The jewel in Odesa's architectural crown was designed in the 1880s by the architects who also designed the famous Vienna State Opera, namely Ferdinand Fellner and Herman Helmer. You can take a Russian-language tour of the theatre (150uah), starting at 5pm on Friday and Saturday or, better yet, buy yourself a night at the opera.
©Pavlo Fedykovych/Lonely Planet
Odesa Opera & Ballet Theatre
Top choice in Odesa
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.11 MILES
Odesa's elegant facade, this tree-lined, clifftop promenade was designed to enchant the passengers of arriving boats with the neoclassical opulence of its…
0.22 MILES
Fresh from a controversial renovation, which changed its original outlook, the Potemkin Steps lead down from bul Prymorsky to the sea port. Pause at the…
0.2 MILES
Odesa's main commercial street, pedestrian vul Derybasivska is jam-packed with restaurants, bars and, in the summer high season, tourists. At its quieter…
1.14 MILES
The war in the east and regular political strife give Ukrainian artists a lot of here-and-now material to reflect on, and the result is often brilliant,…
1.61 MILES
The dystopian Soviet name has stuck to this 5.5km stretch of sandy, rocky and concrete beaches that form the city's recreational belt. Packed like a…
0.41 MILES
City tours inevitably stop near this portly art nouveau house with two atlantes holding a sphere dotted with stars, a depiction of the universe as if seen…
0.29 MILES
This is where Russia's greatest poet, Alexander Pushkin, spent his first weeks in Odesa after being exiled from St Petersburg in 1823 by the tsar for…
1.51 MILES
Perhaps to copy Brighton Beach, New York – where half of Odesa seems to have emigrated – the authorities built a boardwalk at the beach closest to the…
Nearby Odesa attractions
0.11 MILES
Odesa's elegant facade, this tree-lined, clifftop promenade was designed to enchant the passengers of arriving boats with the neoclassical opulence of its…
0.13 MILES
Odesa's most photographed monument, the statue of Alexander Pushkin, stands in front of the City Hall on pl Dumska. The plaque reads 'To Pushkin – from…
0.14 MILES
Occupying a purpose-built, neoclassical edifice in the historical heart of the city, this half-renovated museum contains a fairly rich collection of…
0.14 MILES
Located at the eastern end of bul Prymorsky, the pink-and-white colonnaded City Hall originally served as the stock exchange. The cannon here is a war…
0.18 MILES
At the top of the Potemkin Steps on bul Prymorsky you'll find the statue of Duc de Richelieu, Odesa's first governor, looking like a Roman in a toga.
0.2 MILES
Odesa's main commercial street, pedestrian vul Derybasivska is jam-packed with restaurants, bars and, in the summer high season, tourists. At its quieter…
0.22 MILES
Fresh from a controversial renovation, which changed its original outlook, the Potemkin Steps lead down from bul Prymorsky to the sea port. Pause at the…
8. Museum of Western & Eastern Art
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This mid-19th-century palace houses a collection that's both rich and eclectic – apt for a cosmopolitan port city like Odesa. Classical Italian and Dutch…