Things to Do in Ukraine

Named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ukraine in an August 2007 poll, this 17th century park in the central city of Uman is a beautifully preserved example of European garden design. It's named after Sofia, the wife of its founder, Count Stanislaw Szczesny Potocki.

One of the most famous landmarks in Kiev, its jurisdiction is split between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historico-Cultural Preserve state museum. It's probably not one for the squeamish or the claustrophobic, though, as the walls of its most renowned feature - the catacombs -are lined with mummified monks!

A wonderful example of Byzantine and Ukrainian baroque architecture, construction on this next Wonder of Ukraine began in 1037. Its iconic facade was threatened by the Russian Revolution of 1917 and was commandeered by Soviet authorities in 1934 - with no religious body permitted to hold regular services since.

In Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin, the Tsar's Cossacks slaughter a crowd and the trauma of massacre is only broken by the steady descent of a baby carriage down the steps - one of the most memorable moments ever to be seen on film. The 142-meter long stairway is traditionally considered the formal entrance to Odessa from the coast. Peering towards the summit from the bottom reveals that the steps also create an intriguing optical illusion.

Popularly known as the 'Ukrainian Pompeii' or the 'Russian Troy', this ancient Greek settlement was established around 2,500 years ago in the southwestern part of Crimea. It tied for fifth in the country's 2007 Seven Wonders poll and exists today as a fascinating window on the ancient world.