With its pastel neoclassical mansions, neat picturesque gardens and a charming cobblestone pavement, Ivano-Frankivsk can be considered one of the most cozy and pretty cities of Ukraine .Just a few years ago, Frankivsk resembled an unfinished color album, where the restored bright center of the city had a lot of small impregnations of the "monochrome" Soviet past .Today, the brave artist, taking a large brush, full of colors, completes the image of this gingerbread town full of hotels, good restaurants and developed infrastructure .

Being one of the most open cities in Ukraine, where the Soviet regime was not so much affected (apparently in view of the distance from the capital of the USSR), Ivano-Frankivsk today looks exactly the way we expect from the European resort - the main gateway to the picturesque Carpathian Mountains.

How to get here

Airport Ivano-Frankivsk, despite its proud status of "international", does not take many flights from abroad. For the most part, these are planes from Moscow (Domodedovo). In addition, flights fly from Kiev and Lviv. The airport itself is 10 km south of the city center, which can be reached in half an hour by buses No. 21, 24 and 65 (departures every 15 minutes from the railway station, the fare is about 2 hryvnia). Another nearest major international airport is in Lviv.

On the main railway. The train station of the city arrives three trains a day from Kiev (100 hryvnia, 12 hours) and two from Lviv (from 30 hryvnia, 4-7 hours), as well as from Uzhgorod (60 hryvnia, 7-8 hours). The trains run to Kolomyia (5-10 hryvnia) and Rakhiv (4-8 hryvnia), trains run through Chernivtsi (20 hryvnia, about 3 hours), from where they are already moving towards Romania.

The bus station is in front of the railway station, in the Privokzalnaya square. Here come the buses from Yaremche (15 hryvnia, on the way 1 hour 10 minutes), Kolomiya (10 hryvnia, 1 hour), Chernivtsi (25 hryvnia, 4 hours) and Rakhova (20 hryvnia, 4 hours). Buses for long distances go to Lviv (20-30 hryvnia, 3 hours) and Kiev (60-80 hryvnia, 12 hours).

The fare is indicated in April 2011.

Climate

March 1, Sunday Partly cloudy, light rain +11 ° C in the afternoon +5 ° C at night ° С water	2 March, Monday Cloudy +12 ° C in the afternoon +5 ° C at night ° С water	March 3, Tuesday Overcast, rain +2 ° C in the afternoon +5 ° C at night ° С water
Weather forecast in Ivano-Frankivsk for 10 days

Entertainment, excursions and attractions of Ivano-Frankivsk

In Ivano-Frankivsk is just a long and aimless walk through charming cobbled streets, enjoying the peace and picturesqueness of these places .To the sights can be attributed the building of the Town Hall (1935), which is considered the only one in Ukraine, built in the Art Nouveau style .Also noteworthy is the collegiate church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1703) and the Jesuit church and monastery (1750s), which since 1849 has been consecrated as a Greek Catholic cathedral .With him, the Jesuit College was opened, in which in the 1750s .studied the famous Polish poet Frantisek Karpinsky .

There is also the Armenian church (18 century) and the church and monastery of the Trinitarian, as well as the only Catholic church in the city - the Church of Christ the Almighty (1927). There is the Temple Synagogue (1895-1899).

You can walk to the Pototsky's Palace (17-18 centuries), which was used as a military hospital, thanks to which, and was saved. However, today, alas, is in a catastrophic state. In addition, the city has a lot of remarkable monuments: Adam Mitskevich (1898), Ivan Frank (1995) and a monument that caused much controversy and gossip, Stepan Bandera, which was installed in 2008 on the second place of installation of the Soviet T-34- 85.

The Carpathian National Park

However, the main attraction of the city, of course, was and remains the Carpathian National Park, which is starting here - the largest in Ukraine. Today it can be called a national park only with a big stretch: only 25% of the territory of the reserve is really protected. Some part and at all represents dull industrial areas, which, nevertheless, does not in the least abolish the beauty of these places ... for the time being.

Founded in 1980, the Carpathian National Park covers an area of ​​503 square meters. km from the picturesque forests and hills. The animal world here is not particularly rich, but the flora is really impressive. Trekking, hiking and skiing are the main reasons for tourists to visit this place.

To get to the park is most convenient on buses or buses, in addition, the mass of agencies in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk with pleasure will hold a tour for tourists with a transfer to the reserve.

Photo of Ivano-Frankivs'k (30)