Odesa Oblast · Ukraine
Odesa travel guide
Odesa is a city in Odesa Oblast, Ukraine, home to about 1,011,000 people.
- Best months
- May to September
- Nearest airport
- RMO146 km · Chişinău International Airport
- Currency
- UAHhryvnia
- Time zone
- Europe/Simferopol
- Language
- Ukrainian
About
About 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.
"Odesa" is the spelling preferred by Ukrainians. The Russian spelling, "Odessa", is no longer commonly used in English. There has been human settlement here since the earliest times; remains of a Hellenistic seaport circa 6th – 3rd century BCE are being excavated. In medieval times Crimea was an independent Tatar state, and in 1240 its Khan Hacı I Giray founded the settlement of "Hacıbey". This region later came under Lithuanian control, then was part of the Ottoman Empire between 1529 and 1792.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Odesa
See
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 Pryvoz market (next to the bus station) and the Panteleymonivska monastery (just head for the huddle of onion domes). Spare a look for the railway station even if you’re not travelling by rail. There are eating places and decent accommodation nearby, handy for late-night arrivals or early departures.
- Pryvoz market
- Tyoschin Bridge
- Vorontsov Palace
- statue of the Duc de Richelieu
- St. Paul’s Lutheran Cathedral
- Central Synagogue
- Odesa Orthodox Cathedral
- Alexander Pushkin museum
- Archaeological Museum
- Bleschunov Collection
- Filiki Etheria
- Museum of Western and Eastern Art
Do
- Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater
- Odesa Philharmonic
- Dolphinarium Nemo
- Museum of Partisan Glory and Catacombs
- Lanzheron
- Otrada
- Dolphin
- Chkalovski
- Malibu
- Arcadia
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Odesa to stay in
Accommodation is plentiful in Odesa and ranges from renting a small room from a local resident to registered hostels, to the more expensive hotels. But "expensive" is a relative term - with online booking and avoiding peak periods, you can enjoy top accommodation here for less than you'd pay for a chain hotel in the English Midlands. If you enter by train you will be immediately approached by one of the many locals in an attempt to get you to rent a room from them. This may end up being a small not so well constructed (but basically clean) one-room structure located in their garden.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Odesa
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Odesa are May to September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 28 °C; June is the wettest, with about 42 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Odesa: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Chişinău International Airport (RMO), about 146 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting in
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 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). Trains within Ukraine are cheap and comfortable, but slow and infrequent. From Kyiv to Odesa the quickest is the Inter-city, leaving at 16:40 and taking 7 hr, cost 550 грн.
Getting around
The north end of the central city grid is compact and parts are pedestrianised, so enjoy it on foot. Most of the main sights are here. It's too far to walk from the centre to the beach or airport, or to the bus and railway stations if you've much luggage. The city public transport consists of trams, trolleybuses and marshrutkas. Usually there's a conductor on board who'll collect your money and issue your ticket & change; there's no system of pre-purchase or of validating the ticket, unlike Kyiv. If there's no conductor, pay the driver on exit.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
RMO · Chişinău International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Odesa
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. In the warmer times of the year you can find lots of outdoor sitting areas in the cafes, with blankets usually available to keep you warm in the evening. The 'fast food' on the street is tasty and if you don't speak Russian or read Cyrillic is much more accessible as you can just point at what it is you want.
Drink
The beer served in the south of Ukraine is outstanding and goes excellently with the hearty food. A beer in a restaurant will usually cost around 80-120 грн for local beers and 160-240 грн for imported brands. There are several breweries in the area nearby Odesa, but they are usually not very popular in the restaurants. However, there is a small restaurant-brewery right in the "City Garden" near Deribasovskya, their beer is rather good and they have an English menu. Just look for a sign that says Hausbrauerei (German for Home Brewery) and tell them you just want to have a drink at the bar unless you want to have dinner there of course.
Stay safe
Apart from being known as a touristic city near the seaside, Odesa is also known as a city that was home to a school of pickpockets. Neverthless, there are still 'szahrayka' (groups of criminals) at work. They work in groups of two or more, mostly standing close together in crowded places (tram 5 is quite a popular place). Usually, one of them distracts the victim while the other ones steal his/her valuables. Stay alert, don't get confused and hold your wallet, phone and passport tightly. If you have lost anything, report and restrict everything that has been stolen as fast as possible. If this is ID and bank cards, you need to lock a card first and then restrict ID with your banks.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Odesa: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Odesa?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Odesa are May to September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 28 °C; June is the wettest, with about 42 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Odesa?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Chişinău International Airport (RMO), about 146 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Odesa?
hryvnia (UAH).
Nearby
Destinations near Odesa
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.