Uzhgorod Travel Guide

Okay, I admit that there isn’t anything to see in Uzhgorod. People don’t venture out to this border city let alone tourists. You would if you don’t know what to do on a long weekend and aim straight for the nearest Ukrainian city from Prague. The one consolation is that by being in this city, you are in western Ukraine, the only part which remains authentic, where you can say that you indeed visit Ukraine. The east, more known for tourists with Kiev, the capital, and the famous seaside Simperofol, is already ‘Russia.’

Trip brainstorms

The city is small. Thus you need only a day to see everything. If you have two days, you can take a trip to see the ruined castle in Mukachevo. Best if you know some local people who can bring you there by car as I didn’t see any bus while I was there. It was a long, steep ride up the hill. By the third day, you will be already bored if you are a female traveling solo since you can’t to bars and hit on local girls.

Find a host from Couchsurfing to meet for a drink. If you’re lucky, you’ll meet an amazing historian who left his home in Chicago to move in with his Ukrainian sweetheart and will tell you the everything you need to know about the Uzhgorod, Ukraine, the former Soviet Union and etc. Then, if you stroll up and down one street often enough, you’ll run into one Pakistani who wears the same clothes for three days and tell you all the secrets about his illegal border-crossing business.

Eh, so perhaps, this city isn’t so boring after all.

Things to see and do in Uzhgorod

– 1 day to soak in the Old Town and see the bright red, ornamted Uzhhorod Synagogue, now a Philharmonic society.
– 1, 2 hours to stroll along the Uzh river bank before heading into the Old Town.
– 1 hour to visit the Greek-Catholic Cathedral which is now a Ukrainian Catholic church on the way to the castle.
– 2 hours to walk around the Uzhhorod Castle, built in the 9th century. Buy nice souvenirs in front of the castles (weekend only).
– 3, 4 hours to see old wooden houses, churches, households stuffs and lifestyle of past Western Ukrainians in Transcarpathian Architecture and Lifestyle Museum, right outside the castle entrance.
– See the Goranska Rotonda (the oldest building in the city)
– 2 hours to participate in a Sunday morning mass in the front yard of the cute blue-gold St John the Baptist Orthodox Cathedral.  Here you are surrounded by locals of all ages and hear them recite and sing. Very nice experience. (A must if you live in Hotel Intourist-Zakarpatie, across the street).
– 4 hours to see believe-it-or-not the tiny, teeny mini Disney World themed park out of the city center. You can’t not miss this bright, colorful blue-purple and pink painted facade.
– 4 hours to visit the ruined Nevitsky Castle in Mukachevo by car.  (12 km / 5 miles from the city)

Eat and Drink

– Almost every day I eat vareniki, Ukrainian dumpling, and borsch, a type of cabbage soup which is very typical for all Eastern European countries that were part of the former Soviet Union.

Accommodation Uzhhorod

Visit this link to find and book cheap hotels in Uzhhorod and Ukraine.

Transportation

• Daily bus from Nyiregyhaza, Hungary; Michalovce, Kosice, Slovakia; Prague, Czech Republic; Krakow, Poland and Kiev, Lviv, Ukraine.
• You can take kombi bus to travel within the city or to nearby cities.

Sample cost

It’s  ridiculously cheap in Uzhgorod, but be warned that once you go to Kyiv and other tourist cities in Ukraine, it’s not going to be the same.

Accommodation

• Budget hotel: from  €12 (private room)

Transportation

• Bus to Kosice, Slovakia: €7.5 (78 km / 48 miles)

Food

• Lunch with vareniki (Ukrainian ravioli-dumpling),  borsch (typical Ukrainian cabbage soup): €3
• Social tea, wine, ice cream in a nice tea shop: €3

Misc

• Internet: 1 hour for less than 50 cent.

Guidebooks

Photos

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