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Things to do, Odessa
Author: Anothertravelguide.com
- ODESSA HAS AN EQUIVALENT OF THE EIFFEL TOWER - THE POTEMKIN STAIRS. The steps were built in 1837 as Prince Vorontsov's gift to his wife Yelizaveta (to replace a lane that used to lead to the beach) and cost 800,000 roubles at the time. The stairs comprise 192 steps (200 originally - the missing ones are now buried under the Primorskoye Motorway); it is 142-metre long and 24-metre tall; the width of the steps at the bottom is 21.7 metres, at the top - 12.5 metres. Thanks to the ingenious optical illusion created in this manner, the stairs seem exactly the same in the whole of their length. The perfect vantage point, however, is at the bottom - from the side of the sea: it makes the perspective particularly magnificent; besides, the stairs appear as an uninterrupted whole. In reality, however, the steps are divided into groups of twenty for more convenient walking; each separate flight of steps comes with a little landing for rest (in all, there are ten of them). While the grand stairs were definitely a striking landmark of their day, world fame came to the structure after being featured in Sergei Eisenstein's immortal Battleship Potemkin in 1925. As likely as not, even those who may have missed the classic film would probably remember having seen the legendary footage - one of the most bloodcurdling and heartbreaking episodes in the history of cinema - of a pram with a baby inside hurtling down the stairs towards nowhere. The stairs were at first known as the Richelieu Steps only to be given the name of Boulevard Steps later and officially end up as the Potemkin Stairs in 1955. Like most objects in Odessa, they were originally built of sandstone; in 1933, due to a dangerous level of erosion, the steps were replaced with granite ones.
- ONE OF THE BEST PANORAMIC VIEWS OF ODESSA opens up from the Mother in Law's Bridge (Tyoshchin Bridge), especially walking from the side of Gogol Street. Located at the very bridge, there is a small, curiously romantic square called The Corner of Old Odessa. It is rich in relicts from the city past, like a lovely wooden bridge with beautiful openwork lattice and a sculpture of a grieving woman, which could have served as a gravestone as well. Sited there summer café is a favorite stopping point both for tourists and newlyweds. The Mother in Law's Bridge reaches across the Voyenny Descent connecting both sides of Primorsky Boulevard, and like many spots of this city, has a story of its own. Being built in the 60s of the last century, it appears to have been a whim of the City Mayor of that time. A trouble was that the head of the city lived on one side of the ravine while his mother-in-law - on the other, and climbing the stairs up and down was burdensome for the party official. Time has proven, however, that it wasn't such a bad idea - the bridge has become one of the numerous symbols of the city. Countless padlocks are fastened all along the both sides of its metal railing. Different in size and extent of rustiness, they have been attached by couples on their wedding day, and are believed to secure their union. The bridge slightly sways in the wind, adding to a peculiar sensation that surrounds it. The Marine Terminal with looming cranes is on one side, while the other end leans towards the splendid white colonnade of Vorontsov's Palace - another symbol of Odessa's amorous couples, as featured in urban graffiti of the city.
- PUSHKINSKAYA (Pushkin Street) IS ONE OF ODESSA'S MOST ARISTOCRATIC STREETS; in the 1820s it was known as Italianskaya (Italian) Street. As the name suggests, it was mostly populated by Italians - to quote Pushkin's Eugene Onegin: „The Italian tongue rings golden on the happy street." At the time, impressive numbers of Italians immigrated to Russia to open restaurants or sing opera. Odessa also could afford the luxury of inviting over Italian teams of pavers - considered the best in the world. They must have done their job perfectly: in spite of the merciless passage of time, the pavement of Pushkinskaya Street is still faultless - glossy and smooth, unlike the hole-ridden Soviet-era sidewalks. Even street names are said to have been written in two languages at the time - Russian and Italian. During World War II, Odessa fared better than most other cities; most of the gems of the historical architecture in Pushkinskaya have also remained intact. One of the greatest treasures of the street is housed at No. 9: the Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art. Admittedly, the once-beautiful 1856 building is currently in a miserable state, begging to be restored. Don't miss the equally magnificent building of the Porto-Franco Bank, built in 1903. Lined by hundred-year old trees, the street itself looks more like a boulevard.
