Walking tour around Odessa city center

All the main places of interest of Odessa are concentrated in city center, and we shall begin the way with the Greek area. After full reconstruction in 2005, it became more beautiful and cozy. There are 2 fountains, many shops. Shopping center "Athena" is the largest shopping center in Odessa Ukraine is located on Greek Square. Here it is possible not only to be passed on varied boutiques, but also it is very tasty and cheaply to have a bite in a restaurant complex.

Than we walk from the Greek Square to Preobrazhenskaya Street – Sobornaya Square to see the largest orthodox temple of Odessa — the Spaso-Preobrazhenskiy Cathedral. Built in 1794 the cathedral was destroyed in 1936. Restoration of the Cathedral began in 1996 when excavations were made and the escaped basement of a temple was detected. Construction of the Cathedral was paid by charitable organization — the Black Sea Orthodox Fund. Money was collected extremely from donations physical and the legal entities, city dwellers of Odessa, as well as the foreigners who visited city. Now the Spaso-Preobrazhenskiy Cathedral is one of the most beautiful places of Odessa.

Close to Cathedral the souvenir market of Odessa is. Here Odessa artists showing the works. The prices rather low if to consider, that many products of manual work on the single copy, and the some people deserve a rank of a masterpiece. Do not pass this market if you wish to get original Odessa souvenir. But even if you buy nothing, the sensation remains as after visiting a small museum in the open.

Than we’ll move from Sobornaya Square to Deribasovskaya Street (along Preobrazhenskaya Street). Deribasovskaya Street is the heart of Odessa, the major street of the city.

Deribasovskaya Street is named so in honor of the first town governor of Odessa Joseph De Ribas, who developed the plan of creation of Odessa city and participated in its construction.
The street small at length, and at width, has no descent to the sea, but nevertheless, there is in it something especial. Probably, because calm is felt on it, carelessness, a house cosines, fine architecture, absence of cars, multiple cozy cafés and shady lindens.

In the end of street Deribasovskaja Street we get in City Park, it is a city garden. It is after restoration (on May, 9th, 2007 has ended). And the park became even better, cozy and more beautiful. And the fountain of the park is the next place of interest of city – in the evening from 21 o'clock till 23.30 o'clock it becomes blinking and musical.

Well and certainly, there were on the seats monuments-symbols of Odessa: statues of a lion and a lioness, a monument to 12-th chair from same story Ilf and Petrov, a monument to the actor and the writer, Leonid Utesov, who was born in Odessa.

We go up to end of Deribasovskaja Street and than move to Lanzheronovskaya The next masterpiece of architecture – the Odessa opera theatre is located on Lanzheronovskaya Street – Rishelyevskaya Street. The building of Odessa Opera House is executed in style of Viennese "baroque". The facade of theatre is decorated with various sculptures of heroes of the Greek mythology, and on a pediment busts of ingenious creators of the Russian literature and art are established: Pushkin, Glinka, Griboedov, Gogol.

Having admired beauty and greatness of opera theatre, we continue the way to the City hall area, on which the building of city council is located. Near to it, it is possible to see a monument with interesting history – a monument to an orange, which rescued Odessa city. And it not a joke. The sculptural composition represents a fatal instant in a life of Odessa when emperor Paul has suspended financing construction of city. Than Odessa businessmen presented emperor Paul a gift - an unknown gift for that time — four thousand the best Greek oranges. The gift has so liked Paul liked the gift and allocated money, and construction of Odessa city was proceeded.

From the City Hall area along the sea is one more wonderful site – Primorskiy Boulevard. Here it is possible to be hours, admiring a type on seaport with courts, steam-ships and yachts, enjoying a cool shadow and a tender marine breeze. Primorskiy Boulevard leads us to directly founder of Odessa and a symbol of city – to monument De Richelieu.

From monument De Richelieu the most beautiful site opens: on Potyomkin Steps and Odessa seaport. Potyomkin stairs impress with the sizes – 192 steps, length of 142 meters, height of 24 meters. And if to look at a stairs in its bottom due to prospect it looks more majestically. Illusion.

Up to the end of Primorksiy Boulevard is Vrontsov Palace, one more architectural masterpiece of Odessa. The palace is interesting to that is constructed in various architectural styles, thus in total makes impression of ease and grace.

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