
The towering steel Motherland Monument, her shield now bearing the Ukrainian trident in place of the Soviet emblem, presides over the Dnipro and the sprawling National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War below. The grounds of military hardware are free to roam; timed tickets let you ride up inside the statue to viewing platforms at her shield and crown. Book the climb ahead in summer, and allow a couple of hours for the museum.