|
About Odessa
Ukraine's special gem and
a city that's often is called a pearl by the sea - Odessa is a place that is
really worth visiting. It is a tourist wonderland complete with its buzzing
street life, gorgeous beaches, charming hotels, great weather, vivid nightlife,
great shopping and plenty to see and to do. Whether casinos and stores are your
idea of fun or it's the arts and museums that enthrall you, or the most
valuable treasure of Odessa city - its stunning
women you come to meet, Odessa
never fails to delight. Visitors
have been descending on Odessa for centuries, to relax and be healed or just
unwind. The primary language spoken is Russian, with Ukrainian
being less common despite its being an official language in Ukraine due to an eclectic mix of the cultures
of the many people who have made Odessa
their home over the centuries. A variety of nationalities have fallen for the
charms of this lovely city by the sea. Odessa is city in the southwestern Ukraine. It is situated on the
terraced hills overlooking a small harbor. Odessa
is the administrative center, a major port in Ukraine
and also the second most popular tourist place after Kiev (over 170.000 of tourists every year). The
current estimated population is around 1,000,779 (as for 2007). The city
has a mild and a dry climate with average temperatures in January of -2 °C (snow and the temperature lower than
temperature -10 C
are seldom), and July of 25 °C
(temperatures above 35 C
are frequent). The resort zone of Odessa extends on tens kilometers
on coast of the Black sea there are different
beaches and sanatoriums. For today in Odessa
for trips are trams, trolley buses, buses and taxis. Also there is a funicular
railway, rope-way, dinghies. In city the International airport, railway station
and bus station operate. Odessa Destination Guide Our Odessa
Destination Guide below tells you what there is to see and to do
whilst on your Odessa holiday. The city has impressive
architecture and a rich history that is best discovered on an interesting Odessa tour. You can also take
a look at some useful information for your travels throughout
the Ukraine.
Things to
See & to Do in Odessa
The spas
and sanatoriums here are especially favoured by tourists from abroad as well as
within Ukraine. The calming treatments backed by sound medical expertise make
spas here the ideal healthy vacation getaway. Leading institutes like The
Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases & Tissue Therapy cater to those in need
of ophthalmological care. If your
trip is purely for pleasure, then the palaces belonging to the Vorontsov,
Potocki and Tolstoy families are absolute must-visits. Odessa also has the
honour of being named the capital of Soviet humour due to the work of famous
comedians and humour writers of the 1970s from the area. Picking up from this
boom in the 70s, the city later began to organize a series of humour festivals,
one of which includes the celebration of April Fool's Day! Here are a
few great things to see and to do in and around Odessa that will make your trip
truly special. To experience the splendour of the city, be sure to put these on
your must-visit list: · Arcadia beach. Odessa's haven for beach
lovers comes alive in summer when the flowers are in bloom, the trees offer
much needed shade, and the sea-facing cafes and restaurants are abuzz with
activity. Arcadia's eateries aren't exactly cheap but if you're just stopping
by for drinks and snacks, it is worth it for the view. If you don't want to
sunbathe or swim, you could even rent rowboats or paddleboats at economical
rates. Once night falls, the open-air nightclubs give the place a whole new
vibe which shouldn't be missed! It certainly isn't quiet but if it is silence
and tranquillity you're looking for, a short walk should get you there. · Deribasovskaya
street. The heart of the city is Deribasovskaya
Street. You'll see examples of the best architecture in the city along this street. Strolling along its cobblestoned walkways does take you back
to another era. Being pedestrian-only, this tree-lined avenue is a joy to walk
along. Its numerous cafes and terrace restaurants tempt you in for a breather
and it may be fun to give in and people-watch for a while.
Walk along the street to end up at the picturesque City Gardens where sculptures of lions, a summerhouse and a fountain promise to whisk you
away to a magical land. These gardens are Odessa's oldest park and are
definitely worth a visit. · Frantsuzskiy boulevard. Acacia trees and cobblestones
hark back to the Odessa of old when this street was the address of choice for
well-to-do traders and merchants. Today, the road is the hub of resorts and you
can even hop on a cable car to take you right up to Lanzheron Beach.
There's a rather steep hill that separates the road from the 3 beaches that lie
below. There are staircases and pathways that meander down to the waterfront
via a pedestrian-only ‘green zone'. The area makes a great location for
picnics, so do pick up some food from the local stores and make your way here. · Lanzheronovskaya
street. Many of Odessa's "firsts" seem to
trace their roots back to this street. The very first City Theatre was
constructed here as were the first restaurant and hotel of Odessa. The area
marked by the streets of Rishelevskaja, Lanzheronovskaja and Derebasovskaja was
the location of the first section of land earmarked for construction by de
Ribas. · Laokoon. The Greek pagan priest Laokoon is believed to
have displeased the god of the seas, Poseidon, and was set upon by snakes. A
statue of this famous scene can be seen outside the archaeological museum here.
