Kyiv

Start in the old upper town, where St. Sophia's Cathedral has stood since the 11th century. Built under Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise, who is buried inside, it keeps its original mosaics and frescoes beneath thirteen cupolas, and the 76-metre bell tower gives one of the best views in the centre: the Maidan to one side, Podil to the other and the blue walls and gold domes of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery straight ahead across the square. The two cathedrals face each other, so the audio guides for both flow naturally into one walk. A short stroll along Volodymyrska Street brings you to the Golden Gate, the ceremonial entrance to Yaroslav's fortified city, rebuilt in 1982 over the medieval remains and now home to a small museum and a bronze statue of the prince himself.

From the upper town the cobbled Andriivskyi Descent winds steeply down to the river, past artisan stalls, galleries and cafés. It earns its nickname as Kyiv's Montmartre, and it begins beneath the turquoise domes of St. Andrew's Church, the baroque landmark Bartolomeo Rastrelli designed in the 18th century. On the way down you pass the neo-Gothic tower of the Castle of Richard Lionheart and the house where Mikhail Bulgakov grew up, now the Bulgakov Museum. At the bottom lies Podil, the historic merchant quarter around Kontraktova Square, once the city's trading heart and today its most relaxed district of bars, creative spaces and riverside walks.

South along the river bluffs is Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the monastery Saint Anthony founded as a cave hermitage in 1051. The gold-domed churches were built above ground over the centuries; beneath them the caves hold the relics of the monks who lived and were buried there, and the whole complex is a UNESCO World Heritage site that rewards a few hours. The audio guide walks you from the Upper Lavra down to the caves and explains what you are looking at. Beyond the monastery walls the Ukrainian Motherland Monument raises her sword and shield over the Dnipro: a 62-metre titanium figure, over a hundred metres with its base, whose shield holds a viewing terrace. She stands at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, the memorial complex at her feet.

Khreshchatyk is the city's main street, rebuilt after 1945 in grand Soviet style and closed to cars at weekends, when it fills with performers and strollers under the chestnuts. It opens onto Independence Square, the Maidan, where the protests of the winter of 2013-14 became the Revolution of Dignity; the audio guide tells that story on the spot where it happened. Two curious buildings sit nearby: the Gorodetsky House, better known as the House with Chimeras for the concrete elephants, mermaids and frogs crawling over its façade, and the Bessarabian Market, a 1912 covered hall at the top of Khreshchatyk where you can taste the city's food.

Kyiv's right bank is a chain of green hills, and the best way between the upper town and Podil is the century-old Kyiv Funicular. At the top, Volodymyr Hill is laid out around the monument to Prince Volodymyr, who brought Christianity to Rus, with wide views over the river. Follow the bluffs south across the Glass Bridge, the pedestrian span with see-through panels, to the government quarter and the baroque Mariyinsky Palace, the ceremonial residence Rastrelli designed for Empress Elizabeth. Below you, Trukhaniv Island stretches out in the river with beaches and cycle paths, reached by a pedestrian bridge from the bank.

The metro is cheap, fast and a sight in itself: Arsenalna, the station for the Lavra, is among the deepest in the world at 105.5 metres, and the long escalator ride is part of the experience. Most of the central landmarks are within walking distance of each other, so the simplest plan is to pick a hill, start the audio guide and let the city unfold street by street.