Ivano-Frankivsk, in the northeastern edge of the Carpathians, began as a 17th century village on the trade route between Lviv and the Danube river mouth. Ivano-Frankivsk is a pleasant city, where day-to-day life of ordinary Ukrainians can be observed. In the center of the city are fine examples of 18th century baroque churches, and throughout the hundreds of well-preserved late 19th and early 20th century houses spires, towers, and caryatids. An especially good ethnographic on Ivano-Frankivsk Museum of Local Lore, has icons and jewelry from the 12th to 19th centuries; numismatic items; armaments; old prints; clothing and embroidery; and decorative arts. The museum is at 4-a Halytska Street. Phone (3422) 2-23-26. In summers, international flights land at the city’s airport - formerly used by the military - with its good runway. From the airport it's a 20-minute taxi ride to the center.


Also in the summer, outdoor cafes spring up like mushrooms. Slovan (Слован), a new privately-owned Ukrainian restaurant at 4 Komarova Street in the center of town, offers a good choice of well-prepared food. It's open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight. The Hotel Roxolana (Роксолана), a joint venture with an Austrian partner, is one of the nicest in Ukraine. This small deluxe hotel was built in 1907 and rebuilt in 1992. Large and comfortable rooms cost about half that of the best hotels in Kyiv and contain very nice baths, cable TV, and direct-dial telephone. The hotel has a nice lobby with security cameras (although it doesn't seem to need this precaution). Amenities include an Austrian-inn-type breakfast buffet, room service, porters, an efficient multilingual concierge desk, business services, and a tourist desk. The restaurant is a good place to dine and is open for three meals a day.

Hotel Ukraina near the center is a lower-priced alternative, but is a noisy hang-out in the evenings. Hotel Druzhba farther from the center is a better choice.