Welcome to Casual Connect: Kyiv 2008 a Conference for Casual Game Developers, Publishers and Distributors in Eastern Europe.
Prepared by Alla Khramtsova, Casual Games Association Eastern European Developer Relations.
Attendees:
We will be very happy to have you in our country and would like to make your stay in Kyiv as entertaining and interesting as possible.
We’ve prepared a short Kyiv Guide with useful tips you won’t find surfing tons of tourist websites and hope it will be helpful for you to get the general idea about the city and its ‘must visit’ places.
Must know information for your travel to Kyiv:
1. Arriving to Kyiv
2. Getting to your hotel from the airport
3. General information for visitors:
Weather
Charging your electronics
Security
Tipping
Money matters
Transportation
4. General Information about Kyiv
5. How to get to the city center from the hotel
6. Must See: Historical and Cultural Sights
7. Go partying: Night Life
8. Where to dine and feel Ukrainian
9. Got questions? Ask locals!
Arriving to Kyiv:
At the writing of this document EU and US citizens do not need to obtain visas prior to traveling to the Ukraine. So a trip to the Ukraine is just as easy as traveling to Amsterdam! For more info: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1053.html
When you come to Kyiv Boryspil airport (KBP) you’ll be directed to the Passport Control area. There are usually lines there if several flights arrive at the same time. You are to look for “Non-Ukraine Citizens” sign and line up there.
The boarder control officer will ask for your international passport and will definitely ask you about:
It would be a good idea to have the invitation paper to CGA Europe: East 2007 which is available from the travel page on http://kyiv.casualconnect.org/travel.html and your hotel confirmation ready for presenting to the officer. Not all the officers speak good English, so the papers will save your time.
When your passport is stamped with the date of your arrival, you are free to go to the Baggage Pick Up area which is right after the Passport control. Pick up your checked-in luggage or, in case you cannot see it, apply to “Lost & Found” to claim your belongings.
With your luggage picked up, please proceed to the Customs Control area. There are two channels there: red and green one. You will probably want to select green channel as you won’t be bringing any weapons, goods for sale, chemicals, or other prohibited items. Your laptop, camera, and other electronic devices are your personal belongings and should not be declared in any case.
The customs officer will either let you pass by freely or will ask you what you are bringing in your luggage. Just say “personal things” and that will probably do. In some cases they would ask you to open your bags. Do not worry – you won’t probably have anything to declare or to pay any customs duty. The items that need to be declared are in most cases the same as in your home country.
Ok, now you pass through the doors and see a bunch of people who are meeting their friends, business partners or family. If you sent a request for CGA Europe: East Meet & Greet Service and received confirmation, look for a person with “CGA Europe: East” sign. If you signed up for the service early enough – your guide will have already emailed you with photo id so you will know what they look like. She or he will take complete care of you. ;) If you don’t see anyone (which won’t be the case, but still.), just stand there near the crowd – we’ll identify you.
If you decided to go on your own and feel like a local, then turn right and get out of the Airport…
Getting to your hotel from the airport:
Right outside of Boryspil’s Terminal B (that’s where you arrive) to your right there are taxis and buses. Official shuttles say «Aтасс - Полёт» on its sides (schedule is here look at the lower one – from airport). The cost is 23 gryvnas (4.60$) and the ride lasts for around an hour.
The «Aтасс - Полёт» bus runs directly to the central railway station from where you can take a taxi to your hotel in the downtown. The Central railway station is some 5-10 minutes from the downtown by car. The taxi ride from there would cost you around 10$.
Near Terminal B and inside the airport you’ll also see a lot of solicitors proposing taxi rides. They should be pretty secure, but they would try to charge much more when they see you are a foreigner. Usually you can bargain down to 30$-40$ and even pay them in US dollars or Euro (they won’t give you change, so have the exact amount needed). You should select a car which has an orange sign on its top indicating it’s a taxi, don’t go with private drivers without appropriate license.
General information:
Weather in October : pretty much like in New York City. It won’t be snowy. But it will get a little chilly at night!
Charging you laptop and cell: Ukraine has electrical current of 220 volts AC, 50Hz. All sockets require two round pins. Adapters for foreign electrical societies are not easy to find in Kyiv, so bring your own. These are the same adapters that you will use when traveling to Amsterdam!
Security: Kyiv is a rather safe place. As in most world cities, flashing large amounts of money could cause trouble. Be aware of pickpockets in public transport or crowds. Being very drunk and/or loud on the street is always a good way to attract unwanted attention, sometimes from the police.
Always carry your passport or other ID with you.
