Museums of Kyiv: where to go for history, art and new experiences

Kyiv can be discovered in different ways: through ancient churches, contemporary art, old Podil or even the history of the water supply. The capital has plenty of museums that can surprise even those who know the city well.

If you are looking for where to go in Kyiv, this selection will come in handy. It brings together Kyiv museums that are definitely worth your attention.

These are places for different moods and kinds of leisure, from world-famous monuments to unusual spaces where you can have a new experience.

Museums of Kyiv: a list of interesting places

National Reserve “Sophia of Kyiv”

One of the best-known UNESCO World Heritage Sites is located in the very heart of Kyiv. Most tourists know the reserve for St Sophia's Cathedral, but it also includes St Andrew's and St Cyril's churches, the Golden Gate and the architectural ensemble of the St Sophia Monastery.

“Sophia of Kyiv” is at 24 Volodymyrska Street. Allow at least one and a half to two hours to see the sights and use an audio guide if needed.

The walls of St Sophia's Cathedral preserve thousand-year-old graffiti from medieval Ukraine. One of the first known libraries of Rus' operated here. Among the most precious relics are the sarcophagus of Yaroslav the Wise and the famous mosaic of the Virgin Orans, known as the Unbreakable Wall of Kyiv.

National Museum of the History of Ukraine

One of the country's leading history museums stands on Starokyivska Hill, where archaeologists found traces of Kyiv's earliest settlements.

Its collection numbers about 800,000 items: from archaeological finds and early printed books to Cossack relics and artefacts of Ukraine's recent history.

The museum is at 2 Volodymyrska Street. Allow at least two hours. After the start of the full-scale invasion the permanent display was dismantled, so temporary exhibition projects are currently on show.

Besides exhibitions, the museum holds tours of Starokyivska Hill, theatrical programmes, quests and events for families with children.

Khanenko Museum

The history of one of Ukraine's main museums of world art began with the private collection of Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. For more than 40 years the Ukrainian patrons and collectors gathered works of European, Asian, ancient and Islamic art.

The museum is at 15 Tereshchenkivska Street, in the Khanenkos' former mansion. Allow at least an hour and a half. Under martial law the main collection has been secured and is temporarily unavailable for viewing, but the museum continues to run exhibition and educational projects.

Tours, lectures, workshops and children's events are held here. In the warm season the museum courtyard opens, and the website has an online collection where you can see part of the Khanenko collection in digital form.

National Art Museum of Ukraine (NAMU)

One of the country's main art museums, where you can see Ukrainian art from the princely era to the present.

The museum is at 6 Mykhaila Hrushevskoho Street. Allow at least one and a half to two hours. Its collection numbers about 40,000 works, from medieval icons and Cossack portraits to works by Oleksandr Murashko, Mykola Pymonenko, Fedir Krychevskyi, Oleksandra Ekster and other iconic Ukrainian artists.

The museum building itself, erected at the end of the 19th century with the participation of Władysław Horodecki, deserves no less attention. Today the museum continues to hold exhibitions, tours and cultural events, introducing visitors to Ukrainian art of different eras.

“Third after Midnight” Museum in the Dark

One of Kyiv's most unusual museums, where tours take place in complete darkness accompanied by blind guides.

During the walk visitors pass through five locations recreating familiar places from everyday life, with sounds, smells and objects to be recognised by touch. This helps to understand better how blind people find their way around.

The museum is at 45V Olesia Honchara Street. It hosts walks and dates in the dark, children's programmes, concerts and dinners without light. A special highlight is the “Feel Kyiv” tour, in which participants explore the city with their eyes closed.

Museum of the Sixtiers

The Museum of the Sixtiers tells about a generation of Ukrainian artists, poets, human rights defenders and dissidents who, during the Soviet totalitarian period, defended the right to Ukrainian culture and freedom of speech.

The display introduces Alla Horska, Vasyl Stus, Ivan Svitlychnyi, Viacheslav Chornovil and other members of the movement. The museum is at 33-A Olesia Honchara Street, in the building of the former Makovskyi Clinic. Allow about an hour.

Among the most interesting exhibits are a reconstruction of the stained-glass window “Shevchenko. Mother”, a collection of samizdat, belongings of the Sixtiers and materials about the Club of Creative Youth. The museum also houses the Viacheslav Chornovil Study Museum with his personal belongings, letters and documents.

Experimentarium

An interactive museum of science and technology where almost every exhibit can be tried out yourself.

Here you can go through mirror and laser mazes, explore optical illusions, try the acoustic room, solve puzzles and discover the laws of physics through hands-on experiments.

Experimentarium is at 154 Borshchahivska Street. The space has about 300 interactive exhibits, so allow at least two hours.

The museum is especially popular with families, as it regularly holds science shows, quests and themed programmes, and even birthday parties.

National Museum of Natural History

One of the largest natural history museums in the world and the largest in Ukraine. Its display occupies 24 halls and covers everything from minerals, dinosaurs and mammoths to plants, animals and the history of life on Earth.

The large dioramas, recreating natural habitats with the utmost accuracy, are particularly impressive. Here you can see penguins among Antarctic ice, inhabitants of Ukrainian forests and steppes, exotic animals from different continents, as well as skeletons of prehistoric giants and reconstructions of ancient settlements.

The museum is at 15 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street. Allow at least two hours to explore the collections, although many visitors spend much longer here.

Pharmacy Museum

One of Kyiv's most atmospheric museums, where you can see what the pharmacy trade was like several centuries ago and glimpse the world of old medicine, alchemy and urban legends.

The museum is at 7 Prytysko-Mykilska Street in Podil. Allow about an hour to an hour and a half.

The display numbers thousands of items, and the museum's atmosphere is conveyed even by the names of its rooms: the Healer's House, the Alchemist's Study, the Laboratory, the Antique Hall, the House Church and the Wine Cellar. They seem to transport visitors to a time when medicine bordered on mysticism and apothecaries were considered keepers of special knowledge.

One Street Museum

This unusual museum at 2-B Andriivskyi Descent is devoted to the history of just one Kyiv street. Despite its compact size, its collection lets you literally immerse yourself in the atmosphere of old Kyiv.

The display tells about the houses, residents and legends of Andriivskyi Descent. Old photographs, postcards, documents, manuscripts, autographs, household items and personal belongings of famous Kyivans are gathered here.

Separate sections are devoted to St Andrew's Church, Richard the Lionheart's Castle and the urban legends that have accompanied the street for centuries. Allow about an hour.

How to plan a museum route around Kyiv

If you only have one day, combine interesting Kyiv museums into one route. For example, St Sophia of Kyiv and the National Museum of the History of Ukraine can be visited during a walk around the historic centre, and the One Street Museum is easy to combine with Podil and Andriivskyi Descent. Bookmark this selection and come back to it whenever you are looking for what to see in Kyiv or where to go at the weekend.