Kharkov (also Kharkiv) is Ukraine's second largest city and the capital of the Kharkiv region in Eastern Ukraine. Kharkiv is one of Ukraine's main economic, academic and cultural centers.

There is much to see and do in and around Kharkiv. There are an abundance of parks and forests. Couples can go on lovely and picturesque parkland walks, explore, picnic or even just go mushroom-picking in the surrounding forests. Kharkiv has many theatres encompassing live performances, opera, ballet, concerts and shows. Kharkiv also has many restaurants, cinemas, museums, art galleries, cathedrals and shops. Kharkiv also boasts the second-largest markets in the country.

Like other major Ukrainian cities, there is an international airport that services Kharkiv and the surrounding region. This is a definite advantage for travellers as it allows people from all over the world to come to Kharkiv directly.

Kharkiv is a very important industrial center producing and manufacturing such items as aircraft, locomotives tractors and turbines. It also a leading city in the production of food products, printing materials and tobacco processing. Kharkiv is a very historical city. It was founded in 1656 as a military stronghold in order to defend Moscow's southern border from attack. In the late nineteenth century, Kharkiv industrial development helped the country expand its railway and transport system.

Kharkiv was the capital of Ukraine from 1919 to 1934. Kiev superseded it. The universities in Kharkiv's date as far back as 1805. People come from all over Eastern Europe to study in one of over forty of Kharkiv's institutes. They learn such disciplines as medicine, art, science, economics, history and engineering.