Last Updated on 29/12/2023 by kami
With the current situation in Ukraine, with a heavy heart, I strongly advise not visiting the country. This is the older, pre-war article and you can use it for future inspiration and information to plan a trip when it’s safe to visit Ukraine again.
I was walking around in Lviv, Ukraine on a sunny yet freezing Saturday morning and suddenly I stumbled on a small flea market right in the center yet a little bit behind the main roads. Even if the day was beautiful it was way too cold to stay outside for a longer time. Yet the flea market was full of people, chatting to each other, going slowly through the items for sale, drinking hot coffee from the flask. Nobody seemed to hurry, nobody seemed to mind the cold. It was such a relaxed scene to observe that immediately I started feeling the same way.
When I looked around what is available I could nottice quite few gems right away. There were mostly books (either in Ukrainian, in Russian or in Polish but I could spot few English titles as well) and old newspapers. However if you looked closely you could find old vinyl records, postcards or family pictures as well as some memorabilia. Even if I didn’t plan to buy a single thing I ended up with few beautiful old postcards from the times when Lviv was a Polish city…
In July, when I visited Lviv again, the weather was slightly different – it was hot and still sunny. The flea market was still in its spot and there were even more people both selling and looking around. But the atmosphere was still the same, laid back and artsy in a way. There were not many tourists around (there is another market on the other side of the old town, close to the Opera, that sells your typical Ukrainian souvenirs), it seemed like a place where mostly locals hang out. And everything under the big staute of Ivan Fyodorov (the first printer in Russia and Ukraine), just behind the magnificent Dominican Church.
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If you’re in Lviv and you’re looking for some great yet not mainstream souvenirs that’s definitely the place for you! According to internet sources (both times I was in Lviv happened on the weekends) it’s open every day. It’s few steps away from the Market Square, close to the tram stops. Here’s the exact location on the map.
Do you also like flea markets?
If you think of visiting Ukraine or just want to read more about the country take a look what else I wrote about it!
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9 Comments
Julie Roseanne
06/01/2016 at 23:21hello Kami!
i love your posts about Ukraine. I spent a year and 3 months living in Cherkassy, traveling central, eastern, western Ukraine, Crimea, and taking the train to Lublin, Poland. Immersing myself in the culture was my favorite part of my time there. Learning to cook Ukrainian ethnic foods, the holidays, the bazaar in the city center with its large meat market….the generous loving people that accepted me as a friend! If you are ever in Cherkassy i would recommend the restaurant Varenichna and also Taras Bulba. There used to be a french bulochki kiosk in the city center right by Spar and the bus stop. The bulochki are flaky, light and delicious!
kami
08/01/2016 at 15:01Thank you Julie! I haven’t been to Cherkassy (yet) but you had a perfect base to explore Ukraine! It’s such a great and underrated country! Thank you for the recommendations, I’m sure I will need them one day :)
Julie Roseanne
08/01/2016 at 19:02Thanks for replying! I found your blog a few days ago. Reading about your travels and seeing the amazing pictures of places i have dreamed of is awesome! I feel like John Muir, who said something like this… The world is a large place and i want to see as much of it as i can before the lights go out… You are helping me do that and i thank you from the bottom of my heart! Recently a girl from Tbilisi, Georgia became my neighbor. so I can just drive down the road and feel like i am visiting another country! Your posts about Georgia have helped me get a feel for that country and it’s great to see where she lived all her life. As far as Ukraine being underrated… i agree. So often i get a negative feeling from people in US about that part of the world. I completely fell in love with the country when i lived there and left part of my heart there. My ancestors were Germans who lived in Polish Russia, now Ukraine, Ostrog Region, so that may explain the close connection i feel with the country. They came to US about 150 years ago, but we still make traditional food from there and my grandpa remembers his dad using some Russian words mixed in the the low German dialect they speak. I have a special memory of Lublin, Poland. We were there to renew visas in the winter. We had time to visit the fortress(?) and walk to Old town while we were there. It was dusk when we entered the narrow lamplit streets of old town and the shops and pubs were open with lights shining and i was so happy to be there and be experiencing a small part of eastern Europe. Ok ive rambled long enough!
kami
15/01/2016 at 09:20Thank you for your lovely comment Julie! Lublin is awesome! I come from the town 50kms away from Lublin so I know the city fairly well and just love it, it’s the prettiest! Happy travels!
Dilip Rajpurohit
09/09/2018 at 07:21Hi,
I like Ukraine but never been there. I like culture and people of Ukraine. I want settle down there but language is a barrier I guess. Want to learn Ukrainian also and want start some business in kyiv or lviv. I have garments business here in India.
Please guide me
Thanks
kami
14/09/2018 at 13:41I honestly have no idea how to help you as I’m just a traveler there who doesn’t need a visa. Why don’t you search for some locals (even tour companies) who might be able to advise you?
Luda
22/02/2016 at 20:42Awesome post! I love to visit the flea markets in my native hometown (Chernivtsi, Ukraine) – there are so many cool knick knacks from the Soviet era :) What was your favorite find?
kami
23/02/2016 at 08:27I was in Chernivtsi last summer (and loved it so much!!!) but I didn’t visit the flea market, too bad as I’m sure I’d have found many cool things! Next time when I’m in Chernivtsi I’d definitely go there (as I’m sure I will return to the city). I just can’t decide what was the best find, there were so many great things around!
Robin
14/10/2024 at 13:57I spent a month in Lviv this Summer it was wonderful! Just keep you wits about you and go to the shelter if there is a serious air alert–I felt safer there than i ever do living in New York City. Ukraine is a wonderful country1