Ivano-Frankivsk

Ivano-Frankivsk is a nice cozy city in Western Ukraine. Such famous landmarks of Carpathians as The Rocks of Dovbush or Yaremche can be easily accessed from here. Besides, many people use Ivano-Frankivsk as a starting point for trips to the ski resort Bukovel.

The downtown is quite compact. You won't have to travel by public transport, you can just walk. The streets are cozy and quiet, there are no broad avenues with lots of noisy traffic. In the first decade of the 2000s a lot of old buildings and squares were rebuilt.

Since 2002 Ivano-Frankivsk holds yearly competition of blacksmith art. You can find the works on the streets.

Fans of fountains will be pleased: Ivano-Frankivsk has at least two interesting fountains. The first one is a copy of Kyiv fountain on the Nezalezhnosti (Independence) Square, and the second one is built in the form of a huge bowl. You can stand under the fountain right behind the streams of water.

On the Market Square in the downtown you can find the City Hall. It was originally built in 1672 in the late Renaissance style, destroyed during the World War I and then rebuilt in 1929-1935.

Near the City Hall you can find a tourist information kiosk where you can buy maps, brochures and sign up for a tour around the city.

Walking in the blocks around the Market Square we found many interesting places. The city had a fortress, but it is almost completely destroyed. Some walls left in the center and they were used as a part of a shopping complex and gallery. Looks pretty nice.






Evil ukrainian nationalists killed SpongeBob :)


Sheptytsky square is notable for the cathedral that is no longer the cathedral but the museum. This is obvious, because crosses were removed.




Beautiful old courtyard


Monument to the famous ukrainian beekeeper Peter Prokopovich.


Memorial plate to the people who died in Kiev in 2014.


The city has Potocki palace, but it is in neglected state and located in the closed area. Only gate is restored.


There is also a large lake with an island in Ivano-Frankivsk.

Nezalegnosti street (Independence) is a traditional for tourist towns pedestrian street. By the way, we found here some secret places. For example we went inside this house and saw beautiful stained glass windows.






And a little further found a nice patio


More photos of Ivano-Frankivsk

Getting there: By night train from Kyiv.