Tipping: no general rule exists; most restaurant-goers leave around 10% of their bill. But your wait staff will expect more from you as a foreigner. Some places include a service charge of 10 per cent already included into the bill.
Money matters:
- Exchange rate is around 1USD=4.95 hryvnas (UAH), 1 EUR= 6.6 UAH. All banks have the currency exchange service ( 9AM – 6PM). The Airport and the Railway station have the most unfair rate. For the most current rate, check out National Bank’s site (http://www.bank.gov.ua/Engl/default.htm).
- Plastic Cards: in most places on Khreschatik you can pay with Visa, Master Card, or American Express. But always have some cash in hryvnas because the cards accepting terminal might be out of order anytime. Ukrainians are more used to pay with cash.
- ATM machines can be found in banks or on the streets. The banks typically charge a small fee for withdrawing money in hryvnas or US dollars. The fee’s typical to US banks.
Transportation: It is better to use taxis which are cheaper than in the US or Europe. But you can also go by Metro (underground railway that covers the whole city), it’s very cheap (10 cents), but mostly too crowded. It’s not recommended to use numerous buses and taxi-buses because you might get lost easy.
General Information about Kyiv:
kyiv is the Russian spelling of Kyiv most commonly used for English translations.
Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine, its administrative, economic, scientific, cultural and educational center. It’s one of the biggest European cities with the population over 3,5 million people.
kyiv is famous for its invaluable historical and cultural heritage. There are lots of beautiful churches, cathedrals, and other architectural sights and monuments, which attract tourists from all over the world.
It’s not only the administrative and cultural, but also one of major industrial and commercial centers of the country. Ukraine has a fast growing economy that resulted in the huge business activity of the biggest Ukrainian cities, kyiv as well. More and more office centers, banks, trade exhibitions and other commercial enterprises are appearing in the city nowadays.
You’ll be able not only enjoy the ancient views, but also take a tour around numerous boutiques and shopping malls. The biggest shopping centers are located underground on Kreschatik St. This is a huge chain of all kind of shops and stores, restaurants and fast-foods, all constructed under the main traffic lines in order to save historical appearance of the city center.
Although the conference schedule is pretty busy, we still hope you’ll get the chance to take a tour around kyiv, in which we will assist you the best way we can.
How to get to the city center from the hotel:
The hotels that our guests will stay in are already in the center of Kyiv. It will take you less than 10 minutes to get to the main city street Khreshatik, full of boutiques, restaurants, cultural sights and tourists from all over the world.
The hotels are located in Hospitalnaya St. To get to the famous Khreschatik you need to go up the street till it intersects with Lesi Ukrainki Blvd . Turn left and go along the Blvd. all way up to Basseinaia St. It’s a short street at the end of which there is Krutoy Spoosk (Descent). Simply go across it and here you are on Khreshatik, which is the perfect place to start your tour around kyiv.
We will provide you with the map if necessary.
Must See: Historical and Cultural Sights:
kyiv is often called the mother of Slavic cities. It is more than 15 centuries old and during this time kyiv has made a long way from an ancient settlement of nomadic tribes to one of the largest cities in the world.
Here is a short list of potential areas we can arrange for you to visit, please let us know if you would like more details or help in preparing a tour.
Kreschatik is not only the central street of kyiv, but also its one of most beautiful and famous places. It is the widest and one of the leafiest streets of the city. The first construction on the street took place back in the end of the 18th century. Nowadays Kreschatik is among the major attractions of kyiv. Not only the tourists, but also the citizens themselves adore this street, because of its beauty and charming atmosphere. Most of the administrative constructions, such as City Council, Central Department Store, National Philharmonic, as well as various stores, hotels and metro stations are all concentrated in this street.
Andreevsky Spusk is also one of the most famous streets in kyiv. It used to be the place where merchants and craftspeople used to live. But nowadays it’s a city’s art center, where most of concerts, art festivals and city holidays are arranged. It is sometimes compared to Montmartre, because kyiv artists display their works, singers and actors give their performances here.
Independence Square, also called Maidan Nezalezhnosti, is the central and the most beautiful square in kyiv. This is the mostly used place for arranging concerts, festivals, Parades, and other city events that attract lots of city inhabitants and not only. It contains six fountains, Independence Column, artificial waterfall, and other attractions. It’s the birthplace of so-called Orange Revolution.
Sofia Cathedral is one more world famous historical and architectural monument built early in the 11th century. Its name comes from Greek word "sofia", meaning "wisdom". It was built in the times of Yaroslav Mudry’s rule and served as a social, political and cultural center of kyiv Rus. 
Address: 24 Vladimirskaya St.
