attractions

This was a beautiful town that really surprised us! If your hungry on the street directly in front of the Potocki Palace there is a nice little pizza place! Overall a very beautiful town that is worth seeing. The crowning jewel of Tulchyn is the Potocki Palace! Built in the 1780’s according to the principals of Palladian Architecture, everything is symmetrical. The estate consists of 3 separate buildings one of which is beautifully restored a second is under restoration and the third is waiting its turn.  The palace has a direct view of a beautiful huge cathedral that is just up the street!. If you go to the cathedral and turn right and continue down the street you will come to a huge green building, you cant miss it. This building was built in the late 1700’s for a famous Russian General Aleksander Suvorov. Today the building is a veterinary school A little further down the street still is a very nice memorial park. With monuments to every major war or happening in the last 100 years in Ukraine.  
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A nice little town on the Ros River. The highlight of the town has to be the granite banks and river bottom that passes through the center of town. There is also a statue to the Ukrainian fold Legend Boguslavka. Legend has it she was sold into a Turkish Harem. Where she gained the trust of her husband to get the keys to the prison so she could release the Ukrainian Cosaks that were being held there.
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We were absolutely blow away by Korosten! We had heard about a cave bunker museum but nothing about the wonderful park just next to it! Spend a day here and enjoy the town and relax!This was a little town that really impresses. The city center is very nice. There is a park filled with statues and fountains. The park follows along a river filled with boulders creating a dramatic setting. There is also a interesting military museum along the river. They have tanks and artillery pieces outside to view and then there is the focal point, The Rock.  It is a labyrinth of tunnels and rooms built in the granite hillside. Said to be able to withstand a nuclear blast this museum is a cant miss for Military enthusiasts.
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An interesting little town with a nice big church in the center. In the river there is a statue to Rosich a character from Ukrainian Folklore. Just behind the statue on an island in the river there is a palace that was originally build in the mid 1700's. Now it has been turned into a park and museum. You can easily spend the day exploring this little gem in Cherkassy Oblast
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A beautiful little town in Kyiv Oblast. In the center there is an old church which currently houses a diorama of the WWII. There is also a beautiful bell tower along with a very nice park to stroll through and enjoy the different monuments. Central square is also there with a nice city building with beautiful ornate carvings on the exterior.
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We went to the city of Bar to see their castle. We were very disappointed with it. Almost nothing exists anymore that we could find, except for the base of a couple walls. All in all Bar wasn’t a complete loss. While there though we did see a few other interesting churches. They had an Orthodox Church and right next to it was a towering Roman Catholic church.  The city is pretty interesting and if in the area it is worth stopping in to check out.
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In 1782 The Russian empire expanded in the north and captured an Island off the coast of Estonia that was at the time Swedish. The people who lived there were forced to leave and sent walking to Southern Ukraine. Over time a few German settlers came and made villages next to Zmiivka. They arrived and created a settlement that has lasted to this day. At the rise of the Soviet Union many of the settlers returned to Sweden then a couple hundred had a change of heart and came back to Zmiivka. The faced a hard life but continued to move forward.Today the town looks like any other Ukrainian town. The main difference is that the church services are still held in Swedish. The only remaining building from the original settlers is the church they constructed in 1792. 
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Everyone knows about the Yalta where the leaders of the free world met during WW2! That is not this place but this town is also very interesting.  Having a long long history with ties to Greece this is a nice little town not far from the sea. They have an amazing park in the center along with plagues dedicating the park in Ukrainian and Greek. There is a very nice memorial park. There you will find memorials to Chernobyl, Afghanistan wars, WW2 and also to the people from the village that were killed by Stalin’s agents in the 1930’s. 
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A nice little town that is about as far south as you can go in Ukraine. Its not on a main tourist trail but it is very interesting to see.Ruled by multiple kingdoms from Moldova, Turkey, Russia Romania and finally now part of Ukraine. Probably the best-known history of Izmail comes from the fortress that once stood here. The Ottoman Turks built a fortress they boasted was impregnable. Then in 1791 Russia attacked the fortress and captured it. This was an embarrassing defeat for the Turks and a rousing victory for Russia!  The fortress unfortunately no longer exists. Being dismantled throughout history now the oldest building in town is a Mosque that was built in the 15th century that houses a diorama to the 1791 Russian victory.  If you come to Izmail don’t forget to see the giant blue Pokrovsky Cathedral in the city center. Built in the 1800’s it is a sight to behold both inside and out! 
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Kaminets Podilsk! A tourist town but for good reason. The old city center is beautiful and being brought up to date. The city hall is very nice to see along with the old churches in the town.  The main attraction is of course Kaminets Podilsk Castle. Archealogical digs say people were here as early as the 12th or 13th century though the earliest recorded mention of people here is the 14th century. The castle was built to protect the bridge to Kaminets Podilsk. The city is built on a semi-island. The Dnesiter makes almost a 360 turn here and created a very steep canyon around the city itself. The castle has 12 towers and is an impressive sight to see. If your even close by you must stop to see the city and then head south to Khotyn Castle!
