Salieri is a new but wonderfully placed art-cafe in the heart of Odessa. An inconspicuous entrance opposite the Mozart hotel, the back opens up to a beautiful old courtyard recently renovated at the back entrance to the Odessa opera house. Meals are very good and reasonable prices - main courses for under £5. As always in Odessa, 75% of the menu is dedicated to alcohol! Just a wonderful place to go and relax.

Langeronoskay str. Odessa
or walk round the back from the left side of the opera house.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This is the original immigrant quarter of Odessa (in past days mainly people from Moldova aka Bessarabia). Issac Babel set many of his famous stories here. It's about a 20 minute walk from downtown.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

IIf you’re looking for some good local beer, then try this bar – the name means ‘good beer’. It also serves other drinks of course, and very reasonably priced food. There are plenty of seats and it usually has a lively atmosphere, as it is populated by enthusiastic locals.

Jukovskoho 23

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Kulikovo Pole is a square and park just near the station. It is dominated by a 10 metre high statue of Lenin and still attracts communist demonstrations and many war veterans gather here on May 9 (Victory Day). The view down the tree-lined route towards the station is dramatic, taking in both Lenin and the silver domes of the Andryvska Podvore orthodox church. At the bottom end of the square, in Lenin Park, is a second hand book market where you will find Russian versions of classic novels mixed in with dusty copies of books with titles like: “Tungsten Bearing Manufacture in the Soviet Union - a Guide for Schools”.

Kulikovo Pole Square, near central station; www.essentialukraine.com

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The story of the Potemkin steps is told in Eisenstein’s famous 1925 film, Battleship Potemkin. The film depicts the 1905 revolution when the sailors of the battleship mutinied and sailed into Odessa to join a worker’s strike. The leader of the mutiny had been killed and his body was laid at the foot of the steps. As crowds gathered to pay their respects, tsarist troops rushed down and opened fire, killing some 2,000 people.

This sequence in the film is famous for its innovative editing technique and has ensured that the steps are Odessa’s main historic attraction. The view of the port from the top makes it worth climbing all 192 of them.

The steps climb from the seaport area to Primorsky at the top

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This can only be described as impressive, at the very least architecturally. It was built in 1824, has an Italian renaissance style façade and inside you encounter marble staircases and columns, a parquet floor, crystal chandeliers and stained glass windows. It’s definitely four-star and there’s even a casino if you’re into such things.

Primorsky 11;
www.ukraine.co.uk/londonsk.htm

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This 18th-century house, built for nobility, is now home to a very interesting selection of Ukrainian and Russian art. The exhibits range from 400-year-old icons to 19th- and 20th-century modernists and present day photographers. On the top floor, there's a selection of Soviet era propaganda art.
Strangely, there's also an artificial grotto beneath the building, imitating a cave complete with waterfall. Personally, I'd stick to the art.

Sofievskaya 5a;
www.odessaglobe.com/english/institutions/art-museum.htm

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A bustling farmers’ market near the station. People come in from miles around to sell their produce, usually at very low prices. The Privoz is a real slice of Ukrainian life. Priests can sometimes be seen blessing the food with holy water.

Privoznaya 14; open 6am-5pm; www.essentialukraine.com

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The late-19th century Austrian built opera house is a fine sight to behold from the street, assuming that the scaffolding from extensive restoration has now been dismantled. It’s a world-renowned venue and a major icon of the city, many people visit Odessa just to attend a performance of either opera or ballet.

Chaikovskovo
www.odessit.com/tours/tours/english/theater.htm

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends