Odessa guide | Nikolaev guide

Odessa is a comparatively young city situated in Eastern Europe on the Black Sea coast. It was founded in 1794 by Catherine the Great for the purpose of creating a great port of Russian Empire on the Black Sea. Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, and Greeks predominate in Odessa's population, which is about 1.1 million.

Odessa is the capital of Odessa region and the third largest city in Ukraine after Kiev and Kharkov. It is the biggest and the leading port of Ukraine on the Black sea cost. Moreover Odessa has two satellite towns of Ilyichevsk and Yuzhniy, which are also very important ports of Odessa region.

Odessa is located on one of the shortest and most convenient waterways leading from Northern and Central Europe to the Middle East and Asia through the Rhine and Danube river and canal system. The advantageous geographical location of the city of Odessa determines its high transit potential.

Odessa is a major industrial and trade center of Ukraine. The main industries of the city are: shipbuilding, oil refining, chemical manufacture, machine tool manufacturing, metal working, food processing and textile industries. The city’s trade is highly developed in grain, sugar, machinery, metals, coal, petroleum products, timber, cement and jute.

Odessa is also a big cultural, scientific and resort center, the second most popular city for tourism in Ukraine. Every year the city attracts about 2 million visitors from all over the world. Here a visitor can find plenty of attractions: sites to see, theatres, museums, restaurants, disco clubs, hotels, casinos etc.

The climate in Odessa is moderately continental and comparatively dry, the weather is correspondingly mild and dry with average temperatures in summer of 22 degrees Celsius and in winter of around freezing point.

The Ukraine’s currency is the “hryvna” (UAH), which is rather stable and is tied to the dollar. There are no problems with currency exchange in Odessa, special exchange booths can be found all over the city. Odessa banks operate with the following credit cards: Visa, MasterCard and EuroCard.

Odessa has got regular international flights, large rail and road networks. Visitors from the European Union and the United State can travel visa-free to Ukraine, if their stay does not exceed 90 days.