Khreshchatyk Street is the main avenue that runs through Ukraine’s Kiev City Centre. It is closed to traffic on weekends and public holidays, allowing pedestrians the opportunity to explore and enjoy the exciting shopping mix of top-end shops, street vendors, restaurants, cafes.
Popular with both locals and tourists alike, Khreschatyk Street is considered to be one of Europe’s most expensive shopping streets, and Kiev’s personal answer to America’s Fifth Avenue and London’s Oxford Street. There are all varieties of shops here, from exclusive luxury clothes shops selling the fabulous merchandise of Gucci, Bulgari, and Louis Vuitton to the popular high street names of Marks and Spencer and Nike. Branching off this famous street is the Kiev Passage which is a narrow shopping corridor filled with cafes and independent shops. For those not yet completely shopped out, there is also the underground shopping haven in nearby Independence Square boasting nearly 200 shops on three levels.
Kiev's central railway station, Kiev Train Station, is close to the city centre and is regularly served by local, national and international trains with the central bus station at Moscow Square serving as the terminus for all buses and trolleybuses. Travellers can explore the area by car, or the numerous taxi services available throughout the city.
Ukrainian independence at the turn of the millennium brought about a whole sleuth of changes with Western-style residential complexes, prestigious hotels, upmarket restaurants and modern nightclubs. The centre of Kiev was cleaned up, and buildings were restored and redecorated, particularly in the Khreshchatyk Street and Independence Square areas.