Excursions in Odessa

You can stay in Odessa for many days — but in order to discover Odessa we recommend you book an individual excursion by private car with professional English speaking guide. You can have a look the list of excursions on our web page and send us the enquiry in advance. If you are only planning to spend a few days in Odessa we recommend you to go for Odessa city tour (3hours) on arrival. You could also have big Odessa city tour (5 hours city tour and Jewish Odessa, city tour and Odessa churches, city tour and catacombs etc.). We offer very interesting whole day trips to Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy fortress, to Ukrainian Venice — Vilkovo etc. Also we arrange group excursions — but only in summer season.

Odessa city tour is the most interesting excursion, if you are in Odessa you should try to see all of Odessa’s attractions. The city tour is a great offer because you will see most tourist sights during only one excursion. The city tour can last 3 or 5 hours.

Founded in 1794 by Katherine the Great, having a rich history Odessa has become one of the biggest and wealthiest cities of our country. Neither bureaucrats, nor wars, not even the Soviet regime, could violate a special spirit of our wonderful city. Odessa has well developed business (trade, tourism etc) and entertainment infrastructure and is interesting for travel and business alike.

You will see main tourist attractions such as Primorskiy Boulevard with blossom chest-nut trees (May) and massive Potemkin steps (well known due to Sergei Eisensteins film, Battleship Potemkin)with funicular, Black sea Arcadia beach area with it’s nights clubs, restaurants, cafes, Shevchenko park with medieval fortress, Frantzuzkiy boulevard, beautiful streets like Ekaterininskaya, Pushkinskaya, Rishelievskaya, Lanzheronovskaya, famous Deribasovskaya str. The tour also includes numerous architectural masterpieces built by European architects such as Opera House, Archeological museum, Shakh Palace and many other places.

You could have a walking tour, or a tour by car. Tours do not include visits to museums.. Unfortunately the Odessa Opera House is still under reconstruction. Tours can be organised in different languages, please send us an enquiry and w will find you the guide who speaks the language requested.

Excursions – 15$ per hour for English speaking guide, 10$ per hour for standard car.

Jewish Odessa.

Odessa has been a Jewish cultural center since it’s foundation. The Jewish community is one of the biggest in Ukraine. Many prominent Jews came from our city: Sholom Aleichem, Hayyim Nahman Bialik, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Nathan Milstein, Mischa Elman, David Oistrakh, Osip Rabinovich, Mendele Moiher Sforim, Semyon Grigorevich Frug, Semyon Yushkevich, Itzhak Babel, Vladimir Jabotinsky, Meir Dizengoff, Ahad Ha'Am, Leon Pinsker etc.

You will see the places in Odessa that have historical significance to Jewish heritage, find out about the history of the Odessa Jewish community and get acquainted with the culture: The Central Synagogue, Brodsky Synagogue, the Holocaust memorial, Stolyarsky Music School, Jewish school and Jewish Community Center, Museum of Odessa’s Jews History.

If you have special enquiries, would like to visit specific places or if you would like to go to Nikolayev to have excursion of Jewish Nikolayev we can help you arrange this.

Catacombs

Old Odessa stands on sandstone catacombs, which form the longest - about 2000 km – hand-made labyrinth in Europe. They appeared as a result of >shell rockstone output needed as a building material for the buildings in the 19th century. The catacombs have been used by robbers, pirates and partizants. The Museum of Partisan Glory was established in 1960s. It is situated in Nerubayskoóe village, where the exposition narrates about heroic defense of Odessa city during the Second World War. A few exhibits go back to Odessa foundation times. Excursion starts in Odessa center, where you will see one of the tanks which was manufactured from tractors by one of Odessa plants during the War. Then you will reach the Nerubayskoye village, originally built as the Cossacks' military settlement in the south of the country at the end of the 18th Century. The labyrinth is the most exiting sight, the temperature inside it is at a constant +10C⁰. Please be sure to you bring warm clothes for 1 hour walk through the labyrinth in this temperature. This tour is not recommended if you are uncomfortable in closed/restricted spaces.

The 13th Century Medieval Fortress in Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy send enquiry

You are unlikely to find another city in our country, which was renamed as many times as Belgorod –Dnestrovskiy during its history. Almost all it’s names contained the word “white”. This city was made of white stone. Its medieval fortress was made from the same stone. Before entering its territory, we will tell you about the still ongoing dispute between the historians about by whom and when this unique construction was elevated.

Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy is one of the oldest cities in Europe being about 2500 years old. Nowadays this small town has a lot of places worth visiting: a huge medieval fortress, a 13th century Armenian church, a 16th century Greek church with a holy spring, the Greek cathedral, possessing a fine collection of old Greek icons and a museum.

Temples of Odessa

Odessa is the city of various religions and a multinational city: The Greeks, the French, the Polish, the Italians, the Jews, the Russians, the Germans, the Ukrainians, the Turks and many others - all these people have lived in Odessa and in the nearby areas since the very beginning of the history of this city. So nowadays, there are Russian Orthodox, Catholic, Greek, and Armenian churches, as well as a mosque and two synagogues, few monasteries, a Convent and a Monastery with a theological school where about 700 theologians are currently studying.

You can visit many of these churches during this interesting excursion.