Podil is the old lower town of Kyiv — the historic merchants' and craftsmen's district on the flat ground between the Dnieper and the high right bank. It was the city's economic centre until the 19th century, and survived World War II better than the upper neighbourhoods, so much of the 17th- and 18th-century street pattern remains.
Today Podil is the most relaxed and walkable part of Kyiv: low-rise streets of pastel-coloured merchants' houses, the Kontraktova Ploshcha square, a dense concentration of cafes, galleries, bars, and small restaurants. The Mohyla Academy — Ukraine's oldest university, founded in 1632 — still occupies its original block. The riverfront is being slowly redeveloped as a promenade. The best evening neighbourhood in the city.