from Arsenalna sqr. (sub. st. Arsenalna), walking for a five minutes along Grushevskogo str. you arrive to entrance to the Mariynskiy Park
Mariinskiy Palace
The trip starts from Arsenalna sqr. (sub. st. Arsenalna), walking for a five minutes along Grushevskogo str., you will get to the green beauty of Kiev – “Marininsky park”. This is a unique and beautiful example of landscape architecture of the past. It is placed on the place of former Palace Garden. The foundation stone of the park was laid in 1874 according to the project of gardener O.G. Nedzelsky, and it covers 22 acres. Park is quiet, shady with old limes, maples and chestnuts. There are placed several monuments: to participiants of the January revolt, to general Vatutyn, to the heroes of the October Revolution. On the territory of the park stays Marininsky Palace. The Palace was built in 1750-1755 in baroque style according to the project of V. Rastrelli as a residence of the empress Elisabeth. During the fire of 1819 the wooden second floor burned down completely. In 1870 due to the visit of the emperor Alexander and empress Maria the Palace was rebuilt according to the project of architect Mayevski and was named after visiting empress Marininsky. At the moment palace is the residence of the President for meeting high-ranking guests. There is a building of Council of Ukraine and Independence square next to it. There is a balcony near the Independence square where you can enjoy beautiful panoramic view on Dnepr with its islands and left bank.
Going further along the path you will see the Summer Stage where often different cultural events take place. Than you will pass Lobanovski stadium, go little further you will pass the Bridge of Love going over Petrovska Alley. The bridge was build in 1904 by world famous engineer E.O. Paton. In 1983 bridge was totally reconstructed with exact copies of all components. Then you will pass through Park Khreshchaty of its territory you will find pretty interesting museum of water. Further progress will bring us to the Ark of Friendship between Nations and to the monument of Reunion of Russia and Ukraine and another breathtaking panoramic view. From here you can either go to the main street of Kiev or descent to the historical area of Podol.