St. Sophia's Cathedral

Five minutes' walk from Zoloti Vorota metro, and the Golden Gate it takes its name from, brings you to St Sophia's, which is the busiest of Kyiv's cathedrals and the one to see if you're only seeing one. Along with Pechersk Lavra it makes up Kyiv's entry on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the Ukrainian Baroque exterior is what most people picture when they picture the city. Bohdan Khmelnytsky's statue is on the square directly in front of it, so you'll walk past it on the way in.

Climbing the Bell Tower

Do the tower. It's around 200 steps and there's no lift, but from the top you get the green roofs and the golden dome laid out below you and a view over the centre you won't get anywhere else. It's the part of the visit people remember.

What to Look For Inside

The frescoes and mosaics from the 11th century survived intact, which is genuinely rare - most churches in the city lost theirs to war, fire or the Soviet period. You are looking at the original work, not a reconstruction, and that's worth slowing down for.

The cathedral is the centrepiece of a larger complex that all operates as a museum, so your ticket buys more than the church. The House of the Metropolitan is here, along with the refectory and the Zborovsky gate, and it's easy to spend longer than planned wandering between them. Daily tours run if you'd rather be shown round, though English is limited, so check before you count on it.

Whisky Corner is under half a mile away if you want somewhere to sit down afterwards.