Kryvyi Rih - city of regional significance in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine

Kryvyi Rih (Ukrainian: Кривий Ріг), also known as Krivoy Rog (Russian: Кривой Рог), is an industrial city of 660,000 people in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine. Its principal industry is steel manufacturing.

Understand

According to official website, the city extends for 126 km from north to south. Because of the processing of steel and other products and mining industry, Kryvyi Rih has the highest emission of air pollutants in all of Ukraine.

Google maps can help avoid getting lost in the city. People commonly speak English very badly and all signs and tabulations are in Russian and Ukrainian. Translate apps and vocabularies are also very useful.

Get in

By plane

• Kryvyi Rih (Lozovatka) International Airport (IATA: KWG), 48.043056°, 33.206944°. Flights from Kyiv with Windrose.

By train

Because the city is so elongated, there are several railway stations serving different parts. Most, but not all, long-distance trains serve the main railway station.

• Kryvyi Rih Main railway station (Кривий Ріг-Головний). 2021-08-11
• Kryvyi Rih-West railway station (Кривий Ріг-Західний). 2021-08-11
• Rokuvata railway station (Рокувата). 2021-08-11

By car

• H 23
• H 11
• Т 0418
• Т 0419

By bus

By boat

Get around

By tram

• Kryvyi Rih Metrotram (Криворізький метрополітен). The Kryvyi Rih Metro is a partially underground rapid transit light rail system with 4 routes on 2 lines. 2.5 грн
• Trams. 13 surface tram lines support the metro. 2.5 грн 2021-11-15 In 2021, the city made transit free, but only for residents of the city who carry a "Kryvyi Rih Card".

By foot

You can walk to most locations in central Kryvyi Rih and there are plenty of attractive walking routes along the quay sides and in the pedestrianised central streets. The central city (Karl Marx Street) is separated from the 95th Block area, but buses and trolleybuses can help to access it. The main rail station is further away but still accessible by bus.

By bicycle

KRC has few bike paths and routes.

By car

Driving is probably the best way of seeing the surrounding region. A couple of the routes during peak hours operate a car pool lane for cars with more than one occupant.

The centre of KRC follows a one-way city system, which can be frustrating and confusing for those not used to it. However with patience and practice and a lot of circling around the same areas numerous times, it does become easier.

Parking

There are no parking garages and no designated or marked car parking bays in the streets. Drivers park wherever they find it convenient.

See

• Heroiv Park (Парк Героїв), Metalurhiv Ave, 47.90561°, 33.39068°. Don't miss the chance to see statuary intrigues of the Ukranian and Soviet past along with a flower clock and Chernobyl memorial. Then there is the fountain and Always Waiting sculpture awaiting you on the other side of the busy boulevard. 2020-10-23
• Jubilee Park, 47.90150°, 33.41576°. A big open space with a monument to fallen soldiers and a Russian Orthodox church. 2020-10-23
• Square 60th Anniversary of Victory, 47.89577°, 33.40192°. Pedestal with an eternal flame marking mass grave of Soviet soldiers. 2020-10-23
• Fedor Mershavtsev Park, 47.89797°, 33.33276°. Park designed in Stalinist Empire style with central fountain and white colonnade, and a boat pavilion from which you can take rides under the Lovers Bridge on the Saksagan River. 2020-10-23
• Haharina Park (Парк ім. Юрія Гагаріна), 47.90483°, 33.33779°. Another park by the river, this one with a sundial and a Yuri Gagarin children's park. 2020-10-23
• White Stones Waterfall, 47.90546°, 33.28144°. Interesting vantage point from which you can see a cascade and dam on the Inhulets River along with a high railroad bridge. Might be a little tricky trying to figure out how to get here. 2020-10-23
• Kryvyi Rih Botanical Gardens (Криворізький ботанічний сад НАН України), Marshaka St, 50, 48.14713°, 33.58074°, +380 564 435 150. 08ː00-18ː00 daily. A little outside of town but still perhaps what Kryvyi Rih is known for tourist-wise. Roses, chrysanthemums, little birds. 2020-10-23

Do

• Multiplex Victory Plaza (Union), Lermontova St, 37, 47.90381°, 33.35972°. 09:00-23:00. Movie theater, bumper cars, games, pizza. €3
• Multiplex Union, ТРЦ Union, Geroiv ATO St, 47.90545°, 33.39698°. Skiing, Ice Rock cafe, bowling and cinema.
• Olimp Kino, 24 Meleshkina St, 47.93975°, 33.41305°. €3

Buy

• Sun Gallery (Aushan, Solnechny), 1, 40 Let Pobedty square (Metrotraam Miska Likarnia, trolleybus or free bus), 47.9467°, 33.4411°. 09:00-23:00. Aushan, Sushi, Cafe, Bar, Big Burger, Souvenirs, Sportmaster, Comfy, NewYorker, Punma, Zara, Camel Active, Chester, Colins
• Liberti (Торгівельний центр Ліберті), Karla Marksa Ave, 35Б, 47.90568°, 33.34273°, +380 97 912 9348. Shopping mall.
• Victory Plaza, 24 Lermontov St, 47.90417°, 33.35728°.
• Plaza, Haharina Ave, 4, 47.90984°, 33.39332°. Good city view from the 6th floor.
• Tsentralʹnyy Rynok, Lebedjeva-Kumacha St, 1, 47.90237°, 33.35422°, +380 564 902 794. Open air market. Good place to buy Jesus trinkets and sundries. 2020-10-23