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An interesting little town in Ternopil Region. We came for the castle that is here and stayed for a few hours exploring the town. The castle itself is rather infamous. Originally build in the 14th century from wood by a Polish Magnate it was designed to be a Monastery. Then someone decided that the location is so terrible it should be turned into a defensive castle. The castle was taken dozens of times through the centuries and usually with success as the castle occupies the low ground so every point around is higher giving the attackers the advantage. In the city there was one amazing beautiful Catholic Church again built by Polish in the 18th century. A huge stone church with an elaborate interior with some very interesting and rather strange paintings on the walls. A little outside of the city center there was also a humongous new church built. The outside of the church is mostly down and can be seen from a huge distance. The inside is not finished yet but they are already holding services there. 
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A little town just south of Ternopil. Here you can find a decaying old castle along with a nice palace and a huge beautiful Catholic Church. The Palace was originally built by the Potocki Family in 1760’s because the castle that is here was by then in so bad ruins they didn’t want to bother to renovate it. Then the Potocki family needed a nice church so they had the church built just in front of the palace so they had a place to send their prayers to heaven. The palace later became a sanitorium but today it is a hospital. We were able to go into the entrance of the palace but no further. All in all it’s a nice little town not to far from Ternopil that is a little off the beaten path for most travelers. 
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There are two castles in Sataniv, or maybe we should say the remains of two castles. Dating back to the times of the Tartar raids. Built sometime in the 15th century there isn’t much that remains to this day. One castle has a couple pieces of wall and one tower that is in terrible condition. The second just has a tower that you can go through. Neither of them are particularly impressive. One thing we did find in the area that was quiet interesting was a man made “waterfall”. It is located at the coordinates 49.245361, 26.218636 it was quiet interesting! Easily a hundred people here relaxing swimming and using the waterfall to have fun. There is also some mineral water here that is drinkable and said to be good for your health. 
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A pretty impressive castle but we could not go inside. We had to buy tickets at the entrance to the castle grounds and we were allowed to walk around the outside of the castle but couldn’t go inside. In general the castle looks very cool and there is a nice park around it but not being able to go inside makes it not so great. Originally it was built in the 14th century then renovated sometime in medieval times after being destroyed from countless attacks..  Just down the street from the castle was a very nice Monastery. It is always interesting to see a place to worship god but it was obviously build originally with defense in mind as the walls had places to shot weapons from. The church now is newly renovated and worth checking out. 
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The town of Zolotoi Potik was nothing really amazing but they have two interesting points. One is a palace and the other is a castle. They are just across the street from each other. The castle was built in the 17th century buy the Potocki Family. It was attacked and rebuilt over the years. During the Soviet Union the Castle grounds were used as workshops. Now it is mostly in ruins and the only thing working there is the cows that eat the grass. Across the street is a palace that now houses the towns school. When we visited the palace looked interesting but it was hard to tell as it is being restored. The town is spending a lot of money to make the school into something beautiful again as it once was.  
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It’s a small town on a bend on the Dneister. Its not the easiest to get to but if you make it you wont be disappointed! The river here has created a dramatic canyon in which the town is set. If you like you can cross the river and climb up the canyon wall and have a stupendous view up and down the river! There is also a very nice guesthouse here. No expenses were spared when constructing this house. It is set right on the river with great views and even tastier foods! If you find yourself in the area and want to stay feel free to call Vlad at 067-405-95-03 Tell him Ukraine Inside Out sent you! http://hmeleva.com.ua/Its possible to arrange rafting and hiking tours in the area through Igor +380974703780 he doesn’t know English so well but he is a great guide for the area! 
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We visited this place on the recommendation of a friend we met while we were traveling. There are road signs pointing the way to this village and the last 5 km or so is dirt and very slippery when wet. We finally made it to the village but didn’t know where to go. About 50% of the village is abandoned. We met a very nice man who pointed us in the direction of the church and it was very nice. This is the village that is the capitol for old believers. There are three churches here the biggest and most famous was built with money donated by a family from Moscow. It is said that this family donated the money because they didn’t allow their son to marry the woman he loved so he killed himself. To deal with the guilt from that tragedy they donated the money to build this church. The materials were all brought in from Russia for its construction. The biggest church is only used in the summer as it isn’t heated and is too cold in the winter. There was another church built for winter services. There is also a museum here but it was closed and we aren’t sure of when, or who to talk to, it opens. The main church really is beautiful and worth taking the time to see. We weren’t able to go inside unfortunately so come on Sunday during services to visit the interior. There is also an Old Believer museum not far from the cathedral, which is supposed to work Monday to Friday from 9 to 18 with a lunch break (13-14). Thursday is a day off. But since there are almost no visitors, it is better to make a preliminary call and arrange an excursion: 096-42-442-13 In Ukrainian or Russian 
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Bellz is a town on the Polish border that has a long long history. You can find dozens of churches and ruins in the town. It was a very interesting town to spend a few hours in and wonder through it seeing all the different churches and ruins of great buildings from the past. There used to be a large Jewish population in the town but they were decimated during WW2. There was a great Synagogue here that was damaged by the Nazi’s and the Soviets finished its demolition. 