Golden Gate is an architecture monument that survived until nowadays. It was constructed in 1017-1024 and used to be the main entrance to kyiv. The huge tower delighted visitors and protected the city from the enemies. The Golden Gate in kyiv reminds of famous entrance to Constantinople, it’s not a simple coincidence as Yaroslav Mudry wanted to underline that his country was as powerful as Byzantine Empire.
Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra with its beautiful golden is a large Christian complex located on the high hills of the right Dnepr bank. According to the legend, Apostle Andrew, blessed the hilly bank of the Dnepr River and said: "On these hills the great city and many churches in glorification of Holy God will be".
The House with Chimeras was always surrounded with numerous legends starting with the first days if its existance. One of them says that the architect constructed the house after the death of his daughter who drowned in Dnepr. According to this legend, the poor architect went crazy and decided to decorate the house with the terrifying river inhabitants.
10 Bankovaya St.
Go partying more: Night Life
The number of the clubs in kyiv is really big. They very by their size, public, music style, interior design and prices. We are going to shortly describe just a few of them to demonstrate the variety and offer the most popular ones.
Please let us know if you would like to visit a club – so we can assign a guide who likes to go to clubs as well.
Arena:
This is the best known club in Ukraine. Ukrainians from all over the country go a long way just to get here. The main idea of the club’s owners was to create a club of the highest level in order to satisfy the demands of the most exacting public, which is used to qualitative entertainment at European standards. If you get tired of dancing you can go to the bowling, restaurant, casino beer pub, or to a gaming zone with numerous gambling and slot machines. This club has too many things to mention and describe, it’s easier to visit it and see everything yourself. It has got one big advantage – it’s the nearest club to the hotels.
Entrance fee: Mon - Thu $10
Fri - Sun $20
Adress: Basseynaya St. 2А
PartyPa:
It’s something really fascinating and gorgeous looking. This club is very popular among young and progressive youth as well as grown-ups. The organized parties range from RnB to Western Cow-Boy parties. If you want to spend some time apart from the crowded dance floor, 6 various private rooms are available for your private parties. They can place from 2 to 20 people, who will be able to observe the dance floor on a large screen and order drinks and food by the phone.
Entrance fees: Mon-Thru $10
Fr-Sun $15 - $20
Adress: Muzeyniy Lane 10.
Ganesha:
Ganesha is a very cozy club decorated in Eastern style. There is a large statue of Ganesha (An Indian God) that seems to watch the visitors. Music in the club is not aggressive at all. Along with the popular lounge style, clubbers may also dance to the sounds of modern dance compositions performed by local DJs. Ramous Russian and European DJs regularly come and play in the Ganesha
The public of the club is mainly young, progressive and creative people. Anyone regardless his or her financial situation, will enjoy the cheerful and friendly atmosphere of the Ganesha. Prices in the bar are more than reasonable for the club of such level.
Address: 11 Artema St.
Entrance fees: Mon-Thur $10
Fr-Sun $15-$20
Maximum:
Maximum is one of the biggest entertainment centers of the whole country. It’s a bit farther from the center, but it’s not simply a night club. The club includes dance floors, restaurant, as well as bowling, billiards, casino, and striptease bar. It’s obvious that anyone will be able to find something entertaining for himself.
The club is famous for the fascinating show-programs and various music styles at each of the parties. Not only the best Ukrainian and European DJs play in the club, but also many famous Ukrainian and Russian singers give their concerts here. Bowling and billiard centers of the Maximum Club will guarantee to their visitors a good time and lots of positive emotions. The equipment produced by world-famous companies, experienced instructors and amazing light effects are integral features of the Maximum.
Entrance fees: Mon-Thur $10
Fr-Sun $15-$20
Address: 1 g Saksaganskogo St.
Safe:
The name of the club is a true symbol of the club’s atmosphere. It guaranties privacy and absolute safety to its guests. The Safe Club meets the highest European standards of entertainment and service.
This club is one of the most desired places to go both by kyiv citizens and foreign guests.
The club decoration starts with the huge metal door looking like a very big and unapproachable safe.
The stairs take the guests of the club downstairs, to the main hall, decorated in the high-tech style, creating an impression of being in the open space or in the far future. The dance floor is located in the center of the main hall, but actually when music starts people are free to dance everywhere, including tables, bathrooms and bar counters. There is also a VIP zone and chill out rooms that offer perfect individual service attention.
Entrance fee: from $10 to $20
Address: 23 Bolshaya Vasilkovskaya St.