Eat

Budget

• McDonald's (95s Block (Kvartal)), пл. Горького Кривий Ріг Дніпропетровська область Украина, 47.9104°, 33.3923°. €3
• McDonald's, 37 Lermontov St, 47.90377°, 33.36023°. €3
• NY Street Pizza, 54 Karla Marksa St, 47.90974°, 33.34588°. €5-10
• NY Street Pizza, 24 Meleshkina St, 47.93988°, 33.41433°. €5-10
• Silpo, 30 Dimitrova street (Metro (Budynok Rad), trolleybus, bus, taxi), 47.9056°, 33.3973°. Retail market with own cheep dishes: salads, meat, bread, donuts. Also, probably, the best place to go shopping.
• Celentano Pizza, 30 Gagarina St, 47.9093°, 33.4023°. €5
• Celentano Pizza, Metalurhiv Ave, 22Б, 47.90175°, 33.33967°. €5

Mid-range

• Dzheronimo (Джеронімо), Pushkina St, 1А, 47.90912°, 33.34514°, +380 98 892 3489. €15-20
• Puri Chveni, Myru Ave, 17А, 47.9059°, 33.3817°, +380 67 122 7373. €20

Splurge

• Fransua, Karla Marksa Ave, 19, 47.90384°, 33.34184°, +380 67 136 7075. Nice selection of sandwiches and croissants. €10-30

Drink

• Adams, Geroiv ATO St, 49, 47.90757°, 33.39931°, +380 564 748 041. Good cozy Gothic beer bar.
• Rulka (Пивной ресторан "Рулька"), Metalurhiv Ave, 24, 47.89916°, 33.39453°, +380 67 926 6208. Some satisfying grub and drinks here. They will even blowtorch your steak for you at your table. €15
• MADiSAN Rock Club, Metalurhiv Ave, 12, 47.89495°, 33.39606°, +380 97 481 4554. Rock club with noisy parties, live music and fun people.

Sleep

Budget: under €50, mid-range: €50-150, splurge: over €150 (standard double room).

Budget

Mid-range

• Druzhba (Avtovokzal), 50086, Украина, Днепропетровская обл., г. Кривой Рог, ул. Телевизионная, 12, 47.91169°, 33.42230°, reservation@druzhba.dp.ua. 3*** €15-55
• {{sleep | name=Saksahan | alt= | url=http://www.hotel-saksagan.com.ua/en/rooms/standart/index.html (dead link: December 2020) | email=info@hotel-saksagan.com.ua | address=11 Dyshynskoho Street | lat=47.98194 | long=33.42566 | directions=Car or taxi | phone=+380 67 560-18-83 | tollfree= | fax= | checkin= | checkout= | price=€40-100 | content=4**** }}
• Aurora (95th Block, Central City), 40 Metalurgiv Ave (taxi, bus, trolleybus, Metrotram (Budynok Rad)), 47.9094°, 33.3922°, +380 56 404 08 08, reception@aurorahotel.com.ua. 3*** €25-55

Splurge

Connect

Kryvyi Rih's landline area code is 56. Dial 056 from within Ukraine or +380 56 from outside Ukraine.

Kryvyi Rih has easy internet access like most cities, and as a city, has the advantage of broadband being easily accessible both to install and use. Kryvyi Rih also has an abundance of internet cafes available for all to use. A network of free Wi-Fi hotspots is being deploying in Central City. It is available around the 95th Block and in some metro stations. An up to date map of pubs, bars and cafe's in Kryvyi Rih with free Wi-Fi is available here.

Stay safe

Like many other big cities in the Ukraine, Kryvyi Rih has its rough areas. Use common sense while getting around. The usual "don't be stupid" advice suffices. Avoid drinking the water from the tap; bottled water is cheap and available everywhere.

If you are female, and especially if you are traveling alone, try to take a taxi instead of public transit after 21:00. These are prime drinking hours and the metro and marshrutky may be crowded with drunken men. This is particularly true on the weekends. Ask a local English-speaker to call the taxi for you and get the amount of the fare in advance; drivers may greatly inflate the fare once hearing your accent. Isolated drunken brawls can occur in the centre of town on Friday and Saturday nights as pubs and clubs close, especially near the waterfront area, the Centre, taxi queues and fast food joints. This has been reduced somewhat by a heavy police presence and security guards monitoring the taxi queues.

Also, some outlying suburbs such as Yubileinaia, Artem (from Artem to Vecherny, including Svyatoshyn), Smychka and Druzhba have a bad reputation, but it is unlikely that a visitor to the city would travel to these parts. Be careful at the railway station. If you are leaving your baggage in the station, it is better to leave it with the guys in person rather than use a locker. Stories circulate of people 'assisting' with the locker, observing the code and then walking off with the bag afterwards

The main problem is beggars as many will approach you on the street to ask for money, bread, cigarettes or few cents for a tram ticket (don't be stupid).

Also, you may find people offering you drugs in return for cash. Those people have no drugs and will instead give you a bogus parcel (such as balls of cellophane or matches wrapped in newspaper) and run off with your money. They often have knives so avoid the people in the first place.

There is still corruption in Ukraine; some services might openly ask you to bribe them to process your request, and denying it might make them refuse to help you. Common people are very tolerant and it is only reasonable to assume that they expect the same in return.

Go next

• Dnipro, modern financial and entertaining centre.