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Founded in 1597 as a private fortified town now Zhovkva is amazing! To enter the city you must drive through the gates in the castle walls! Once inside it is like a little wonder land! Natasha and I were extremely impressed with Zhovkva and highly recommend a visit! The town prospered in the 17th century as it was along several major trade routes. Before WW2 the town’s population was about half Jewish. After the war, there where virtually now Jews left in the city and the Synagogue had been blown up.  
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This was another great city we stumbled across. We came here to see the monastery and ended up meeting a great guy who showed us the town and all the hidden gems it contains! (Evgeniy -  066-229-15-91, nsgrad.com)52.00819 33.28156 First we saw the monastery that was founded in in the 11th century. There have been archeological digs here and you can see some of their findings. 52.00606 33.27403 Next was an entrance gate to the city. It is huge with the emblems of many of the local cities around the Oblast. The arc was built in 1671 and recently underwent a renovation 52.01348 33.26215 There was a castle here at one point and this the where it would have been. To get here the last 100 meters of road is incredibly steep but once you get to the top you have an amazing view of the surrounding area. The castle was here from the 11th to the 13 centuries. 52.01336 33.25761 There is a church here that was built in 1761 on the ruins of a previous church. In this spot there has been a church since 1086. 52.01014 33.26126 Lastly and perhaps most interestingly is the town water tower that was built in the early 20th century. Its so interesting because you can still see the mosaics of Lenin and Stalin on the water tower from when it was built. It is still in use to this day. 
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A wonderful little town in Sumy Oblast that is ready and waiting for tourist to come check it out.  50.46470 34.95381 First thing we stopped at was their nice church on the edge of town. It’s a red brick church that’s nothing special be nice to see. Across the street from it is a memorial park to all the wars and tragedies of Ukraine. 50.47356 34.95751 From there we saw what looked like a castle of some sort but was actually a giant stone outdoor theater. It was built in 1759 and is the largest example of a publicly constructed building in North-Eastern Ukraine. Behind it there is a nice pond and palace that was originally built in 1762. It was rebuilt numerous times throughout history until what you see today. 50.473925, 34.913313 The last place we saw was the former estate of a huge palace. Inside the estate there is now a wonderful park you can walk through along with the remains of the Nymph Grotto. Getting here is a little challenging but as you walk you will pass some 200+ year old Oak Trees growing in the park. 
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Kremenets is a nice little town in Ternopil Oblast that is worth the stop. Some say the fortress here was established in the 8th century but the earliest mention of it is 1064. It changed hands many times over the years, including 7 times between 1917-1920. You will find a castle here that is in ruins but still rather interesting. In the city center there is a huge cathedral to walk around. You can easily spend a day here seeing things. 
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The town of Ostrog is rather famous in Ukraine. It was the location of the first publishing pace in Ukraine and has plenty of things to see. The crowning jewel of Ostrog is the castle. 50.326511, 26.522251 Built in the 14th century there isn’t much left today. To get to the castle you have to walk through a nice park then the castle is located on a beautiful overlook. As you look out from the castle you can see a monastery in the distance.  50.307137, 26.490064 The Mezyerich Moastery is worth the time to get there. It has been newly remodeled and the inside is spectacular. As you drive around Ostrog you will find the remains of some of the original watch towers spread throughout the town. Be sure to stop and check them out. Some of them have museums located inside that are interesting. 
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Dikanka is a village that is famous in Ukraine thanks to the works of Gogol. There are a few things in the village that are interesting. The village isn’t far from Poltava and the road to get here in in good condition. We highly recommend making the trip! 49.82398 34.52382 The Holy Trinity Church Built in 1780 it played a major setting in Gogol’s book Evenings in Dikanka. It is a beautiful church set in the middle of town. 49.80529 34.53635 600-800 year old Oak Trees. There used to be over 60 of these trees but today only 4 survive. They would have been the entrance way a grand estate many years ago. Now you can come and gaze in wonder at the size of these behemoths of nature. 49.80352 34.55276 Victory Arch. This is considered the only monument on Ukrainian land that is dedicated to the victory over Napoleons army  
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