Sightseeing

Arcadia Beach The jewel of Odessa is Arcadia Beach , a nonstop party locale with restaurants, bars and night clubs and, of course, a lovely stretch of sand and sea. Arcadia is the most developed beach in Odessa . It looks gorgeous in summer – plenty of flowers, shady trees, numerous restaurants and cafes with tidy sea view terraces. Being a little bit pricey, they are really good for drinks and snacks.

Besides swimming and sunbathing, you can rent paddleboats, rowboats and other sailing vehicles at moderate prices. . Colorful wooden beach chairs line the waterfront, and crowds of bathers can be found enjoying the sunshine after a swim.

Surely, Arcadia is not for solitude seekers, but they can find a quiet place by walking further.

Deribasovskaya Street It is the very heart of Odessa . What lends Deribasovskaya its unique character is magnificent architecture, crowds of people leisurely sitting on terraces of numerous cafes and restaurants, perfect cobblestones, no vehicle traffic and big shady linden trees.

This special character has survived even through the Soviet times when conforming Soviet canons was highly recommended.

Deribasovskaya leads to the City Gardens with its fountain, old summerhouse and sculpture of lion and lioness. City Gardens were laid out shortly after the foundation of Odessa and were its first park.

The Souvenir Market with a crowd of artists and craftsmen demonstrating their works is situated right here. Prices are really low, and some items are gorgeous. Bargains are common. Don’t miss it if you want to get originally Odessan souvenirs.

Frantsuzsky Boulevard The cobblestone and tall acacia trees on this boulevard are most reminiscent of Old Odessa. This place was home to Odessa ’s wealthy merchants in old days.
Now the Boulevard is one of the most picturesque resort districts in Odessa .
The cable car rides from the Boulevard down to the Lanzheron Beach . It is fun and costs less than 2 hryvnas.
The steep hill parts the Frantsuzsky Boulevard from 3 beaches beneath. Paths and stairs lead downhill to the Sea through a green zone closed to vehicle traffic. It is a favorite sight for picnics.

Primorsky Boulevard and Potemkin Steps Built in 1837, Potemkin Steps are the best place to view the busy harbors and the bay. The famous monument to Duke de Richelieu overlooks steps of 142m length. 

Looking down from the top, the steps themselves become invisible, only the landings can be seen. On either side of the stairs there is a stone parapet and the two appear to run parallel.

This, however, is an optical illusion, because in reality the width of the stairs of the bottom flight is double that of the top flight. At the bottom of the steps is the city’s brand new passenger ship terminal and convention center.

Shady platens and chestnut trees, numerous benches and magnificent sea view make the Primorsky Boulevard irresistible both for tourists and Odessans. People coming here stay for hours – gazing at the Sea Port full of ships, boats and yachts, enjoying shade and sea breeze.

At the west end of the Boulevard is Count Vorontsov Palace and a Grecian colonnade which overlooks the harbor and also provides a fine view of the bay.

Next to the palace is so called ‘Piece of Old Odessa” – steep bridge, the well and sculpture of girl with a jar. Newlyweds traditionally come here to have their pictures taken.

Odessa seaport Socialist Revolution, a grand complex was completed, which comprises ramp bridge across the railway lines, warehouses on the Novy Pier and a new building for the seaport. The architects V. Golovin and V. Kremlyakov succeeded in creating a modern transport centre, the "sea gates" of Odessa . The specific arrangement and the form of the structural elements, sloping galleries and transparent surfaces produce a peculiar effect as if the structure is reaching the sea horizon. The spacious main hall brightly lit by the sun through large windows is particularly impressive.

Monument to A. Pushkin . The Odessa period of Pushkin's art was fruitful. During 13 months of his staying here (from 03.07.1823 to 01.08.1824) the great poet begun to work under "Tzigans" poem, wrote "The fountain of Bakhchisaray" and two chapters of "Eugene Onegin" novel. The odessits honoured the memory of the talented artist; now one of the main streets of the city is named after Alexander Pushkin. The monument to Alexander Pushkin, located just opposite the Municipal Building , was unveiled in 1889. A bronze bust of the great poet was modeled by the sculptor Zh. Polonskaya. A granite pedestal executed according to the plan drawn up by the architect Kh. Vasilyev, is given the form of a truncated pyramid Kh. Vasilyev, is given the form of a truncated pyramid Kh. Vasilyev, is given the form of a truncated pyramid edges. Water jetting from the fishes' mouths flows down into the shell-shaped bow of iron placed on the granite stylobate.

Architecture and Monuments of Odessa The record of the various types of structures illustrates the city's past, brief yet eventful. Odessa is young, its history goes back to the late 18th century, when a small settlement named Khadzhibei was made on the Black Sea shore in the vast steppe wilderness which Russia reclaimed from Turkey shortly before. Later, the settlement was given the name of Odessa . It was destined to become the pearl of the Black Sea Maritime region, its " Southern Palmira ". This commercial city on the sea coast grew at an accelerated pace, its population considerably increased and in the early 20th century it totalled over half a million residents, by far more than in the older cities, and ranked third after Petersburg and Moscow.

The first city plan designed by the engineer F. Devollan in the late 18 th century was executed by the generations of Odessa architects that followed. As early as the first half of the 19th century, the numerous landowners who had moved to Odessa attracted by the profitable grain traid, started constructing their private residences. As a rule, they would build palace compounds: two-storeyed mansions with forecourts, wrought iron grilles and porticos indicating the entrance. Even today, the formal halls of these palaces are strikingly opulent. The mansions of wealthy merchants and factory-owners built to the designs of the best Odessa architects were concealed in the verdure of Frantsuzsky Boulevard . Alexander Kuprin, the prominent Russian author, wrote of Odessa in his "Autumnal Flowers":

"Flashing on the left and on the right are enchanting glimpses of Odessa millionaires' villas with extravagant openwork grilles, decorated with dragons and coats-of-arms; brightly lit terraces in the depth of the gardens adorned with Chinese lanterns, a kaleidoscope of colors in the fore gardens and on the flowerbeds; rare plants with intoxicating aromas..."

Monument to the governor Vorontsov . A bronze statue of M.S. Vorontsov stands on a high pedestal of Crimean diorite in the Soviet Army Square . This monument to the governor-general of the Novorossiysk Territory was erected in 1863. Authors of monument are sculptor F. Brugger from Munich and architect F. Boffod from Odessa .

The Potemkin Stairs.

The Potemkin Stairs are a formal entrance into the city from the direction of the sea. Sure, each city has it own place of mostly pronounced originality. For Odessa , no doubt, it will be Potemkin Stairs. The stairs leading from Prymorsky Boulevard down to the sea were constructed from 1837 through 1841 to the design of the architect F. Bofford. This imposing monument numbers 192 stairsarranged in ten flights and flanked by two-metre thick parapets. The difference in width between the highest (13.4 m) and the lowest (21.6 m) flights produces an optical illusion that enhances the grandeur of the structure. Originally, the stairs were faced with grey Trieste sandstone. With time, however, the sandstone weathered and was replaced with granite.

The famous Potemkin Stairs serve as a symbol of the city. It has recently been complemented with ramp overbridges to extend as far as the Novy Pier, where a modern structure of the new seaport is located on a high platform. Memorial plagues state that it was on precisely this spot that the first Odessa buildings were founded in 1794.