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Shopping Travel Kiev

The National Currency - Hryvnia, Hryvna, Hryvnya, (UAH) - was introduced in September, 1996. There are bills for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Hryvnias.

1 Hryvnia = 100 kopiykas. There are coins for 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 kopiykas.

It is preferable to bring US dollars with you. These can be changed at exchange points around the city. Make sure your foreign currency bills are crisp and new looking. Rumpled, torn and written-on bills are usually rejected. Avoid changing money with private individuals.

Personal checks practically do not exist in Ukraine, but many places in Kyiv accept major credit cards. Travellers' cheques can be cashed in a number of banks. However, do not rely solely on credit cards or travellers' cheques. Cash is preferred.


ANTIQUES
Antique Store Vul. Gorkoho, east side (almost directly opposite Slavuta Restaurant, between Vul. Saksaganskoho and Vul. Tolstoho). Good selection of larger pieces of furniture.
Club New York, New York Left bank. Across from Bratislava hotel. Excellent flea market on Saturday mornings only for antiques, banknotes, medals, coins, and odd items.
Saksaganskoho Antique Shop In Museum of Lesya Ukrayinka on the south side of Vul. Saksaganskoho, almost as far as Ploshcha Pobedi. Wonderful variety, especially icons and samovars, rather expensive (dollars).
FLEA MARKET/
Centralnia Market
Near Embassy, corner of Chakalova and Kotsiubynskoho. People are out every weekend and holiday with all kinds of goodies-camera equipment, clothing, do-dads.

AUTO PARTS
Auto Market On left bank, north on Blvd. Perova, near the intersection with Vul. Ivana Mikitenko (same road as Nightclub New York). Open 7 days a week, you can find all kinds of auto parts and autos themselves (including, if not especially, western autos/parts).
Bosch Car Parts Store On Vul. Artema (south side), between Nekrasovskaya and Observatornaya. Some smaller car parts such as filters, etc.
Bosch Car Parts Store On Menzhinskoho near Computerland (same side of the street), at the northeast corner of Pavlovskaya. Tires, some other smaller car product items.
Car parts store On the same block as Computerland, at the intersection of Menzhinskoho and Vorovskoho.
Mazda Dealership Cars, of course, as well as assorted car parts, when they're in stock. Vul. Bereznyakivska 23 on left bank.
Volkswagen Dealership Vul. Semi Holovyh, although it looks like it's on Vul. Parhomenko (opposite the intersection with Vul. Zoologicheskaya).
Ford Dealership (to be updated)

BOOKSTORES
Book Store Right side of Independence Square behind the fountain. They carry mostly Russian modern novels.
Medical Books Get off at "L'va Tolstoho" metro station (blue line). It is next to the gift shop on L'va Tolstoho Square.
Book Store On Vul. Khreshchatyk next to the "Central Gastronome" (if you go towards "Nika". You can find a wide selection of any books except for antique ones.
Book Store Get off at "Central Stadium" metro station (blue line); and go towards the Operetta House. It is located in the 9-story corner building across the street. They carry many technical and some reference books. There is a book "pawn shop" located there as well.
Book Store On the corner of Vul. Chervonoarmiyska and Vul. Saksaganskoho, one block up the hill behind the Operetta House. Excellent place to buy antique books.
Book Market Get off at "Petrovka" metro station (blue line). It is only open on Saturdays and Sundays. They sell all kinds of books and normally it's cheaper than in any book store or from a street vendor.

