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Red Corner: Undiscovered Lvov

by Neil Woodburn (RSS feed) on Mar 12th 2006 at 3:29PM

Journalist Mat Schulz uses a very interesting strategy to figure out where to go on vacation. He types in "Stag Party" and the name of a certain town to see how many Google hits it gets. Too many is not a good thing and he heads elsewhere.

The point of this exercise was to illustrate just how "undiscovered" the Ukrainian city of Lvov is since it received no hits. Schulz then proceeds to spin the quintessential "go here before it is discovered and ruined by other tourists" yarn. And, he does it so perfectly and so eloquently, it leaves me itching to get myself there as soon as possible.

He starts off with the simple comparison that Lvov is a "much cheaper version of Vienna." Wow. Great hook. He then tells us the city is awash with great architecture, cheap food and accommodations, plenty of museums, few tourists, an abundance of bars and cafes, no McDonald's and an Old Town that is a UNESCO World Heritage site. And, it's easy to get to from London – just a simple Ryanair flight to the Polish city of Rzeszow and then a two hour train ride across the Ukrainian border. But that's not all. Ukraine just dropped Soviet era visa requirements for most western nations so crossing the border is now a snap as visas can be purchased on the spot.

So I'm sold. I've been to Ukraine before, but not Lvov. It is now on my list. Just don't show up with a stag party before I get the chance to visit.

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Ukraine, Red Corner

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

carpetblogger Mar 13th 2006 1:24AM

But when in Ukraine, do as Ukrainians do and call it Lviv. Lvov is the Russian spelling.

BC Fly Mar 13th 2006 7:56AM

I agree with carpetblogger and BTW about "just dropped Soviet era visa requirements for most western nations" within the next few days Ukraine will has election, and if winner will not pro-orange party, you can lost chance to visit Lviv :)

Neil Mar 13th 2006 7:12PM

Yeah, I struggled with which version to use but settled on Lvov since that is what the Sydney Morning Herald used (the site the post linked to).
Oh, and GO ORANGE!

mat Mar 14th 2006 6:38AM

i'm mat schulz, the author of that story about lviv, and when i was writing it i was also wondering whether to call the city lvov or lviv.
the city is called lviv in ukrainian pronounciation - and is how it's officially known in ukraine.
in poland, they call it lvov (or, actually, lwow). ukraine was once part of poland, poles ruled the country, so ukrainians don't really like that version of the name being used. i think that maybe the russian version of the name is also lvov.
the point is that asking how the city should be named taps into all sorts of historical and political questions. ukraine is now an independent country - and they want the city to be called lviv.

John Mar 19th 2006 1:12PM

There are direct flights from Europe to Lviv. It is best in the fall when the leaves start to change. People are friendly. The city has a small town feel. Most interesting sites are within walking distance. Never think it is undiscovered though. It is popular with Polish and Jewish tourists. There are excellent train connections from Kyiv. Lviv is also a gateway to the Carpatian mountains. Excellent hiking and beautiful scenery. If you really want to get off the beaten Path and have an outdoor adventure, try the 1000 lakes region outside of Rivne, Ukraine. Simply fabulous.