Ukraine: Lviv – Townhall Ratusha & Market Square
It’s generally a good idea to start an old town exploration by climbing the tallest building around the center. In Lviv, the central Market Square has the townhall building literally in the middle of the square and the Ratusha tower rises to 65m above the ground and dates to 14th century. First, you go through five stories of the actual townhall building (where administration people come and go to work), then a long way up the square spiral of a staircase, and finally even more up the narrowest round tunneling spiral (subject to severe people traffic jams), until you finally emerge on the square rooftop of the Ratusha bell tower. The views are panoramic and spectacular in all four direction – with over a dozen cathedrals and churches glistening with their cupola in the morning sun. Formulate plan of attack – and off you go to check all of them off your Lviv exploration list.
