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Bul Prymorsky
The steps are in the renovated, most beautiful part of town and descend from the tree-lined bul Prymorsky, a pedestrian zone to which the whole city gravitates, with replica 19th-century gas lamps.
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Opera and Ballet Theatre
One block north of vul Derybasivska, on vul Lanzheronivska, sits the city's architectural jewel, the Opera and Ballet Theatre, designed in the 1880s by the architects who also designed the famous Vienna State Opera, namely Ferdinand Fellner and Herman Helmer. After being closed for several years amid botched reconstruction efforts, the theatre reopened to great fanfare in 2007. You can take a tour of the theatre or, better yet, take in a performance.
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Panteleymonivsky Church
Near the train station you can't help but spy the five silver onion domes of the Russian Orthodox Panteleymonivsky Church, built by Greek monks with stones from Constantinople in the late 19th century. According to legend, every time the Soviets painted over the church's elaborate frescoes, the frescoes would miraculously reappear. While the Soviets eventually succeeded in covering them up, many of the frescoes are once again visible thanks to vigorous restoration efforts.
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Passazh
Across the street from City Garden, Passazh, a swanky covered shopping arcade, is the best-preserved example of the neo-renaissance architectural style that permeated in Odesa in the late 19th century. Its interior walls are festooned with gods, goblins, lions and nymphs. Shabbier but equally ornate representations of this style are huddled around pl Soborna at vul Derybasivska's western terminus, including the Passazh Hotel.
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Potemkin Steps
The Potemkin Steps are the site of one of cinema's most famous scenes - in the Battleship Potemkin . They're in the renovated, most beautiful part of town; the Prymorsky bulvar, a pedestrian zone with replica antique lamps. At the eastern end, you'll pass the pink and white colonnaded Odesa City Hall, originally the stock exchange and later the Soviet HQ.
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Preobrazhensky Cathedral
Pl Soborna is the site of the gigantic, newly rebuilt Preobrazhensky Cathedral, which was Odesa's most famous and important church until Stalin had it blown up in the 1930s.
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Shevchenko Park
Shevchenko Park has a few interesting monuments, a soccer stadium and an Oceanarium
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Statue of the Duc de Richelieu
On bul Prymorsky, you'll find the statue of the Duc de Richelieu, Odesa's first governor, looking like a Roman in a toga, at the top of the Potemkin Steps. The view from here is of the passenger port, the towering Hotel Odessa and the Black Sea. The view, however, is probably better from the bottom of the steps, where the designers' optical illusion takes effect: the stairs seem higher than they are, thanks to a gradual narrowing from bottom (21m wide) to top (13m wide).
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Vorontsov Palace
At the western end of bul Prymorsky, back up the stairs and to the right, is the derelict Vorontsov Palace. This was the residence of the city's third governor, built in 1826 in a classical style with interior Arabic detailing. The Greek-style colonnade behind the palace offers brilliant views over Odesa's bustling port.
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Vul Gogolya
While building buffs are liable to find unheralded architectural gems along any street in the centre, the mother lode is on vul Gogolya, where the city's best 19th-century architects were apparently in a contest to create the city's most elaborate buildings. With its odd patterns, bright colours and eccentric balconies, No 14 is probably the most eye-catching, followed by No 6, where a row of gods supports the 2nd-floor balcony.
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