Many visits will of course include the capital, Kiev, built on a series of steep wooded hills that rise above the wide channel of the slow-moving Dnepr with its long islands. Flowering chestnut trees cover the streets and riverbanks for half of the year and during this time, no other city could seem so green and full. Despite a population of three million, Kiev feels very natural, and each of the hundreds of golden church domes rise up just in the right place.

To the west and linked by a good sleeper train, any visit to Ukraine would not be complete without taking in the elegant city of Lviv. Many will agree that Lviv is a promised cure for any sceptics still entrenched in negative images of post-Soviet cities. Instead of rusted smokestacks Lviv stands as a beautiful and eclectic monument to art and history. Amongst the city’s open squares and wide boulevards visitors will recognise bits of Paris, Florence, Krakow, Vienna and old St Petersburg.

Within a few hours drive of Lviv, the Carpathian National Natural Park, which is Ukraine's largest such park, protects wolves, brown bears, lynx, bison and deer. It is an area very few foreign tourists visit and one that is rarely featured in the brochures. A perfect destination for nature lovers with good options for trekking, the park is also known for its Hutsuls people, descendents from a nomadic horde.

Travelling across this huge country, the largest in Europe, visitors will reach the port city of Odessa.; the country’s third largest and often referred to as the ‘ Pearl of the Black Sea’. Ukraine’s most sociable city deserves all the sunshine it gets, and if you want to see someone smile, simply mention Odessa to a Russian (or Ukrainian). Behind the busy seaport and frantic holiday zone lingers a childish energy seldom known in big cities. Much of Odessa’s jubilant reputation lies in the fame and glory of Russia’s past, when the empire was endeared towards the peace and renewal found in the south. The city still holds true to these customs of diversity, culture and hospitality, yet even without the historical context, Odessa is a beautiful city that should not be missed.