Attractions of Odesa

The "Starokonka" flea market in Odesa arose around the historic Starokinnyi bazaar, which was built back in 1832 for the trade of cattle and horses. It began to turn into a flea market from the mid-1930s.

Today, the Odesa flea market is spread over several blocks between Rozkydaylivska, Rizovska, Oleksandra Kutukaziya and Skisna streets. At "Starokonka" you can find antiques, household utensils, second-hand clothes, collectible coins, old books, various Soviet paraphernalia, etc.

The "Masks" theater in Odesa was opened in 2003 by the famous Odesa comedy troupe "Masks" in the premises of the former "Druzhba" cinema.

Performances of "Masks", based on the rich classical traditions of the Theater Del Arte, the Theater of the Absurd, comedians "Big Dumb", European clowning - are fireworks of fresh unbridled fantasy, embodied in the form of pantomime, choreography, drama, trick, where each actor develops his own unique image.

The theater has a "Masks" cinema, which shows the best arthouse and festival films every day. Creative parties and children's matinees take place in the art cafe "Mana-Mana Restaurant", the interior of which was created by the members of the "Masks Show" troupe.

The Transfiguration Cathedral is the main Orthodox church of Odesa, rebuilt from scratch in 2002 after it was blown up in 1936 by the decision of the Soviet authorities.

Contemporaries were impressed by the magnificence of the interior of the temple. After the reconstruction in 1903, the Transfiguration Cathedral was one of the largest churches in the Russian Empire and could accommodate up to 9,000 people. Its dimensions in plan were 90 by 45 meters, and the height of the belfry was 72 meters.

In 2005, the remains of the governor-general of the Novorossiya region Prince Mykhaylo Vorontsov and his wife were reburied in the restored church.

On the night of July 23, 2023, Russia launched a massive missile attack on the historic center of Odesa, as a result of which the Savior and Transfiguration Cathedral suffered significant destruction. A Russian rocket hit the central altar, as a result of which the cathedral building was partially destroyed, the three lower floors were covered, the interior decoration and icons were significantly damaged, and the service premises of the lower part of the cathedral were completely destroyed.

The Museum of the Ukrainian Book opened in the center of Odesa in August 2021, to mark the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence, in the premises of the Mykhaylo Hrushevsky Regional Scientific Library.

The museum was created to preserve and popularize the best examples of Ukrainian book culture and include them in the world artistic context.

The museum's exposition includes copies of the originals of the Zborivsky Peace Treaty of 1649, the Hadyatsky Treaty of 1658, the Pereyaslavsky Articles of 1659, the Hlukhivsky Articles of 1669, the Kolomatsky Articles of 1687, and others.

On August 14, 2023, the Museum of the Ukrainian Book of the Odesa Universal Scientific Library named after Mykhaylo Hrushevsky was damaged as a result of a missile attack by the Russian army.

The Ukrainian Cossacks Development History Museum in Odesa was founded in 2006 by the Interregional Public Organization "Black Sea District. Zaporizhzhian Cossacks". The institution is located in a restored building of the 19th century in the central part of the city, on Peresyp.

In three halls on an area of 120 square meters, there is a permanent exhibition, which presents about 1,000 exhibits and various dioramas.

The "Ukrainian Cossacks Heroic" hall tells about the prerequisites for the emergence of Cossacks, the creation of Zaporizhzhian Sich, the liberation movements of the XVII-XVIII centuries, the destruction of Sich and the creation of the Black Sea Cossacks, the liberation of southern Ukraine from Turkish-Tatar influence, the role of Cossacks in the First and Second World Wars. The dioramas "Assault of the Turkish frigate by the Cossacks", "Settlement on Peresyp", "Assault on the Khadzhybey fortress", "Outpost on Shkodova Hill" are presented. The decoration of the exhibition is a copy of Illya Repin's painting "Zaporizhzhians writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan" by an unknown artist.

In the "Cossack life and works of art" hall, typical Cossack clothing, crockery of the 18th-19th centuries, ancient icons, as well as the works of the sculptor Petro Kravchenko are exhibited. The "Ukrainian room of the 19th Century" hall recreates the life of Ukrainian peasants and displays everyday items, including a collection of embroidered and home-woven towels and shirts from more than a century ago.

Museum employees organize tours of Cossack sites in Odesa, as well as thematic tourist and excursion programs with master classes.

The Palace of the Governor-General of the Novorossiya Region Mykhaylo Vorontsov in Odesa was built in 1827 in the Empire style according to the project and under the direction of the architect Frants Boffo.

The interiors of the palace, designed by the outstanding sculptor and painter Karl Scotti, are the best examples of the preserved interiors of Odesa from the empire era. Prince Vorontsov arranged elegant balls here.

In Soviet times, the premises were occupied by the Palace of Children and School Youth.

The belvedere colonnade on the embankment is considered one of the symbols of Odesa. In 1994, the "Day and Night" fountain by Mykhaylo Reva was installed nearby.

In May 2022, during the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Vorontsov Palace was damaged by Russian missile fire.

The Wax Figures Museum "Baba Utya" was founded by Oleksandr Pavlovsky in 1998 in the very center of Odesa, opposite the Opera House.

This is an analogue of the London Madame Tussauds Museum. Here you can see many celebrities made of wax. The first exhibits of the museum were wax copies of Yosyp de Ribas, Duke de Rishelye, Count Oleksandr Lanzheron. Over time, the collection was replenished with other figures, the exposition is constantly updated and expanded. Currently, the museum presents more than 60 wax figures thematically arranged and exhibited in separate halls.

The museum "Baba Utya" also has a reduced copy of the most famous street in Odessa - Derybasivska, as well as an art gallery. Excursions are held, during which visitors are introduced to all the figures of the museum and told about all the subtleties and secrets of creating wax figures. You can also try creating a figure yourself using wax.

Odesa Zoo "Biopark" is another project of the owners of Nemo Dolphinarium. Located on the bypass road in the western part of Odesa, in the "Two Pillars" area.

The zoo is equipped with modern, spacious enclosures designed in accordance with the animals' natural habitat. Giraffes, Himalayan bears, Ussuri tigers, lions, chimpanzees, lemurs, gibbons, llamas, alpacas and others live in the Biopark.

The youngest visitors can interact with domestic animals in the petting zoo. There are playgrounds and animation shows for children, photo zones, public catering points.

The Zoological Museum is a structural unit of the Biology Faculty of the Odesa National University named after Ilya Mechnykov.

The museum collections of the current Zoological Museum began to form even before the official opening of the university in 1865. For more than 33 years, natural objects were collected for the natural history department of the Ryshelevsky Lyceum, on the basis of which the university was founded. The most valuable were the collections of Professor Oleksandr Nordman, a famous researcher of the fauna of the Black Sea region, who headed the museum in 1862.

The Zoological Museum is located in the building of the Biology Faculty of the university, where it occupies 3 exhibition halls with a total area of ​​1000 square meters. The museum fund consists of 56 thousand storage units, of which 7.5 thousand exhibits are presented in the exposition.