As you know we travel a lot and every now and then we find a place that we
really enjoy and we have to come back. This is one of those places,
We're here in Lviv! Coming up in this two-part edition we get smoked out with
cocktails, burnt to a cinder at meat and justice, grab a beer at the brewery, hit
the Christmas markets, tastes flaming coffees and much more so stick with us!
We gave you 15 things to do in l'viv from our trip last summer make sure you
check out that video after this fresh collection!
To get up high and look out
over the old town, climb the city hall tower. You can't miss it it's the big
white clock tower in the center of the old town. Let's head there now.
Once you have your tickets which are 40 UAH each, around 1.50 euro, it's time
to start walking up the narrow wooden steps. With over 400 to climb depending
on your fitness it could take a while. God knows it took me a while!!!
[Simon]: how are we doing? Are we there yet? How many steps? [Will] I don't know
Nearing the top you see the Clocktower mechanism this
was installed in 1851 by an austrian company.
The last part is very narrow and
windy but at the top you are lifted up 65 meters (213 feet) above ground and have
amazing views across all of l'viv
[Will] We made it to the top of the tower pretty hard work and steps are really
small so you have to kind of go like that all the time, knackers you out there.
At the top you got 360 degree view of Lviv city. We are right here in the old town
but on the outskirts you can see like the big apartment buildings and the
suburbs I guess. Loads of churches really pretty covered in snow.
[Simon] Views really are much better than going up Park Hill castle which is what we did
last time. I think because the castle was a little bit further back from the city
you don't quite get the perception as you can do from the top of the tower.
So worth doing
We've made it to the Lvivanya beer museum, we've just walked past a load of
barrels so definitely in the right place. Think inside there's like a small museum
but more importantly a tasting room!! Let's go have a look see what's happening!
Open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. tickets a 90 UAH reach that's
around 3.40 Eur, check out the website for full details. Your ticket gains you
access to the small museum in the lower levels of the building.
The museum does not just focus on the history of brewing beer in Lviv but
also covers the history of the city in general, including the terrible fire of
1527. This is something we had no idea it happened until we visited.
The fire depicted in this short animation shows the entire city consumed requiring
a full rebuild years later. Information boards are in Ukrainian or English and
there's lots to touch and play with as you walk around so it's great fun for everyone.
Hello my love what can i get you?
Cheers and a happy new year!
Get out of my pub!
As you make your way up to the upper levels of the museum you are wowed with
the spectacular ceiling and the copper brewing kettles.
For us this was the most interesting part of the museum the displays really
help you understand what's involved in the process and in a fun and innovative way.
As we reached modern brewing techniques you can see the real production line
churning out the local Lviv beer and finally it's time to try some!!!
You can order individual beers to try or as we did two different beer flights
This was a 150 UAH containing four beers each and they were
not small serves!
[Will] That's nice, got that dark beer type taste to it. But its cold and not to bad.
Slightly lighter,
It's alright.
This one I am a bit scared of, because I don't really like the wheaty beers, and it's quite wheaty!
mmmmmm, pleasantly surprised.
This probably can be my favourite it's the standard brew from this place.
mmmmmm, very nice!
[Simon] This one's hot which I didn't realize just touched in top. The others
are all cold. I've no idea I know that's got Mandarin in it.
I think it's got some sort of minty stuff mint maybe I don't know.
Let's have a little sniff.
It's really strong. Try this one, wow that's really nice. Like that one. Pretty good as well.
Little bit like cough mixture.
That one's probably my least favourite
Walking back into the centre
of town we passed Krakivsky, market here you can get a taste of local
life with the food and haberdashery stores. There's also a meat market hall
worth looking at.
Behind me is the Samarkand restaurant ,we've booked in there we're a bit late the
uber driver took forever to turn up, but we were finally here looks like it's
Underground let's go try some Uzbek food in Lviv. The restaurant is number
four of best places to eat in Lviv on TripAdvisor as at January 2020.
It's pretty small so we booked a few weeks in advance of our trip via email.
That sounds nice! Cheese Balls, swiss cheese with Ganopanado with garlic sauce.
Along with that we picked an Oliviere salad.
Something cute on the tables were little notes and drawings left by previous
customers on paper napkins.
Main course was a lamb kabab with potato onion and a
nice spiced sauce.
This was a really enjoyable meal and something different!
The imposing Grand Hotel Lviv was our accommodation.
For a hotel review check out the link in the top right hand corner now.
We had heard about the Lviv Citadel and for a crisp
morning walk as the Sun tried to make an appearance,we headed uphill into the
park from which google map showed to Hectagonal all fortresses.
Walking on the paths was a little tricky due to the ice and unevenness but it was nice
nevertheless to stumble upon the ruins of Maximillian Tower one. Sadly it was
all fenced off which was a bit disappointing so we moved on and tried for the other Tower.
Tower Two is much more alive and has been renovated into a
luxury hotel called The Citadel Inn. Whilst not a guest I don't think they
mind you're walking into the garden area and taking in the views looking back
over Lviv. According to the internet tower 3 is a ruin and tower 4 is under
renovation as a private home but we couldn't find the either of them maybe
you know or you could take it as a challenge when you visit.
Let us know in the comments
There is an abundance of churches in
Lviv and we covered a few in our summer guide. The centuries-old Bernardine church
and monastery is south of the old town and it has an impressive exterior
stepping inside it's equally impressive interior features an art filled baroque
style with elaborate ceilings and goldleaf fixtures. Definitely worth
stopping by. Like most churches it's had a checkered history right up to the
second world war when it was closed by the Soviets and fell into disuse.
Since 1991 it's been under the care of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Basilian Order
and has undergone thorough renovation bring it up to 2020.
On one of the side streets
in the old town is epic cheeseburger cafe. If you love a
cheeseburger then Lviv has one of the best we've ever tasted in a long time.
With its hip decor and quirky Christmas decorations the menu is just as insane
with burgers like the Juicy Lucy, Happy Cow, Pizza burger and I was born in Tokyo.
Service was fast and the burgers truly are epic in size and taste. The cheddar
cheese they use is out of this world! Will had an epic burger which came with
a side of hot melted cheese as if he didn't have enough! I went for a Double
Trouble burger that patty just melts in the mouth.
look this up for a lunchtime feast you won't regret it!
Next time in part two we reached the end of the decade at the Christmas market,
warm up with those flaming coffees and then smoked out with cocktails before
spending New Year's Eve at the most expensive restaurant in the Lviv and it's
million dollar toilet? don't miss it!!!!
Make sure you subscribe and click that Bell to be notified of our future travel
videos. For now happy travels from the Memoryseekers