For over a century, it was the most vibrant and cosmopolitan city in the Russian Empire, sheltering a hundred and fifty nationalities from all over the world: Italians and Greeks, English and French, Russians, Poles, Kazakhs and Turks, to name but a few. With the Bolshevik Revolution, its imperial glories faded, but its dynamism and wry humour remained a legend across the USSR for over seventy years. Now, the greatest trading city in a revitalised Ukraine, its former magnificence is being restored, but its traditional openness lives on. Part Russian, part Mediterranean, part Asian, part European, but always wholly itself, Odessa is like no other city on earth.

City of Style

Odessa’s style is all its own. From the neo-classical glories of the city’s Opera House to the cool elegance of the renowned Londonskaya Hotel, Odessa revels in its exuberant splendour. Even the symbol of the port – a double-headed anchor – adds sparkle to the streets in the summer light.

City of Culture

For over two hundred years, Odessa has inspired the cultural elite of two continents with its vibrant colours and wry humour. Gogol, Mendeleev, Georges Simenon and Isadora Duncan are only a few of the great artists who have lived and loved here, and the city is proud to honour them. Gogolskaya street, in the heart of the old town, boasts an architectural heritage that many capital cities would envy, while Russian comedy classic The Twelve Chairs is immortalised on the legendary Deribasovskaya pedestrian street. But above all, it is Soviet film-master Sergei Eisenstein who made the city famous. His portrayal of the 1905 mutiny on the battleship Potemkin made the long flight of steps from Old Town to harbour an international icon. These days, they are known, quite simply, as the Potemkin Steps.

City of Sunshine

But Odessa is famous for far more than this. Nestled on a south-facing ridge overlooking the Black Sea, it boasts some of the best-known beaches in the Russian-speaking world, and water which is renowned for its warmth and its relaxing properties. Every child in the Soviet Union dreamt of spending a day on the Arkadiya beach, a mile-long strip of sand backed by amusement arcades, restaurants, night-clubs and hotels. Its shady avenues and brilliant flowers are a fitting backdrop to the most relaxing location in Ukraine.

City of business

Behind the glamour, Odessa is still the business capital of the Black Sea. From traditional Ukrainian souvenirs in the City Garden – “the Montmartre of the East” – to the good-humoured music and bustle of the Privoz farmers’ market, to the towering cranes of the city’s port, commerce drives a city which never stops, night and day.

City of Contrasts

But above all, Odessa is a city of contrasts. In these shady streets, classical elegance and modern splendour combine in a unique and harmonious whole. East and West meet and mingle everywhere from building styles to the brands of tea on sale in the market. Imperial palaces restored to their full glory stand alongside weathered mansions where street theatres play in the porticoes. Everywhere, street names, inscriptions, museums and faces recall the whirl of cultures which have made this city their own: Greeks, nomads, Russians, Turks, Jews, Europeans, Asians and a hundred more. There is no way to describe Odessa: you can only experience it. Go there this autumn, and see for yourself.

AirBaltic flies to Odessa four times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets start at LVL 65 including airport fees, one way.

For more information, visit: www.airbaltic.com, www.theodessaguide.com