Things to do in Odesa
-
A
Itaka
Slightly downmarket and often rowdy (in a good way). The Greek columns and statues are a tad much, but you’ll hardly care when it’s 5am and you are out of your gourd. It draws big regional pop acts.
reviewed
-
B
-
C
Khevron
This is an excellent underground kosher eatery.
reviewed
-
D
Praetoria Music Club
This is one of the few city-centre clubs that has a pulse in the summer.
reviewed
-
E
Galereya Afina
Galereya Afina is the city’s newest and best mall.
reviewed
-
F
Shevchenko Park
Shevchenko Park has a few interesting monuments, a soccer stadium and an Oceanarium
reviewed
-
G
The Book Shop
Has lots of maps, a few guidebooks and a reasonable collection of English-language fiction.
reviewed
-
H
Pobeda
This classy basement bar has a reading room for rainy days and a 20% discount on food if you saddle up to the bar.
reviewed
-
I
Oceanarium
The Oceanarium has entertaining dolphin shows. It is located in the Shevchenko Park
reviewed
-
J
Art Club Exit
For something a lot more local, try this often rowdy basement bar. The entrance is near a hard-to-spot ‘Exit’ sign.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Cosmo
This spaceship-shaped club out by Arkadia is Odesa’s biggest club in the low season, attracting a relatively young and boisterous crowd.
reviewed
-
L
Archaeology Museum
Gold jewellery and coins from early Black Sea civilisations (as well as a few Egyptian mummies) are showcased at the Archaeology Museum.
reviewed
-
M
Literature Museum
The Literature Museum is an old palace. The collection here will mostly interest Russian literature fanatics since nothing is in English.
reviewed
-
N
Pryvoz Market
The centrally located Pryvoz Market is the largest open-air farmers market in the former Soviet Union and a must-visit for market lovers.
reviewed
-
O
Pr Oleksandrivsky
The leafy open-air food stands in this park are superb places to relax and eat chicken legs or khachipuri (Georgian pizzas) washed down with draft beer.
reviewed
-
P
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.
reviewed
-
Q
Kumanets
This veritable Ukrainian village, produces affordable holubtsy (cabbage rolls) , varenyky and deruny (potato pancakes) in addition to pricier mains.
reviewed
-
R
Ibiza
This white, free-form, open, cave like structure is Arkadia’s most upmarket and most expensive club. European DJs and big-ticket Russian and Ukrainian pop bands often play here.
reviewed
-
S
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.
reviewed
-
T
Mick O’Neill’s Irish Bar
This long-standing Irish pub is a great place to start an evening and an even better place to finish it, as it’s the only outdoor patio on vul Derybasivska that’s open round the clock.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
U
Klarabara
Tucked away in a quiet corner of the City Garden, this classy, cosy, ivy-covered café and restaurant is awash with antique furniture and fine art. It serves European fare with Thai touches, plus brilliant Turkish coffee.
reviewed
-
V
Odessa Fine Arts Museum
The Odessa Fine Arts Museum, located in the former palace of one Count Pototsky, has an impressive collection of Russian and Ukrainian art, including a few seascapes by master talent Aivazovksy and some Soviet realist paintings.
reviewed
-
W
Fat Mozes
Sounds like a New York deli, doesn’t it? However, apart from the roast-beef sandwiches, it isn’t quite. The atmosphere is more of a cosy, unpretentious bistro, serving an eclectic mix that includes souvlaki, goulash and Jamaican chicken.
reviewed
-
X
Zara Pizzara
This pizzeria has an enviously located summer terrace, real Italian-style thin-crust pizza loaded with toppings, and hefty calzones. What sets it apart is that it actually opens before 9am for breakfast. For that we’ll excuse the overpriced beer.
reviewed
-
Y
Tavriya
This squeaky clean food mecca in the basement of Odesa’s Galareya Afina mall has instantly become the city’s most popular eating option. It consists of a Ukrainian-food stolova (cafeteria), a pizza and pasta bar, and a large supermarket.
reviewed