Odessa Pushkin Museum is located in the yard of No. 13. The great Russian poet spent 13 months of his southern exile in Odessa where he wrote two thirds of his Eugene Onegin novel in verse. Among other places, he stayed at the Nord Hotel, since the 1960s - home to a museum dedicated to his life. The original building was actually destroyed by a World War II bomb and later rebuilt. The entrance to the yard features a bronze monument to the poet, almost always attracting people keen to have their pictures taken; a number of Odessa guides suggest shaking the bronze figure's hand. According to yet another of the famous Odessa myths, the „life-size" statue is about 40 cm shorter than the poet's actual height. Next door to the Pushkin Museum look for an architectural wedding cake of a building lavished with baroque and rococo embellishments - the former Bristol Hotel currently bearing the name of Krasnaya. The top floors have already recovered their previous splendour, the ground one still undergoing some serious renovation. The 1899 building used to be one of the most legendary hotels in Odessa; in the 1960s - 1980s the hotel bar was the favourite hangout of the local bohemians. According to a guidebook, authentic espresso was served here in the tiniest of cups, unthinkable in other Soviet-era cities; it is said that, sitting at a window-side table with a view of the street, you could have felt like in Paris and come to the conclusion that life was worth living in Odessa.
At the intersection of Pushkinskaya and Zhukova Streets, see the former building of the Brodsky Synagogue at No. 18 - surrounded by a small fence, somewhat eerie and fearful. It is said to have been the first synagogue building ever returned to the Jewish community in the Soviet Union, before that - the first Jewish temple in the territory of the Russian Empire to feature an organ. Today the building houses the State Archive; with its huge cracked window panes, it does quite literally remind of a scary depositary of terrifying secrets - best avoided after midnight. Who knows what monsters come alive in its depths at night... An equally bizarre building is No. 15 at the intersection of Pushkinskaya and Bunina Streets: at first glance, it is reminiscent of an extravagant Doge Palazzo mysteriously transferred from Venice to Odessa. In any case, the one thing it does not look like is its current incarnation - a philharmonic concert hall. Originally built to accommodate the needs of the stock exchange, the pseudo-Venetian gothic-style building was handed over to the Odessa Philharmonic Theatre only in the Soviet era. Another Odessa myth has it that the building was designed to feature a special acoustic effect: no private conversation between two people can be overheard by a third party standing nearby - to keep commercial secrets from unwelcome attention.
If you are still not exhausted by now, it is well worth the while to look up the intersection of Pushkinskaya and Richelieu Streets; No. 49 is home to the Centre for Arabic Culture. The emerald dome, white walls and characteristic elements of Arabic style make it a real architectural gem of the neighbourhood.
- According to travel guides, the big city life in Odessa mingles easily with that of countryside - one flows along the façades, while the other hides in backyards. ODESSA'S COURTYARDS TO DESERVE A SPECIAL ATTENTION, both the legendary ones and the ones blundered into just for curiosity. Most of them have some typical traits - a bench, some laundry hanging on a line, numerous steps, and stairs and porches that lead into houses. There is a water tap and weatherworn mail-boxes, attached to graffiti covered walls, and some big trees here and there. Perhaps you'll meet a mangy cat, and in most cases one courtyard leads into another. Just give way to your curiosity, and a colorful adventure will begin. Not for nothing the city travel agencies offer a courtyard tour in the length of 1.5 km that takes about 2 hours. It comprises 6 most legendary courtyards - that of the Pushkin Apartment-Museum, the Scientists House, Richelieu Lyceum, Odessa's Philharmonic, the Literature Museum and the famous Pale-Royal courtyard. The latter one, sited right behind the Opera House, is almost the size of a square and feels like a green oasis in the very heart of the city. Centenarian plane-trees cast their shadows, and a fountain splashes in the very middle, surrounded by some tables of an adjacent café Salieri. Street noises hardly penetrate in there, and except the 21st century outfits of people, the place seems much the same as it could have been a couple of centuries ago. A white sculpture of two lovers, carved in marble, stands at one side of the square and their kiss lasts for more than hundred years already. Young couples linger on nearby benches here and there, following their example.
None the less charming is a courtyard at Deribasovskaya Street 3. Aside from already accustomed features, like laundry blowing in the wind, this one boasts a bust of Ludwig Zamenhof, the inventor of the international Esperanto language. Yet unlike Pushkin, the renowned Polish oculist has never treaded these stones. The story goes that once a sculptor and a great admirer of Esperanto had lived there, and he carved the sculpture. Now it has become pride of people who live there, and attracts some freaks and inquisitive tourists, who come to see it.