DEPARTMENT STORES
Brooklyn-Kiev Vul. Khreshchatyk 15, Passazh. (Tel: 229-4274). Hours: 10am-9pm, break 1-2pm. Hard currency store offering fashionable clothing and accessories.
Budynok Odyahu (House of Clothing) Vul. Artema at Lvivska Ploshcha. Hours: 9am-8pm, closed Sunday. Local products.
Dim Torgivliy House of Trade at Lvovska Ploshcha (the modern-looking glass building). Good selection of foreign appliances on the top floor, reasonable selection of Ukrainian-made clothing.
Slovene Mall On Kontraktova Square in Podil. This is the closest thing you'll find in Kyiv to a western-style mall. There are several different types of stores ranging from groceries to shoes.
Tsum Department Store Vul. Khmelnytskoho 2 (on the corner of Vul. Khreshchatyk and Vul. Khmelnytskoho). (Tel: 224-9505). Hours: 9am-8pm, closed Sunday. Local products. Great fun to explore in this store
Ukrayina Department Store Ploshcha Peremohy. (Tel: 274-6017). Hours: 9am-8pm, closed Sunday. A local department store where Kievans shop for consumer goods. Good selections of party goods, favors for kids
Argo Passazh Vul. Khreshchatyk 15. (Tel: 229-5761); a wide choice of denim wear.
Brooklyn-Kiev Vul. Khreshchatyk 15. (Tel: 229-4274); fashionable clothing and accessories.

ELECTRONICS
Computerland Vul. Menzhinskoho. North of Victory Square (Ploshcha Peremohy). Computers, parts, etc.
Music Store Vul. Khreshchatyk. Next door to main Post Office on Independence Square. Instruments, sheet music, metronomes, etc.
Sharp Computer Store Vul. Tchaikovskoho. Small electronics and TVs.
Sony Electronics Vul. Baseyna (behind Maculan). A second SONY store is located opposite the Opera House on Volodymyrska. Good selection of classic SONY stereos, walkmans, etc.
Panasonic Tolstoho 5a. (Tel: 227-3262)

FARMER'S MARKETS
Besarabska Market Besarabska Ploshcha 2. (Tel: 224-2317). Across the street from the KASHTAN on Vul. Khreshchatyk. A farmer's market with the best fresh fruits and vegetables available in Kyiv. It is also the most expensive.
Lukiyanivsky Melnikova 1. Typical farmer's market at lower prices.
Tsentralniy Rinok Vul. Vorovskoho 17. A smaller market than the others.
Volodymyrsky Rinok Horkoho 115. (Tel: 260-0101). Great baskets, other assorted odds and ends. And now the old Respublikanskiy traders have moved here. Very rowded, watch your wallet.
Zhitniy Rinok Vul. Verkhniy 16, Podil. Great fur hats, very crowded market with all kinds of "stuff" on the upper level (looks like a mall inside).

FURNITURE SHOPS
Dim Mebliv
(House of Furniture)
Druzhby Narodov, north side, just west of Chervonoarmiyska. Periodic change in furniture displays and eclectic collection, many foreign-made pieces.
Second-Hand
Furniture Shop
Vul. Vorovskoho, under Tsentralniy Market (enter from back entrance). Mostly second-hand former soviet stuff.

