Odessa Guide
Odessa (Одеса) is the third largest city in Ukraine. It is located in the southern part of the country, near the border with Moldova. Odessa is the largest port city on the Black Sea. This cosmopolitan city has over a million inhabitants and it’s the home to many different nationalities.
Accommodation in Odessa
Odessa is a popular tourist destination for more than 200 years. The great interest in this place left an indelible mark in the form of a large number of accommodation establishments. We are offering a great deal of hotels and newly renovated apartments. The price is influenced by the abundance of accommodations. A one night stay in a standard three-star hotel is possible to get around the price of 30 Euro. In summer months, when the season peaks, it is sometimes more difficult to find free rooms. Therefore, we recommend you to book accommodation in advance. Among the accommodation facilities that are the most popular for tourists are Corona Hotel & Apartments, Ekaterina Hotel, or Deribas Hotel.
History Odessa
The place, where today stands Odessa, was first inhabited by Greeks and later by the Tatars in the 14th century. The town itself was founded only in 1794 during the reign of Russian Empress Catherine II.The Great. Odessa due to its strategic position began to grow very quickly. Already 71 years after the founding of the city, the Novoruská University was opened. The Workers Uprising in 1905 was supported by the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin. To this day, you can see the memorial called Potemkin Stairs (Battleship Potemkin), where there was a massacre of the local workers. The stairs were built in the mid of 19th century by an Italian architect Francesco Boffo and they measure 142 meters. In 1920 the Russian army gained control of Odessa. During the 2nd World War the city was occupied for three years by the German army during the retreat of Russian troops to Crimea. In the 70s and 80s, most Odessa Jews emigrated to Israel and the United States. Many of them ended up in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, sometimes known as "Little Odessa". Odessa gained its independence along with the collapse of the Soviet Union in August 1991.
Transport to Odessa
Public transportation in Odessa consists of trams, trolleybuses and buses (ie. Marshrustkas).
Weather in Odessa
Odessa has a temperate climate. The average annual temperature is around 13 °C. Pleasant temperatures prevail here since the spring months, which is around 20 °C. During the summer months the temperatures are warmer and goes back to thirty degrees. You can cool yourself at some of the beaches (Lanzheron, Otrada and Arcadia). The coldest months are logically January and February, when the temperatures can fall to zero and below.
Monuments in Odessa
The most beautiful part of Odessa is its Old Town. The architecture of many buildings in the city center is under the influence of the mediterranean style. This is especially evident in the seaside Boulevard over Potěmkini stairs or on the building of the National Opera and Ballet Theatre. Worth visiting is also the famous labyrinth of local catacombs, which were created from the original limestone mines. Part of the catacombs is the Museum of Partisan Glory. Odessa is a popular tourist destination with many medical centers as well. The local Filatovův Institute is one of the leading clinics in ophthalmology.
Sport in Odessa
The most popular sports in Odessa are soccer and basketball for sure. The biggest football club is FC Chornomorets Odessa. From Odessa, however, comes also a great number of famous figure skaters. For example, Oksana Baiul, who won both world championship in Prague in 1993 and the Winter Olympics a year later. Equally famous is the Olympic champion Viktor Petrenko and Ekatarina Rublev.