1. Assol – Situated in the upscale Arcadia beach area and housed on an old wooden warship inside the local yacht club, the Assol provides not only a touch of class, but a breathtaking view to complement every bite.  The restaurant is lit by candle light from stern to aft, serving dually as both a romantic and recreational dining experience.  The menu features a mouthwatering sampling of traditional Ukrainian cuisine, while the diverse beverage list includes pirate rum, fresh from the ships basement.
2. Vasilisa – This exquisite restaurant boasts a particularly Russian feel, preserving the culture that the Ukraine, Odessa in particular, was heavily influenced by a long period of Soviet control.  Draped in authentic Russian decorum, the menu matches the aesthetic styling, offering a variety of Russia’s favorite recipes.  From fowl to beef to fish, the Vasilisa offers a full selection bound to satisfy any pallet.  To wash it down, try a sampling of traditional Russian vodka.  Other beverages, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic are also available to quench your thirst.
3. Kumanet’s – This quaint, old timey Ukranian jaunt boasts one of the best locations in all of Odessa, just a block away from centrally located Deribasovskaya St. Kumanet’s provides a more casual dining experience for visitors looking to gauge an authentic eating experience.  From shashliks to varenikies, local favorites all find a home on the menu.  The Kumanet also offers an array of beverage choices including Kvas, an alcoholic drink native to the Ukraine.  The convenient location can sometimes lead to a sizeable wait, but most satisfied customers agree it’s worth it.

Serving as a formal entrance into the city of Odessa from the from the Black Sea, the stairs scale 27 meters high, extending for 142 meters.  To the human eye, the stairs actually appear vary in appearance.  In their innovative planning, the Potemkin Stairs were designed to create an optical illusion.  From the stairs bottom the large flat landings are not visible, giving off the impression of a steady rise of uninterrupted stairs.  From the top down, onlookers can only see a series of landings, as the stairs disappear into the structure.  The top step measures at 12.5 meters wide, while the bottom step spans 21.7 meters.  From the top this creates the impression the stairs are shorter than in reality, while from the bottom they seem to continue upward much longer than they actually do.

The Potemkin Stairs first graced the public eye in Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein’s epic silent film, The Battleship Potemkin, showing soldiers open fire on a crowd at the stairs on June 14, 1905.  The massacre portrayed on the silver screen is actually a fictionalized version of history.  Eisenstein chose to recreate the city’s true account of a more sprawling outbreak of violence and consolidate it on the Potemkin Stairs as a symbolic representation of Odessa’s suffering.  So famous is the scene in movie history, many historians mistakenly cite the massacre on the Potemkin Stairs as a true historic event, oblivious to the creative liberty Eisenstein took when depicting the actual bloodshed.

Once stone mining was banned and the mines were shut down after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the catacombs still continued to play a large part in Odessa’s cultural heritage.  During World War II the catacombs served as hiding places for resistance groups struggling against fascist invasion at the hands of the Axis powers.  Ukraine’s western proximity to the European mainland forced the country into an unfortunate position serving as a buffer zone between clashing Nazi and Soviet forces.  With Odessa representing one of the country’s most developed and valuable areas, it soon became a focal point of the power struggle.  The miles upon miles of hidden pathway provided by the city’s catacombs allowed for undetected mobility and unmonitored coordination as Soviet partisans waged a guerilla war against German occupation.

The heroic efforts of resistance groups have been canonized in “The Museum of Partisan Glory,” just outside of Odessa’s border in the town of Nerubayskoye.  The museum represents the only officially sanctioned public access to the area’s catacombs.  While only a small portion of Odessa’s extensive labyrinth of tunnels has been opened to the general public, hundreds of adventurers and thrill seekers still roam the underground despite the inherent risks and dangers.  Odessa’s catacombs have not been fully mapped and many stretches have fallen into disrepair, now far too dangerous for the average traveler’s passage.  Though most extreme tourists may indeed survive to marvel at the complex subterranean structure, it is highly recommended that casual visitors stick to the safe and sanctioned portion of the historic catacombs.

1. Arcadia Beach – About a 15 minute ride from the city’s center, Arcadia is not only the largest beach in the Odessa area but also the most frequented.  From the beaches main entrance stretches a long boulevard, home to numerous cafes and restaurants allowing beach goers to make a full day trip, staying for lunch and dinner.  After dinner, a wide variety of nightclubs and hotspots run along the strip, making it particularly popular with the younger single crowd.  If you’re looking for the most happening beach in the Odessa area, Arcadia is your best bet.
2. Otrada Beach – Otrada Beach is most well known for its signature cable cars that take patrons directly down to water level.  Not only convenient, the cable cars also offer picturesque views of the beautiful Ukranian coast.  Otrada Beach is actually made up of a series of small beaches, each equipped with showers, kids’ play areas, bars, changing areas, etc.  While it certainly has something for everyone, Otrada caters particularly well to full families of travelers.
3. Lanzeron Beach – Perhaps Lanzeron Beach’s most appealing aspect is its central location, only about a 15 minute walk from Deribasovskaya St., the Broadway of Odessa.  Nestled up to Schevchenko Park, Lanzeron gives visitors the choice between an ocean front view and scenic greenery depending on where they set up shop.  Waterslides, jet ski rentals and other aquatic activities are commonplace along the beach, making Lanzeron a fun destination for more active beach enthusiasts.