Docker Pub:
It’s not really a club, it’s more of a cozy western style pub with pleasant atmosphere and live music. But still if you have a free night and has already seen most of the kyiv sights and crowded clubs, this is a perfect place to go with your friends and to relax with a glass of fresh beer and delicious food.
Entrance fee: None
Address: Bogatirskaya St. 9
Where to dine and feel Ukrainian:
Below you’ll find some places around your hotel that feature really good cuisine and nice service. Your hotel stuff can give you exact directions how to go to any of this restaurants or cafes.
At Panykovsky’s (restaurant)
Address: 8 Proreznaya St.
Phones: (044) 536-1717, (044)536-1710
Prices per lunch: 15-20$
Flashes back to "The Golden Calf", the most popular novel of the soviet writers Ilf and Petrov, and embodies an atmosphere of New Economical Policy of the twentieth years of the 20th century. The novel’s secondary character Panikovsky has become one of the favorite soviet literature heroes.
The restaurant «Panikovsky» is a modern establishment that offers tasty dishes and festive atmosphere. The original interior is furnished in style of the first decades of the 20th century. The menu offers delicious dishes of Ukrainian and European cuisines. Dishes are called with pithy expressions from the movie based on the original novel that has become popular. For example, the guests are offered dishes "I Would Take It in Parts, but I Can't - I Need All" (surgeon steak with vegetables), "Everything Will Be Extremely Good" (chicken in bacon with piquant sauce and baked vegetables) etc.
Tsarskoye Selo (restaurant)
Address: 42/1 Sichnego Povsstaniya St.
Phones: (044)573-9775, (044)290-3066
Prices per lunch: under 40$
It is situated in the center of the historical part of kyiv, next to Pecherskaya Lavra. It became the first restaurant in kyiv specializing in Ukrainian cuisine.
Here dishes are cooked according to the ancient receipts, enabling the guests to taste the dishes popular a century or two ago. Wide range of Ukrainian traditional drinks as well as a good selection of European wines and strong drinks is offered to customers. A dining hall recreates a typical Ukrainian village of the 18th century. There is the smaller Hunter's Room for guests who prefer the seclusion of an elegant chamber hall. There the guests are offered a grill-menu.
For a small company the restaurant offers the negotiations room meant for 10 persons.
SSSR (restaurant)
Address: 42/1 Sichnevogo Povsstaniya St.
Phones: (044)573-9775, (044)290-3066
Prices per lunch: under 30$
SSSR Restaurant (USSR) was open in 1998 for people, who want to revive in their memory the atmosphere of Soviet Union or travel to the past.
The restaurant is divided into several thematic zones, corresponding to geographic regions of the former USSR. There is the Uzbek area, where each guest can enjoy all the delights of Chaykhana. In "Georgia" you can watch the process of baking a pita (lavash) or cook a mouthwatering shashlyk.
The idea of the restaurant is not only to preserve the immediate past but also to offer the customers the delicious cuisines of the former USSR. The hits of the menu are shashlyk, Ukrainian solyanka and borshch, Russian okroshka and shchi. It is situated in the heart of kyiv near Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra.
Chain of Ukrainian fast-food restaurants "Puzata khata" (Big-bellied hut)
Addresses: 1/2 Baseina vul., Besarabka; 8AM – 11PM; 5 halls
15/4 Khreschatyk vul. (Passage)
Prices per lunch: under 10$
The interior of all the cafes in this chain is decorated in Ukrainian folk traditions. There you can find such national peculiarities as vishivankas(traditional shirt), glechiks (pots), tyn (fence) and many others. The convenient locations, moderate prices and unique national spirit have made these cafes one of the most frequently attended both by Ukrainians and foreign visitors.
Zamok Vidubichi (fish and oyster bar)
Address: 5, Naberezhna-Pechers'ka St.
Phones: (044) 286-2707, (044) 525-0793
Prices per lunch: under 40$
The interior of restaurant was designed in style of the ancient English castle. The unique feature of cuisine – dishes with river fish: sturgeon, cterlet, sheat-fish, carp, European carp, trout, white amur and even shrines. It floats in the specially equipped pools. You can fish it, and it would be cooked under your look.
Got questions?
Ask locals! Any of the persons below will be more than glad to answer you (Time Zone: GMT+2):
Tanya Garat:
Skype ID: Tatyana_Garat
ICQ: 149339582
E-mail: tgarat@absolutist.com
Regina Vishnevskaya:
Skype ID: regina_vishnevskaya
ICQ: 242000910
MSN: regina.vi@hotmail.com
E-mail: reginav@absolutist.com
Alla Khramtsova:
Skype ID: alikus2000
MSN : alla_khramtsova@hotmail.com
E-mail: alk@intenium.de