Odesa: Itineraries

A Top Day in Odesa

Odesa is a wild and dusty city; crazy with construction and clogged with cars. But peace is where you find it. And I find mine in the morning climbing up the 192 Potemkin steps, counting them very carefully. According to locals, the number of steps you forget to count is the number of your sins. At the top, I'll wander down pretty Prymorsky bulvar, stopping in at Londonskaya Hotel for a light meal among luxury, then heading to the 4th-floor free museum, where I can pore over the list of famous people who have stayed here - among them, writers who inspired me to learn Russian in the first place. I'll mosey on to the main scene, pedestrian-only vulitsa Derybasivska, for a street-side cappuccino, trying to pick up on the myriad accents and catchy slang that make up Odesa's melting-pot lingo. Then there's still time for a trip to the catacombs, where a wild-eyed old man with a flashlight passionately recounts the tale of the partisan struggle based within those cave walls. Before sunset, I'll take tram No 5 up and down Frantsuzskii bulvar, enjoying the streetcar's slow pace along the cobblestone street and peering deep into the trees to find architectural gems. Once the sun disappears, I forget about peace: it's time to doll myself up and get down at one of Odesa's flashy nightclubs. I wonder how many steps I'll miscount tomorrow...

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