Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Reboard the express for the short trip to
Poltava
, a pleasant, park-dotted place and the
scene of a key battle in Ukrainian history. Designed as a kind of mini-St Petersburg, this
grand city contrasts with the surrounding bucolic scenery and is well worth half a day's
exploration. The final stop of the express is
Kharkiv
, a huge student city. Essential view-
ing here is the world's second-largest city square, which is dominated by the mammoth,
Stalinist-era Derzhprom building.
From Kharkiv it's a smooth roll south to another of Ukraine's eastern megacities -
Dnipropetrovsk
- still a major centre for Ukraine's rocket and aviation industries (so be
careful what you aim your camera at!). Take a stroll by the Dnipro River before continu-
ing south to
Zaporizhzhya
, an ugly industrial city but also the location of Khortytsya Is-
land, where the Ukrainian Cossacks once gathered at the
sich
(fort). This is the best place
in the country to learn about the Cossacks, their way of life and their influence on the
country's history. From the banks of the Dnipro, catch a bus or train to
Donetsk
, the
power base of the east. The main industry is still coal mining, but among the slag heaps
you'll also glimpse Eastern Europe's most cutting-edge football stadium, a Euro 2012
venue. Donetsk is an overnight bus or train journey back to Kyiv.
