Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third-most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea.
The city is also the administrative centre of the Odesa Raion and Odesa Oblast, as well as a multiethnic cultural centre. As of January 2021, Odesa's population was approximately 1,010,537. On 25 January 2023, its historic city centre was declared a World Heritage Site and added to the List of World Heritage in Danger by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in recognition of its multiculturality and 19th-century urban planning. The declaration was made in response to the bombing of Odesa during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has damaged or destroyed buildings across the city.
Getting to Odesa
Due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine's airspace is closed to civil aviation. The closest operating airport is in Chișinău in Moldova: Chișinău International Airport RMO IATA is served by many airlines, with flights around Europe and Asia. From western and central Europe the simplest route is probably across Poland to Lviv. From Lviv there is a direct sleeper to Odesa (12 hr), otherwise travel via Kyiv (9 hr).
Worth seeing
The core of Odesa, with all the main sights, is the city grid stretching from Pryvoz in the south to the Potemkin Steps in the north, and with the 2-km-long Vul Yekaterynynska (Catherine Street) as its spine. You’ll probably arrive in Pryvoz as all modes of transport funnel into here. This area is grubby but sights include the
Things to do
Walk the old town. As well as the circuit described above under "see", the attractive streets also branch west, along Sofia and Pastura Streets.
- 01Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater
Go to the opera house for 800 грн or less.
- 02Odesa Philharmonic
Go for a concert to the beautiful historic building of National Philharmonic Theatre.
- 03Dolphinarium Nemo
Mainly a paradise for children, but also for adults if you are a fan of these majestic marine mammals.
- 04Museum of Partisan Glory and Catacombs
Odesa's underground is perforated with one of the biggest catacomb systems of the world.
- 05Lanzheron
- 06Otrada
Where to eat
There are lots of cafes and restaurants in Odesa, with more and more opening each year. The prices are quite affordable, if you come from the west. Expect to pay 70-100 грн for a lunch in a cafe and around 200 грн in a restaurant. Some restaurants can be of course very expensive, so take a look at the menu before ordering.
- 01Tavernetta
New Italian restaurant with delicious home made pasta on Ekaterinska street.
- 02Pivnoy Sad
Very cosy restaurant, actually a brewery, set in City Garden.
- 03Gavannaya
7, Gavannaya St,.
- 04Bunina
35, Bunina St,.
- 05Dobrovolskogo
114/1A Prospekt Dobrovolskogo Ave,.
Getting around Odesa the local way
- Get inLots of marshrutkas and taxis outside, the centre is a 2-km walk north.
- Get inSmall buses and marshrutkas head to regional destinations such as Mykolaiv, Vylkovo and Belgorod Dnestrovsky every hour or two.
- Get inHitchhiking is also an option, see page on Ukraine: getting around.
- Get inThere are ferries several times a week to Batumi and Poti in Georgia (48 hr), and to Istanbul Haydarpasa in Turkey (27 hr).
- Get inThe ferries run all year and take vehicles; indeed trucking is an important part of their business, as so many travellers nowadays fly.
- Get inThis network of ferries serves other Black Sea ports (eg Sochi, Samsun, Varna & Constanta) but usually without direct sailing to Odesa.
- Get inThe ferry terminals are at Chornomorske (formerly Illichivs'k) 20 km SW of Odesa, on the NE bank of the river.
- Get inReach them by marshrutka from central Odesa.
From Wikivoyage: Odesa, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.