Located far from the front line, Lviv is rarely targeted by the Russians. However, on the night of July 5-6, they fired a missile at a building, killing at least nine people. Despite this, at the beginning of summer, we come across many tourists in the city.
“You are in a unique place in the worldproudly presents Vadim, tourist guide in Lviv in western Ukraine: the mine from which the coffee beans are extracted! “. It is one of the must-see attractions in the city. Vadim brought about twenty tourists there. “Before, most of my customers were Polish. This year, I had a few small groups, but they are not very numerous. They are worried about their safety”, he explains.
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Vadim therefore mainly guides Ukrainian tourists through Lviv. Many come from the East, they seek refuge, tranquility as far as possible from the front line. This is the case of Natalia and her husband Roman, a soldier on leave.
The strike of Wednesday July 5 on a residential building which killed at least nine people and injured 42, including three children, an isolated phenomenon in Lviv, but the deadliest so far, did not disturb them at all. “We didn’t worry, we were sleeping, we didn’t hear anythingsays Roman. And the strikes, it’s not new for us, it’s been more than a year since the war”. “We are always ready for that”adds Natalia laconic.
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“We are here, we are open, we always welcome you to our home”
In this context Lviv no longer speaks of tourists, but of “visitors”. The city offers outings to injured soldiers at the rehabilitation center. She is also interested in the employees of NGOs like Colleen, who has come from Canada and who intends to take advantage of the city. “Absolutely ! Even if we are here for a humanitarian organization, we take advantage of all the opportunities, the guided tours, including that of the opera, the parks, the museums… We meet people, we try beers and local food, we spend our money. It’s also a way to help people live normal lives and move on.”
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The tourist office, which reopened a year ago, provides both advice and instructions. “We have to be really carefulexplains Marta Kuzik, one of the managers of the office, because we see that the war is not over yet. But we are here, we are open, we always welcome you to our home”.
Lviv is also a candidate for the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2024 prize awarded by the commission. At stake, a little notoriety and a lot of money.
The report in Lviv by Isabelle Labeyrie
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