The streets of Odesa are a portfolio of prime architecture. The project according to which the city was built is considered to be a bright example of classicist town-planning.  
The parade fa?ade of Odesa is Prymorsky Boulevard – the favourite place of appointments and dates in Odesa. Shadowy platans provide the Boulevard with a special charm. Perhaps, this is the reason why these giants are so precious to the heart of every inhabitant of the city. People say that during the period of Gorbachev’s “perestroika” city authorities made the decision to re-plan the Boulevard and to cut down the old platans. But Odesites saved the trees by circling them with a live ring.  
It is impossible to get acquainted with Odesa in any way without seeing the splendid architectural ensembles of its antique streets Pushkinska, Lanzheronivska, Gogol, French Boulevard as well as the Theatre Square. Palaces that once belonged to former Odesa dwellers – the Princes Gagariny, Count Pototsky, the landowner Abazi – will tell you in detail about the life of the Russian nobility in the early 19th century.  The city’s unique aura is created by the St. Elias Cathedral and St. Panteleimon’s Church as well as the antique Assumption Monastery.
You would miss the chance to see real Odesa, if you don’t pay a visit to the famous Privoz Market, highly praised in city folklore, due to its local character combined with a reputation of being one of the biggest markets in Europe. As Odesites say, “there you can buy everything that exists in nature and even a little more…”

The Potemkin Stairway

Prymorsky Boulevard will lead you to the giant Potemkin Stairway. Their cascade composition reminds of breaking tides and consists of 10 landings and 192 steps. From the top of it, a grandiose panoramic view opens on the bay and Sea Port. However, from this point you won’t be able to see the steps themselves: a unique architectural decision makes them optically invisible.
Recently, Odesa was visited by Silvester Stallone’s mother Jacqueline who wanted to see her former motherland in order to make sure that the Potemkin Stairway is in proper order. Because here, she is planning to shoot a remake of the legendary film by Sergey Eisenstein “The Battleship Potemkin”. A long time ago, the film became a world cinema classic and gained glory as the first “coloured” film in history. However, there was only one element in the film that was coloured – the red revolutionary flag. The film director coloured it himself with the special paint.
Apart from being a movie stage, the Potemkin Stairway becomes a stage of democracy in Ukraine more and more often.  The people’s favourites, popular actors as well as comic writers perform here. Also quite often, the famous sight becomes a spot for conducting defiles. And in the evening, the sky over the Stairway is lit by bright fireworks. 

The duke de Richelieu Monument

The monument to the French duke de Richelieu is a symbol by which anyone is able to recognize Odesa at once. In the heart of every Odesite, the Bronze Duke (the way people gently call it) occupies a special place. As the founder and first mayor of Odesa, the French citizen Armand Richelieu promoted the young city to European city standards. At that time, all of Europe was discussing the economic and cultural achievements of the city at the Black Sea coast. When, in 1815, Richelieu obtained the position of Prime Minister of France, all of Odesa saw him off, as he journeyed to his motherland.  And then, the Odesa press wrote that eventually France was lucky with its ruler.

The zest of Deribasivska Street

Deribasivska Street is the heart of Odesa and leads to the Municipal Gardens, ideal for promenades on warm Southern evenings. The street bears the name of the first constructor of Odesa – the Spaniard Joseph (Jose) de Ribas. Thus, the first thing you are going to see in this street is a monument in his honour. The statue depicts De Ribas in his admiral uniform with a spade, in one hand, and a plan of Odesa, in the other. Some might be shocked at seeing a spade in the admiral’s hand. But this is the way Odesites with their inherent wittiness pay respect to their city’s “founding fathers”.
In the summer, Deribasivska Street is covered with a vast assortment of cosy cafes where one can have a rest after a stroll around the city. You can sit on a bench close to the famous Odesa jazzman of the last century 30-s Leonid Utesov, who was the founder of the first jazz-band in the USSR. The monument to him cast from bronze can easily be confused with an average middle-aged Odesite who serenely enjoys the picturesque views of his native city.