Regarded by many people (and that doesn’t mean just the local population) as one of the loveliest cities in Europe, Kiev is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine. Kiev is a river port along the Dnieper river, situated below the confluence of the Dnieper and its tributary, the Desna. The right bank of the Dnieper is a hilly area heavily interlaced with gullies and ravines. The left bank in comparison, is a low-lying, flat area where a number of modern apartment blocks have been constructed in recent years.

Kiev, considering it’s a major industrial centre, is very green, with as much as 214 sq mt of green area per citizen, a good figure by world urban standards. Large portions of the city have been designated `Territories and Units of the Natural Reserve Fund’, and there are a number of natural and artificial forests and parks throughout the city.