Plan an awesome weekend in Odessa in under 5min
Tags: Travel, Travel Tips, Ukraine, Odessa, Restaurant

Have just one weekend to squeeze it all, yet get a chance to chill in enjoy the city? Challenge accepted!

Friday

You made it to Odessa. Whether you came by plane, bus or train, forget public transportation & Uber to your hotel. Where is the best place for hotel? Downtown (if you want to close to the restaurants) or Arkadia (if you are into clubbing), or anywhere along the beach (if you want relative serenity). Hopefully, you will have hot water, so you can quickly freshen up and go out for a nice dinner in downtown and finish your night with a signature cocktail in one of the bars. More on preparation, survival guide, dos & don’ts here.

Saturday

Morning. While you still have the energy and you need something to say to your friends and family after you come back, you can pick one of “cultural” things to do:

Book a walking tour with Tudoy-Sudoy (have private tours in English)

(have private tours in English) Go for a tour to Shustov Cognac Museum (the only factory outside of France that is allowed to produce cognac). Don’t forget to order cognac tasting as well 🤪

(the only factory outside of France that is allowed to produce cognac). Don’t forget to order cognac tasting as well 🤪 Visit catacombs. It’s truly something different, and if you are traveling in summer, you will definitely enjoy the chill of the underground. Light jacket might be helpful. There are catacombs inside the city and outside Odesa. I would recommend to go to the one inside the city (easier to get to), it’s 2-hour tour, but don’t worry, you will have a vodka-break in the catacombs. I men coffee break :) You can book with Tudoy-Sudoy or look for options on Tripadvisor

Ready for lunch? Maman, Dizingoff, Tavernetta will offer a great mixture of local food. More on the restaurants here. Have a free minute? Pick an interesting souvenir for your loved ones.

Afternoon. Still want to do something “cultural”? The main gem of Odessa is the Opera House. You can book tickets online in advance and great news — they are not expensive at all (usually under 20 EUR). Dress up a bit and get ready to be emerged into the golden world of rococo. Attending a performance is the only way to get into the Opera House, which in all fairness is beautiful. It was build following the design of the famous Opera in Vienna, but believe you will be blinded with gold, gold, gold ✨

Alternative — chill on the beach!

Alternative 2 — walk along the beach. There is a 7-km long Health Track that connects city center with Arkadia, it’s a walking track with no cards allowed (you can walk, bike or skate there). There are a number of restaurants you can chill at along the way.

Alternative 3 — check out the dolphin house in Lanzheron beach.

Evening. Enough with the culture…. Go out for a dinner in one of the restaurants right next to the Opera, chill in the quiet music of a fountain and inhale all the hooka smoke(yes, it’s very popular here).

Restored your strength? Now time for the cocktails and/or clubs. Clubbing mecca is in Arkadia (15 min ride from the city center). Ibiza is THE club. Have some cash on you (or be prepared for not so friendly exchange rates).

Sunday

GOOD MORNING! After a night of party, what could be better than a nice filling breakfast. I would definitely recommend to go with Kompot. Their menu filled with home-style food works for all: cures hangover, gives strengths and good mood for the day.

Beach time! Life is always better at the beach, they say… and I concur! Light breeze, cold cocktail, hot girls, good vibe… If you are here just for the day, pretty much anything will be fine. Tripadvisor has some suggestion for you as well. Don’t be surprised if some beach clubs don’t allow you to bring any food or drinks in.The rule of thumb, try to get away from the city center, but don’t come too close to Arkadia. If you are here for longer, you might want to check out the beaches which are further away (after 13-th station of Fontanska road).

Alternative — pick one of the options from Saturday.

Evening. Sundays are usually quite quiet, but you can still emerge yourself and continue discovering restaurants in the city center or book yourself a quiet table at Dacha or Reef, a bit outside of the crowd.

All done? Good job! It actually turned out to be more intense than I thought. I think you deserve some rest. Now pick up a bottle of Odessa champagne and enjoy your ride home. See you soon! Yes, I am sure you’ll be back soon, this was just the beginning!