This vivacious seaport on the Black Sea coast frolics in the good life round the clock. The extraordinary aura of Odessa is able to reveal talent, return the brilliance to ones eyes and a smile to ones lips. During the 200-year plus history of the city a lot of people have had a chance to check make this city their own. Eminent poets Alexander Pushkin, Allen Bosque, Lesya Ukrainka as well as the well-known painters Mykola Rerykh, Vasyl Kandinsky and famous doctor Pirogov and chemist Mendeleev - here is only a minor part of lucky people who happened to visit Odessa. And they were also the ones who fell in love with the city for the rest of their lives.

Odessa was founded in 1794 as a seaport that provided protection and guard of the southern borders of the Russian Empire. In order to contribute to the construction of the new city the energetic and brave representatives of various countries came to Odessa. Included among the pioneers, Ukrainians, Russians, French, English, Jews, Moldavians, Greeks, Bulgarians and many others. From this ethnic "cocktail" the original nationality of Odesites was born. The excellent sense of business peculiar to the Odesites and the favourable conditions of Porto-Franco (a free port regime) which attracted migrants and merchants from many European and Asian countries soon turned Odessa into one of the richest cities of the Russian Empire. In his time Mark Twain even cited the Odessa phenomenon as an example for big American cities.

Today Odessa is the biggest seaport as well as a prime historical and cultural treasure of Ukraine. The city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, maintains one of the best dynamics of economic development on a par with the capital Kiev. In show business and entertainment, the city has no equal in Ukraine. Theatres, concerts and rich museum collections will amaze aesthetes. A wide-range and variety of sports and recreational facilities, concentrated on the seacoast, with restaurants, casinos, and discos, are able to create a fairytale holiday atmosphere.

But among Odessa's biggest treasures is its inhabitants. The optimism of the Odesites coupled with their effervescent sense of humour has garnered the city a reputation as the capital of laughter. Annually, Odessa's festivals of humour, music and art inspire everyone with the energy of joy. And celebrating the days of the city, which begins in September, replenishes the stock of cheerfulness for the entire year.

The Odessa Art Museum

A rich collection of paintings ranging from medieval icons and classical art of the 18-19th centuries to the works of contemporary Odessa masters of realistic, modern and avant-garde. The most precious elements of the exposition are the pictures of I. Aivazovsky, I. Repin, O. Savrasov, M. Vrubel, and V. Serov. The museum is also famous for its excellent collection of the early 20th century paintings by M. Rerykh, V. Kandinsky, and Z. Serebryakova.

The Odessa Museum of Western and Oriental Art

Founded in 1923 on the basis of private collections, the Museum has got a luxurious exposition of Western European Art. It represents works by eminent masters from Italy, Holland, France and Flanders. Oriental Art, is represented by works from China, Japan, India, Mongolia and Tibet.

The Odessa Museum of Regional Studies

The museum's sections depict the originality of Odessa during different periods of history: "Old Odessa", "Odessa in the Second World War", "Odessa culture", "Multinational Odessa" and "Brother-cities".

The Odessa State Literature Museum

Odessa turned out to be far more than just a shelter for sailors and merchants as its founders had planned. The city rewarded the world with many famous writers and artists. In this museum you will get acquainted with rare documents and photos which tell about creative work and ties with Odessa of Ukrainian Russian, Polish, Jewish, Bulgarian and other writers (about 300 names).

The Odessa Archeological Museum

The museum keeps the biggest Ukrainian collection of archaeological discoveries of the Northern Black Sea region from Ancient Greek settlements Olvia, Tira, Pantikapey, Khersones. Collections of coins and medals from ancient Egypt, Byzantium, Greece and Rome are also worth attention.

The Numismatics Museum

In its exposition there are coins representing peoples that inhabited Ukraine from the ancient times to present day.

The Maritime museum

The museum is located in the house which used to be an English club in the early 20th century. It was the favorite recreation place of aristocracy and successful businessmen. Nowadays the unique exposition of the museum is dedicated to the sea and seafarers, besides it contains over 120 thousand ship models.

Duke de Richelieu

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

Odessa catacombs

In the city there is the most unique "Odessa metro" - hundreds of kilometres of underground labyrinths created during the period of the city construction over 200 years ago when stones used for building were extracted from mines. These are Odessa catacombs.

During the years of Nazi occupation there was the headquarters of partisan rebels. In the shade of the underground vault there is a museum, which guards the mysteries of the past. Here nothing has changed since the Second World War. You will find out about the severe school of survival that the Odessa anti-fascists had to go through and about their contribution in the city's liberation from the occupants.

However, today the catacombs have a more cheerful destination. Inventive Odesites adapted them for paintball games. If you are also partial to "colour hunting", then Odessa catacombs are an ideal place for you to feel yourself a real commandos.