Chernihiv's sightseeing centres on two hilltops and the lower town between them. Val Hill (Dytynets) holds the oldest cluster of monuments — the Transfiguration Cathedral, Boris and Gleb Cathedral, and the Chernihiv Collegium building in a compact area that constitutes one of the finest concentrations of pre-Mongol and early modern architecture in Ukraine. The Boldina Hora (Boldina Hill) across the lower town contains the Trinity-Elias Monastery and, close to it, the enigmatic prehistoric burial mounds including the Black Grave.
The scale of what Chernihiv preserves is extraordinary. If you care about medieval architecture, you can spend two or three days here and not exhaust the material. The Piatnytska Church in the lower town and Catherine's Church on the approach to Val Hill are both worth seeing in their own right. The Chernihiv Collegium, a large 17th-century educational institution, houses several small museums. The main Krasna Square in the modern city is a pleasant place to end an afternoon.