Andriyivskyy Descent

The Descent drops from the upper city at St Andrew's Church down to Podil on the river flat, a cobbled curve of about seven hundred metres that has been Kyiv's artists' street since the Soviet period: galleries, craft stalls, small museums and cafes in nineteenth-century houses. Mikhail Bulgakov grew up at number thirteen and set The White Guard in it; the house is a museum. The castle hill rises steeply on one side.

What you actually see

• The cobbled curve - a steep winding street of nineteenth-century houses.
• The Bulgakov house - number thirteen, the writer's home, run as a museum.
• The art stalls - painting, craft and souvenir sellers along the whole length.
• Richard's Castle - a neo-Gothic apartment building halfway down.

When to go

April to October is the season and the stalls are fullest at weekends. Winter makes the cobbles icy and steep. Evenings are quieter and better for the architecture.

Honest expectations

Much of what is sold is mass-produced souvenir rather than art. The cobbles are steep and slippery, and walking down is far easier than up. Museums keep short hours and close on Mondays.

Nearby

St Andrew's Church is at the top, and Podil is at the bottom.