, one of the 15 best entertainment grounds in Europe, according to the famous travel portal Tripadvisor (2017 ranking).
Kharkiv is a multinational city: there are 50 national cultural associations there; it houses Catholic and Protestant churches, a synagogue, a mosque, prayer houses of many other religious denominations, schools with in-depth studies of the national cultures. It is worthy of note that in its long history Kharkiv has never witnessed national, racial or religious clashes of its citizens.
Today, Kharkiv remains stable and calm, with the national police ensuring safety and security in the city.
Kharkiv is a city with rich cultural traditions. It has six major theaters: M. Lysenko Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, T. Shevchenko Ukrainian Academic Drama Theater, A. Pushkin Russian Academic Drama Theater, the Musical Comedy Theater, the Theater for Children and Youth, the Doll Theater; 32 museums (Kharkiv Historical Museum, Kharkiv Art Museum, Interactive Old Circus Museum and other museums). There are musical institutions (a philharmonic, a hall of organ and chamber music) and more than 80 libraries in the city. In particular, the holdings of V. Korolenko State Scientific Library store more than 6.5 million books and editions, many of which are rare and unique.
The city often hosts festivals, contests, artistic events such as «The Night of Science», «The Night of Museums», the «Open Air Symphony Orchestra», the «City Picnic: Street Food Festival», the «Open Air Cinema» and many other events with free admission for everyone interested.
Quite extensive is the cinema network: eight movie theaters with different movie formats (2D, 3D, 4D, IMAX) supported. The average ticket price is $ 2.5-3.
Popular among the citizens and guests of the city are the Circus, the Zoo, the Dolphinarium, Feldman Ecopark.
Kharkiv is a sports city. You have all the conditions you need for going in for sports here — there are 19 stadiums, 850 sports grounds, 363 sports halls, 19 swimming pools, more than 40 tennis courts, and a golf club. The pride of Kharkiv is the football team «Metalist» and the volleyball team «Lokomotiv». The Karazin University is developing a modern sports infrastructure: the educational and sports complex «Karazinskyi», which combines 10 sports halls and a stadium, one of the best tennis centers in our country «Unicourt», and the sports halls of the Institute of High Technologies, the Main and Northern Buildings of the University.
The nightlife of Kharkiv is also bright and rich as the city has a lot of clubs, restaurants, bars, etc. Especially popular are the entertainment venues Misto, Panorama Lounge, Radmir, Arizona, and Bolero, which combine nightclubs, bars, karaoke, bowling and lounge areas.
The city has more than 20 shopping malls and entertainment centers. To name a few, the Karavan, Dafi and French Boulevard are shopping complexes with lots of stores, several large supermarkets (grocery, electronics and household appliances, as well as sports goods), cafes and restaurants. Entertainment there is ensured by movie theaters, complexes with an ice arena and children’s entertainment centers. The shopping and entertainment centers regularly hold various holidays, festivals, fairs, workshops, contests, special-offer and other events for citizens and guests of Kharkiv.
The city is divided into nine administrative districts (raions): Industrialnyi, Kyivskyi, Moskovskyi, Nemyshlianskyi, Novobavarskyi, Osnovianskyi, Slobidskyi, Kholodnohirskyi and Shevchenkivskyi. The nearest to the city center are Kyivskyi and Shevchenkivskyi raions.
Kharkiv has a very branched traffic infrastructure.
The air gate of the city is the international airport «Kharkiv», which provides international flights to Dortmund, Katowice, Vienna, Warsaw, Kutaisi, Milan, Minsk, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki, Amman, Beirut, and so on, as well as internal ones flights to/from Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa. To get to the city from the airport, take:
- Trolleybus No. 5 — Airport—Universitetska, there is a transfer to Prospekt Haharina metro station
- Bus No. 115 — Airport — Prospekt Haharina metro station
- Bus No. 119 — Airport — Prospekt Peremohy, there is a transfer to Prospekt Haharina metro station
- Bus No. 152 — Airport — Mikroraion 552, there is a transfer to Akademika Barabashova metro station
- Bus No. 255 — Airport — Akademika Barabashova metro station
The fare is $ 0.24 on a bus, and $ 0.16 in the metro.
Traveling within the region and the country is ensured by the Southern Railway Station the passenger infrastructure of which consists of seven platforms maintaining intercity and international train routes (with 10 countries) and two suburban traffic platforms, and 5 bus terminals in different parts of the city.
