The Italian city of Rome proudly bears the title of a "city of seven hills", however many other cities across the globe claim the same title. Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine is one of them. You can literally feel each hill as you go explore this ancient and beautiful city, but I think the best way to see them all (or at least most of them) is if you take a Dnipro river cruise from the River Port at the Podil neighbourhood.

The River Port is conveniently located at the subway station "Poshtova Ploscha" or at the lower funicular station.

Unless you want to take a cruise on a busy summer weekend, there shouldn't be any problem picking one as there are two or three companies offering river cruises almost every hour. The price tag in 2018 was quite reasonable - about 5 US dollars per adult ticket for an hour-long cruise.

At the beginning of the cruise, you'll likely see the Podil's waterfront all the way up to the unfinished bridge which has been used for shooting stock pictures, movies and music videos for many years now. Locals call it a monument of corruption as each newly elected leader restarts the construction and after some time it halts again. 

However, if you're into Latin dances, you don't want to miss the evening club under the Havana Bridge.

From there, the ship will take you downriver all the way to the Paton Bridge. That's where you'll get to see all the famous hills on the right bank of the Dnipro River.

The New York-style pedestrian bridge is a favourite place for many locals and tourists alike. It takes you to Trukhaniv Island which offers some of the best beaches in Kyiv as well as plenty of hiking and biking opportunities.

The Metro Bridge allowed rapid transit to the left bank of the Dnipro River in the 1960s. It also connects Kyiv downtown with another island called Hydropark. It might have changed now, but to me, it's always been a place of shish-kebab and drunk people. 

The Venetian Bridge with new condominiums in the background.

Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra is the largest monastery in Kyiv and probably the most famous one in Ukraine. It's recently made headlines due to its leader's support of Moscow in the middle of the process of granting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church a tomos of autocephaly (independence) from the Russian Orthodox church. 

The Motherland Monument (62 m / 203 ft) was opened in 1981 to commemorate the victory of the Soviet Union over nazi Germany in 1945. The monument has been exempted from the decommunization law of 2015 that banned all Soviet and Communist symbols in Ukraine. I support this decision even though World War II was very controversial for Ukraine as not every Ukrainian fought with the Soviet Army, many fought against them. What's also interesting is that the sword for the statue has been shortened as it was taller than the cross on the Bell Tower of the Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra (as shown in the previous picture). Not sure how it became a reality in a country where religion was banned at the state level. 

The southernmost point of the river cruise overlooks the Paton Bridge and the Berezniaky neighbourhood.

I have to confess that, although I was born and raised in Kyiv, this was my first river cruise of its kind in my native city. We always tend to explore what's novel and far, and often overlook or keep postponing things that are within our arm's reach. So if you are like me, stop making excuses and start planning your next Dnipro river cruise right now.