Café for brunch
After some retail therapy along Khreochatyk Street, the city’s main thoroughfare, head to the laid-back, cosy Baboon Book and Coffee Shop (B. Khmelnytskoho, 39), where you can buy secondhand English-language books and exchange your unwanted volumes for food or drink. Check out the potato pancakes with sour cream, or scrummy cherry and apple roll (both £1.20).

A spot of culture
Climb the steps to the National Opera House (Volodymyrska 50), where the beautiful exterior hides impressive interior design, enriched with marble steps, chandeliers and sculptures. Its busy programme includes ballet, too, with the season running between September and June. Tickets cost from around £7.

Afternoon excursion
Step back into Ukrainian history with a visit to the Pyrohovo Museum of Folk Architecture and Everyday Life (val Chervonopraporna, Pyrohovo, entrance £1). Grab a taxi (around £5) to the outdoor museum depicting Ukrainian villages – 300 buildings, dating back to the 16th century, were relocated from all corners of the country. Within the city, visit
Kievo-Pecherska Lavra (the Caves Monastery, Sichnevoho Povstannia, 21, entrance £1, but caves free), mixing museums, churches and a labyrinth of caves once inhabited by monks, many of whom are now mummified inside glass coffins. On summer days follow the locals to the beaches on two islets in the River Dnieper, which snakes its way to the Black Sea – but don’t swim in the polluted waters.

Dinner date
Sample traditional Ukrainian fare at Za Dvoma Zaytsyamy (Andriyivsky uzviz, 34). The decorative fireplace and period music create a homely feel. Meat-eaters should try rabbit roll stuffed with rabbit liver cheese, berries and wine (£8), while vegetarians will enjoy dumplings with honey or apple (£2.50). A three-course dinner for two costs around £20. At the cafeteria-style Puzata Khata (Baseina, 1-2), inside an authentic peasant home, try the traditional borscht soup (stock, cabbage, potato, onions, beetroot, herbs and occasionally meat) for 50p.

After-hours cocktail
Marquise de Chocolat (Prorizna, 4), above Kozak Mamay restaurant, with its red velvet décor, lip-smacking pastries and cocktails, is a perfect venue for a nightcap. Try the Pink Panther (gin, apricot brandy, lemon juice and grenadine cream) for
£2.50 or many hot chocolate options (with rum and nuts, £1.80).
If you want a bar with a difference, try Orekh (Chervonoarmiyska 126) and don’t be surprised if you have to negotiate discarded nutshells all over the floor. Unlike the UK, dropping shells is an accepted custom here.

GETTING THERE:
Panorama Tours (0870 066 2052/www.panorama-tours.eu) offers three nights’ B&B at the four-star Radisson SAS Kiev from £389pp (two sharing), including return flights from Gatwick. Same package at the five-star Opera Hotel starts from £379pp. Ukraine tourism: www.ukraine.com.