Metro
Kharkiv Metro System consists of three-line underground railways (Kholodnohorsko-Zavodska, Saltivskaya and Oleksiivska) serving 29 stations connecting all the city districts.
Kharkiv Metro opens at 5:30 AM and closes at midnight. The interval between trains is 3-4 minutes during the rush hour, 8-12 minutes — in the afternoon, and you can wait for a train for 15 minutes and more if it is late in the evening. You should keep this in mind when making transfers to other lines.
It takes about 45 minutes to get from terminal to terminal of the longest Kholodnohorsko-Zavodska line. It takes 20-25 minutes on average to get from the terminal to the center. The fare is $ 0.16.
The fare does not depend on the number of stations or the number of transfers. To use the metro, you need to buy a one-time ticket or a replenishable electronic card in automatic machines (they are available at the entrance to each station).
Ground Transport
There are 13 tram routes, 23 trolleybus routes, and 149 bus routes in the city.
A tram and trolleybus ticket costs $ 0.12, it can be purchased from the conductor in the tram and trolleybus. Even if you need to travel only one stop, be sure to buy a ticket and keep it until the end of your trip. Please note that in the absence of the ticket, you will be fined twenty times the cost of the travel.
The bus and route taxi fare is $ 0.2-0.32. The fare is paid to the driver. Ground transport starts to work at 5:00 AM, and finishes at 11:00 PM.
The fastest way to get to the right place is by taxi because the taxi service in Kharkiv is a huge branched network ready to attend to your order 24/7 on a decent level.
The minimum fare is $ 1, the city tariff is $ 0.12-0.24/km, and it is $ 0.32-0.4/km outside the city.
There are a lot of accommodation options available in Kharkiv — there are 87 hotels with 2,789 rooms, and 18 hostels in the city.
You can rent an apartment. The cost of renting varies depending on the proximity to the city center and the living conditions. In particular, renting a one-room apartment in different parts of the city costs:
Holodna Hora — $ 140–200 (20 minutes to get to the city center);
KhTZ — $ 100–180 (40-60 minutes to get to the city center);
Oleksiivka — $ 200–300 (5–7 minutes to get to the city center);
Pavlove Pole — $ 250–300 (5 minutes to get to the city center);
Saltivka — $ 180–200 (30-40 minutes to get to the city center).
Public Catering
There are a lot of food and beverage facilities in Kharkiv ranging from budget cafes to fashionable restaurants, which enables you to have a quick and inexpensive bite on your to university/work, and to have a substantial meal or to spend a good time in a cozy atmosphere.
Fast Food Cafes
Bufet is a network of pizzerias, popular with students for its democratic prices and delicious pizza. An average order costs $ 1–1.5. Kulinichi is a network of confectionery cafes offering a variety of products: sweet and meat pastries, beverages, coffee, sweets, breadstuffs, etc. There are cafes and kiosks selling pastries all over the city. An average order costs $ 0.4–1.
McDonalds is a fast-food facility, which has eight spots in Kharkiv. The cost of the order is $ 3.6. FreshLine is a network of sandwich bars (15 facilities in the city), many of which are open around the clock, so you can have a salmon sandwich snack or a hazelnut cappuccino here early in the morning, and when other cafes are peacefully asleep. And what is more, you can make up your own exclusive sandwich here. An average order costs $ 3-4.
Cafes / Restaurants
Kharkov has gastronomically very varied cuisines from all over the world:
— Mediterranean: Osteria il Tartufo, Pinocchio Osteria, Papa ROMA, Trattoria, and others; an average check value is $ 10–12;
— French: Paris, Amelie, Sharikoff, Chateau, and others; an average check value is $ 12–15;
— Georgian: Georgia, Khinkalnia, Genatsvale, Rioni, Shoti, and others; an average check value is $ 5–6;
— Japanese: Tanuki, Yakitoriya, Sushiya, Zlitaiuchyi Drakon, and others; an average check value is $ 8–10;
— other cuisines to explore.
You can get acquainted with Ukrainian cuisine and coloring in such cafes and restaurants as Puzata Khata, Ukrainska Sadyba, Sloboda, Panske Selo, Hetman, and others. An average check value is $ 6–7.
