A Trip to Odessa

If you ask around the locals of Odessa, "Where are you from?", they will most likely answer: "I am Odessan" instead of Ukrainian. Due to its strategic location on the coast of the Black Sea, Odessa had seen many occupants that came and went. What remains is Odessa and its population of refugees and foreigners that built the city from the ground up and made it what it is today.

From Turkish influence to Slavs and Western European influences, Odesa is a type of cities you have never seen before. One house in the same neighborhood might have Gothic architectural-style whereas the one next to it might have Brutalism architectural-style from the Soviet-era, and another next to it with a touch of the colorful Ottoman-Turkish influence. This is Odessa.

Odesa really has something for everyone. Odessa’s beach and seaside attractions are the city’s main draw but the world-class Opera house, art galleries, catacombs and all of the other cool things to see in Odessa are what make it special.

Let me share some of my favourite things to do in Odessa:

1. Sightseeing tour: all of Odessa at a glance!

The unusualness of this excursion is that in one day it allows you to get acquainted with the most striking sights of Odesa. Within its framework, you will see the legendary Potemkin Stairs, Deribasovskaya Street, the Sea Terminal, and the delightful Opera House. In addition, the secrets of the Passage of Arcadia, the Philharmonic and the Great Fountain will be revealed to you. Sightseeing tours in Odessa are usually bus and walking, so you can alternate between leisure and tourist activity.

2. Film tour

As you know, cinema was invented in Odessa. Here you can visit many original attractions that relate to cinema. Such excursions around Odessa allow you to walk through the Odessa Film Studio, as well as through a huge number of places where legendary films were filmed. Particularly atmospheric and interesting in this regard during the International Odessa Film Festival. Also in the city you can get to interesting museums related to cinema.

3. Crime Adventure

Since its founding, Odessa has been known as a city of humor, laughter and the most original scams. Many interesting personalities, thieves and smugglers lived here. Having visited criminal excursions in Odessa, you will learn the most incredible facts about various crimes, see the places where smuggling was invented. One of the most popular districts in old Odessa is Moldavanka. At 11, Zaporizhskaya St., the yard where the Odessa Robin Hood was born - Mishka Yaponchik has been preserved, and on B. Khmelnitsky St., 23 - there is a house in which he lived. The noble raider robbed only the rich, could negotiate with the anarchists, the Bolsheviks, and even became the commander of a revolutionary regiment in 1919.

4. With humor in Odessa!

Perhaps, cheerful excursions around Odessa can bring the most positive and joyful things. The route "Merry Odessa" was created specifically for those tourists who want a relaxed holiday, interesting leisure, lightness and humor. As part of such an excursion, you will be convinced of the existence of a unique local language by hearing it live. You will walk along the legendary Privoz market, appreciate the decoration of Zhvanetsky Boulevard, and sit in the twelfth chair to capture yourself in a memorable photo. In addition, you will get acquainted with one of the most unique monuments of the country - the Orange monument.

5. Night magic of Odessa

Night tours of Odessa will plunge you into real magic. Sparkling architectural masterpieces and lights in the Seaport, exquisite illumination of the Opera House and walks along the romantic Primorsky Boulevard. The heart of Odessa at night can surprise you with the most magnificent landscapes. At night, Odessa acquires a special charm, it is filled with an atmosphere of comfort and celebration, homely warmth and peace. Don't miss the chance to walk under the night sky.

At the very moment when you are reading these lines, it is quite likely that a completely new excursion around Odessa is already being born - in some bizarrely incredible form, with hitherto little-known facts and highlights, discoveries, with a demonstration of incredible finds.