GASTRONOM/GROCERY STORES
7-24 Store Behind Besarabska Market on Baseynaya. As per the name, open seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Snack food, beer.
Emelia German "grocery" store, on Vul. Baseynaya, just south of intersection with Vul. Kubisheva, on west side. Some canned goods, booze, furniture, etc.
Golden Gate Store Fondly called "the Shop Rite" store, this is found on the small side street across from the main gate of the Golden Gate and it carries a variety of Shop Rite brand items, usually a ggod source for cereals, milk, juice, wine, beer.
Iranian Store Vul. Chervonoarmiyska, on east side just south of the Ukrainian Souvenir Store. Wide variety of manufactured goods and foodstuffs produced in Iran.
Italian Grocery Store Kontraktova Square, southeast corner, kitty corner from Hostinniy Dvir. Offers assortment of Italian baking goods.
Kviti Ukraini Vul. Artema, next to the Croatian Embassy (second floor) between Hoholivska and Nekrasovska. Mostly Israeli products, including turkey franks, cheese, and dressings.
L.A. Express Vul. Dmitrova, east off Vul. Chervonoarmiyska, on south side about 3/4 down the block. Corner grocery store atmosphere. Reasonable prices.
La Fourchette Several blocks north of the Crimean Wine Store on Naberezhnoye Shosse. Grocery store with British products such as coffee, candy, and cookies.
Lyudmila Grocery Store On Saksaganskoho, north side, just around the corner from the intersection with Vul. Chervonoarmiyska.
Lyudmila Grocery Store On Shevchenko Pereulok or Vul. Sofiskaya, south side, near Maydan Nezalezhnosti. All imported Italian products, shoelaces, q-tips, etc. One of the closest shops resembling a western supermarket in town, including groceries, deli, beauty and medical supplies, hardware section, etc. Run the same people who run the Diplomat grocery store. Dollar prices.
Slavuta Market Vul. Gorkoho, south of Tolstoho. Inside Slavuta restaurant. Canned goods, caviar, crab, etc.
Supermarket Vul. Parkhomenko, near Spanish Embassy. Good selection of meats, cheese, candy, and alcoholic beverages.
Tesco Grocery store of Tesco products in the basement of a building on the east side of an unnamed street (parallel to Karla Marksa, off of Zankovetska - right around the corner from the Parrot Pool Hall, going towards Ivana Frankivsk Park). Selection of Tesco products as well as the most inexpensive dry dog food our survey specialists can determine.
Arc de Triomphe Aka "the French Store", located at the bottom of Gorky Street, just north of Dzerzhinskiy Square on east side of street. Great cheeses, french wines, junk food, frozen food, wet and dry dog food.
Canadian Store At the top (northeast end) of Pereulok Krylova, parallel to Melnikova. Meats, candy, booze, toilet paper, frozen vegetables. Reasonable dollar prices.
Della Vita On Prospekt Peremohy, in the first floor of the Medical University (beyond the Zoo). Good selection of foreign products.
Diplomat On Chervonoarmiyska opposite Maculan complex, another dollar store with assorted Italian goods, including frozen calamari and shrimp.
Diplomatic Store Vul. Ivana Franka 24A. Hard currency store that carries a variety of foodstuffs.
German Dollar Store (Duty-free) west of the city. Drive out Borchahovskaya, turn right on Harmatnaya (right after you drive over industrialnaya), then take your first real right turn (on a street). The store will be at the end of that street on the left, in a small garage-like building between and behind two apartment buildings at the end of the street to your left.
Grocery Store On Chkalova, west side, north of construction area near the German Embassy. Limited assortment of western products, including cream cheese. Dollars.
Jindo Vul. Khreshchatyk 1/2. (Tel: 229-8741); fur and leather goods.
Kashtan Blvd. Lesya Ukrayinka 24/26. (Tel: 295-6127) A wide variety of imported goods: food, clothing, footwear, souvenirs, audio/video equipment; prices are slightly higher than in other similar shops.
Kashtan Blvd. Tarasa Shevchenka 1. (Tel: 224-7053). Hours: 10am-7pm, closed Sunday and Monday. Hard currency store that carries western foodstuffs, alcohol, some consumer goods, and souvenirs.
King Store On the north side of the Besarabska building, facing the side street (entrance from outside). Primarily Arab groceries and products.
Mekos Mini Market Vul. Artema 22; (also a store on Karla Marksa, next to the Seagrams Store.) Diapers, cereals, frozen meat, canned goods, candy, feta cheese.
Mizuno Ploshcha Peremohy, Lybid Hotel. (Tel: 269-1995). Athletic shoes and sportswear from Japan.
Mria Grocery Store Vul. Artema 16. On the corner of Vul. Artema and Vul. Observatorna. Good selection of German products.
Nika (the "Swiss Store") Blvd. Tarasa Shevchenka 2. (Tel: 225-0271). Hours: Mon-Thur 10am-8pm, Fri-Sat 10am-9pm, Sunday 10am-7pm. Large, clean hard currency store that carries imported food, alcohol, fresh fruits and vegetables and some paper products. Other small shops in this complex sell leather goods, watches, perfume, office equipment, jewelry, and electrical appliances.
Passage Grocery Right next to the Apollo in the Passazh, has a nice selection of foreign products.
Ricco On the north end of Independence Square; clothing and accessories, at expensive dollar prices.
Supermarket On Blvd. Lesya Ukrayinka, about a 1/4 kilometer north of Kashtan, on the same side of the street. Appears to be modern and well-stocked.