- Any local will call you crazy to even consider walking from Lanzheron, the most popular beach in the city, to the Arcadia resort, famous for its nightlife: after all, there are fixed-route taxis! Nevertheless, don't forget the good old rule: to stay in good health, you should walk at least seven kilometres a day. Besides, if you would really like to immerse yourself into the atmosphere of a slightly different Odessa, the FIVE TO SIX-KILOMETRE WALK, KNOWN AS THE HEALTH TRACK AMONG ODESSITES, is your chance of doing exactly that. The perfect time is a warm summer afternoon, ideally - a weekend afternoon. The Lanzheron Beach itself is nothing to write home about: littered and, by the evening, jam-packed with merry companies of sun worshippers - and, of course, the inevitable love birds: lying in the sand under the cover of a checked throw, they seem to have forgotten they are not all alone in the world. A few steps further, boys are catching gobies from the pier; goby must be the most popular fish in Odessa, served at most restaurants. Most of the time, however, the Health Track is taking you through a coastal dune forest. The trail is paved and sufficiently wide to accommodate pedestrians and bikers at the same time. Every now and then you stumble upon an interesting classified ad on the tarmac regarding, say, someone hiring a nanny or a car company offering great sales - just so you would not get bored. The seeming silence, interrupted once in a while by birdsongs, is deceptive. A step off the main lane is enough to find out with some surprise that the shrubbery is populated as densely as the street: on Saturdays and Sundays, most hillsides and meadows are jam-packed with picnickers, inevitably armed with a barbecue rack and countless bottles of beer and vodka. The Health Track also provides an answer to the question as to why most men in Odessa boast such a beefy Mafioso-style build - at least they try to keep the myth alive by showing off at the numerous roadside sports grounds equipped with pull-up bars. Should your own willpower or physical strength falter by the third kilometre, it helps to take a look at the feet and legs of the girls walking in the opposite direction: most are wearing high-heeled sandals with ribbons or shoestrings as well as mini skirts or at least tight trousers, as befits women in the city of love dotted with yellow posters: "Feel like hiding away? We offer a comfortable two-hour accommodation for UAH 75". As for Arcadia, it will probably appeal only to enthusiasts of wild nightlife. Glittering with tiny lights, it is reminiscent of a slightly vulgar-looking heavily made-up permed blonde whose shiniest piece of jewellery is Ibiza, the most popular club in the city. Nocturnal revelries go on well into the wee hours. If you happen to be told by someone that in the early 1800s the district was populated by aristocracy and frequently visited by Pushkin - forget it. Times have changed.
- Funny thing, though - no matter what is the destination of your route, you are likely to end up in DERIBASOVSKAYA STREET - the heart of the city, its main promenade. Bars, cafes, a wiener stall - sometimes it almost seems as if the life of the whole city were concentrated in a single street. In early summer, the air is filled with the sweet fragrance of lime-blossoms; the lime-trees have replaced most of the legendary Odessa acacias, the symbol of the city: in the 1960s, a big shot from the local political elite ordered them destroyed.
One one side, Deribasovskaya is flanked by a park featuring a lone chair (a reference to the incredibly popular Twelve Chairs novel by Ilf and Petrov; a few steps away - the square named after its protagonist Ostap Bender and the bronze bench with the seated figure of one of the most legendary of its denizens, the actor and singer Leonid Utyosov; tourists and Odessites alike love to have their pictures taken by his side. Don't miss the 19th-century shopping gallery on the other side of the street - an opulent building with a glass roof, adorned with baroque-style sculptures like a cream cake. A nasty crack seems to have slashed one of its walls into two; the decorative portals appear to be dangerously crumbling - they look as if they could fall apart any moment now. The ground-floor shops are selling literally everything but the kitchen sink; the kitschy gaudiness is contrasting sharply with the pompous magnificence of history. There are moments when Odessa seems reminiscent of the unmade-up face of a woman who has been around the block a few times; at other times, the city is a spruced-up young girl wearing high heel sandals: all giggly and exciting, she is rushing to a rendezvous in this city where lovebirds outnumber pigeons. Both are genuine!
Keywords: things to do, things, Odessa
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Exciting Things To Do in Odessa - Golf, Fishing, Theatres, Boating, Shopping, Odessa TX Recreation & More! One of intersting thing can be done that is Hit the beach, During Odessa's long and hot summers, businesses close early and everyone decamps to one of the many party beaches, or some of the more secluded coves further along the Black Sea coast. Arcadia beach is the most developed and many beach bars have their own private compound. The big nightclubs in this area open at dusk and close at dawn. http://www.cruise360.net
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