Today, in our traditional column on travels of Ukraine - a city, many consider it not for Instagram, however, it can definitely surprise you. Picturesque rocky shores and a tall bridge over the river, an unusual water tower and noble cathedrals, and also a cool astronautics museum: all this is about Zhytomyr.
This regional center is located very close to Kyiv, so it takes one hour to get to it by car. It is better to go here with your own car, preferably an SUV. If you don’t have your own, we recommend renting a car in Kyiv.
Why an SUV? In order to admire Zhytomyr, you should definitely visit its surroundings - especially along the Teterev River, because the granite and basalt banks here are amazing! Among these rocks, Chatsky’s Head is especially noteworthy - a characteristic cliff resembling a human silhouette - it is considered a geological monument of national importance. Be sure to visit the banks of the Teterev near the village of Denyshi - a cult place among climbers. And the largest local park of Baron de Chodouard passes into a high bridge over the Teterev - a very cool panorama opens from here.
Despite the fact that Zhytomyr has more than a thousand-year history (it was founded in 884), in fact, ancient structures have not been preserved here. The Cathedral Church of Hagia Sophia, which is considered one of the oldest buildings in Zhytomyr, dated 1737. It is worth a visit, because it represents the Baroque style with elements of the Renaissance, and for Ukraine, this is not a very common case. Among the religious buildings, the Transfiguration Cathedral (this is the tallest building in Zhytomyr) and St. Michael's Cathedral, as well as the Church of St. John of Dukli, are architectural monuments of national importance.
However, Zhytomyr is interesting not only in architecture. Spend a few hours and be sure to visit the Cosmonautics Museum: here you will see the real equipment of astronauts, valuable mock-ups, and the descent vehicle of the Soyuz-27 spacecraft, which has been in open space.
Among the restaurants on Tripadvisor, Pleasantville BBQ PUB, Buba Hinkalna and the House of Tribel restaurant have high ratings, and among the hotels where you are advised to stay overnight are Reikartz Zhytomyr, Dodo Hotel and Terasa Mini-Hotel.
Therefore, we recommend that you select a whole weekend in Zhytomyr in order not only to consider the architecture of the city but also its natural temptations, as well as to drop into Denyshi and visit the impressive astronautics museum.