While the original sculpture is housed in the Vatican museums, a great replica
is still located in Odessa · Odessa Opera House. This
treasured performance venue was the location of choice for greats like Anna
Pavlova who performed ballets here and Peter Tchaikovsky who conducted many a
concert in this theatre. This Opera House & Ballet Theatre has been built
in the Viennese baroque style that dominated Europe in the era between the
sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries.
The group of sculptures near the front of opera house symbolize Melpomena,
a patron of the arts. Riding in a chariot led by four wild panthers that she
has tamed, Melpomena makes quite a striking figure. The interiors of the
theatre compare in magnificence to gems like the La Scala of Milan and the
Bolshoi of Moscow. The decor is reminiscent of the style of Louis XVI.
The city of Odessa demanded a theatre of its own in 1804 and found that five
short years later, its dream was fulfilled. The opera house opened with a
performance by the Russian troupe Fortunatov on Feb 10, 1810. They enacted a
single-act opera called A New Family (by Fralih) as well as a vaudeville style
show called A Consolating Widow. The original building burnt down in 1873 but
was rebuilt and opened to the public again on Oct 1, 1887. · Potemkin stairs. These stairs lead into the city from
the sea front. Built between 1837 and 1841 and named after the battleship
Potyomkin, these stairs have been designed by architect F. Bofford. A total of
192 stairs sweep dramatically upwards in 10 flights and have two metre thick
parapet walls. The cleverly designed staircase creates an optical illusion of
it being grander than it is - the lowest point is much wider at 21.6 metres than the
topmost point of the staircase, which is just 13.4 metres wide. · Primorsky
Boulevard. For sheer drama, it is hard to beat Primorsky
Boulevard. As it sweeps along the seashore high on a cliff it isn't hard to see
why the UNESCO put it on their list of world heritage sites.
It is easily one of the most breathtaking sights in the Ukraine, with
awe-inspiring vistas. Primorsky Boulevard has had many names, including Feldman
and Nikolaevsky. Odessa's first exchange house, which is now the City Duma,
marks the beginning of this great road. As with many buildings in Odessa that
were decorated keeping in mind the purpose of the structures within, the façade
is adorned with likenesses of Ceres and Mercury, the gods of fertility and
trade. These symbolized the fact that absolutely everything could be traded
within. · Privoz. Privoz is one of the world's largest farmer's
markets and is rivalled only by the ones in Mexico City and Istanbul. To see
how the locals shop, plan a trip to this market. The Odessites busily go about
their shopping and stall owners have a variety of wares on offer. If you are a
foodie, this will be nothing short of heaven for you! · Pushkinskaya
Street. For a short while in the 1820s this street
was known as Italianskaya, meaning the Italian street. In fact, famous poet
Pushkin wrote a chapter set in Odessa in Evgenii Onegin in which he mentions
this. Road signage used to then be written in both Italian and Russian.
Craftsmen from Italy laid the roads here and their fine cobblestone-laying
withstood the ravages of time, including the war. Along this street you will
see famous sights like the Museum of Eastern and Western Art, St.Elijah's
Church and the Pushkin Literary Memorial Museum. · Spaso-Preobrazhenskiy Cathedral. The Nickolayev Church
was built in 1795, within a year of the creation of Odessa. Located at the
Sobornaya Square, this grand cathedral was one of Russia's most famous and
largest. At 100 metres
in length and 50 metres
in width, it had the capacity to house as many as 10,000 faithful and was a
jewel in Odessa's crown. Sadly, by 1932 it was closed down and the square where
it stood was renamed the Soviet Army Square. However, the locals still called
it by its old name and gave it as much importance as before. In 1936 Stalin had
it demolished in the dark of the night but massive reconstruction work began in
1999 to restore it to its former glory. · The Catacombs. Homes in the region during the 19th
century were made largely from limestone mined locally. When the miners moved
on, the empty spaces where the mines once were became home to smugglers. Soon,
a vast network of tunnels snaked their way through the underbelly of the city.
This maze-like network called the ‘catacombs' are now an
offbeat tourist attraction. A word of caution though - a trip here isn't for
everyone. Tours to the catacombs are not officially recognized and can be quite
unsafe. This hasn't stopped adventure seekers from making their way into the
depths of the earth below Odessa.
Remember, if you do make the trip, these tunnels are not mapped properly and
are not an ideal destination for the faint of heart. In fact, the tunnels are
considered so dangerous that the local administration never undertook the
construction of a subway system in Odessa due to their presence.
|
|
