KYIV, Ukraine – Western Ukrainian Lviv was unanimously chosen as the number 1 destination in the Top 10 European Cities toSee Now list by the members of the VirtualTourist travel website, reported Reuters. The city was described as a “modern business hub” and “the perfect place to explore on a weekend jaunt,” by the Reuter’s editor Paul Casciato.
The condensed city center – Ploshcha Rynok (Market Square) – with easily accessible tourist locations was named as just one of several characteristics of Lviv featured in the ranking description. In addition to the central square the description offered reference to several architectural monuments including the Kornyakt Palace and Lviv Opera House.
The Kornyakt Palace is a popular tourist destination that dates back to 1580. It is a Renaissance masterpiece and was home to the wealthiest man in Lviv’s history, Constantine Kornyakt. The Lviv Opera House is also very popular because of its unique architecture and multitude of shows it puts on every year.
Aside from the monuments the VirtualTourist’s members and editors noted of a unique festival called Night Lviv. Every July, Lviv guests and residents may take guided night tours and watch theatrical performances as well as fire shows throughout the night.
Coming in second place was Hamburg, Germany. Despite being the Germany’s second largest city, Hamburg was claimed to attract tourists by its “small town qualities”. Lithuanian Vilnius took the third spot on the list due to its baroque architecture The other cities mentioned in the top 10 list were Valencia, Spain; Porto, Portugal; Zagreb, Croatia; Valletta, Malta; Budapest, Hungary; Riga, Latvia; and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As a whole, Ukraine is a highly recommended tourist destination. In Globe Spots’ top 2013 countries to visit, Ukraine was the only country in Central or Eastern Europe to make it to the list.
Lviv is not the only Ukrainian city to draw attention of international travelers. In November 2012, TripAdvisor named the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as the top destination among cities of the Old World. Crimea was also picked by National Geographic Traveler, as one of the New Year’s 20 must see places.
