32 Best Sights in Ukraine

Near Grafskaya Quay, on the square named after the famous Russian admiral, this bronze statue was inaugurated in 1959. Nakhimov was an outstanding naval commander and one of the chief defenders of Sevastopol during the Crimean War, when he was killed. These days, newlywed couples lie down bouquets here on their wedding day.

About 1 km (⅓ mi) east of Alupka, behind a little cluster of market stalls, is the cable car that swings you up the side of Mount Ai-Petri. The truly breathtaking ride goes across the foothills and up the mountain's sheer face, offering unobstructed views of the coast and the sea. The course of the chairlift begins quayside and then travels 1,233 meters up the mountain in about 10 minutes; it's a short but very dramatic ride. As you go up, you'll be able to see the elegant dome of St. Alexander Nevsky cathederal.

This is one of the oldest aquariums in the world, dating from 1897, and the only aquarium in the Ukraine. More than 180 different sea creatures are on display here.

Odessa's Archeological Museum is one of the oldest in Ukraine, founded in 1825. Its purpose was to carry out excavations in the northern Black Sea region and preserve its history. More than 160,000 exhibits make up one of the largest collections related to the Black Sea. Some exhibits have information in English.

No trip around the city is complete without a visit to Arkadia, the heart of Odessa's nightlife and beach scene in the summer months. Above the beach, the patios of dozens of themed restaurant, bars, and clubs provide shady spots from which to people-watch and take in the scenery. This is a good place to go if you want to try local seafood.

You can view ship models as well as naval mementos in this museum dedicated to Russia's navy, which had a historically important base here. The museum was a direct result of the scuttling of the entire fleet in Sevastpol's harbor during the Crimean War.

The Odessa Catacombs are a vast, multilevel network of tunnels, the result of stone mining for the construction of Odessa city. To explore the underground part of Odessan history, you'll have to make the trip to the Catacomb Museum (a.k.a. "the Museum of Partisan Glory") in Nerubayskoye, and do so on a guided tour. Just outside the city, the museum tells how during World War II the Ukrainian partisans used these tunnels as a base from which to attack the occupying Nazi troops. Fagot Agency (Rishelievska 4,) offers a guided excursion to the catacombs, which should be booked a day in advance. The Museum shows only a fragment of the underground maze. Many "wild" sections have become a destination for adventure tourists. Touring of the catacombs on your own can be very dangerous.

The Russian playwright Anton Chekhov was drawn to Yalta for the air, which was said to be beneficial for his tuberculosis. He designed both the house and garden and produced a great deal of his literary output here (including the The Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters).

About 200 meters south on Primorskiy Boulevard from the Potyomkin Steps will bring you to a historic building, which is currently Odessa's City Hall (a former Stock Exchange). It is in front of a monument to Alexander Pushkin, who is considered by many to be Russia's greatest poet, who spent 13 months in Odessa. Every hour, the clock above the entrance plays the melody "Odessa, My Town".

This famous street has been featured in thousands of books, films, and songs and remains one of the most celebrated in Ukraine. Odessites are passionate about Deribasovskaya, and a trip downtown cannot be complete without spending at least an hour strolling or people-watching from one of its many cafés. Each year, Deribasovksaya gets more beautiful and, of course, more crowded with tourists as the secret gets out.

The historic quay on Nakhimov square offers a lovely greeting to those arriving by sea and is an important architectural monument in its own right. Built in June 1783, it was created from masonry stones. It was further improved in 1787 in honor of a visit by the Russian Empress Ekaterina II, when the quay was equipped with modern amenities and when white marble columns where added. Two lions on the column are said to preserve the calmness of the city.

This incredibly beautiful toy-town building, which stands on the very edge of a 40-meter cliff, is a favorite subject of Crimean postcards. Commissioned by the German Baron von Steinheil, it was designed and built by the Ukranian architect Leonid Sherwood between 1911 and 1912 in the style of a medieval castle. It overlooks the Black Sea and is situated near the remains of an ancient Roman fortress dating from the 1st to 3rd century AD. It's now operated as a tourist restaurant.

The summer residence of Russia's Czar Nicolas II was built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. There are 60 buildings in the complex, the centerpiece of which is the aristocratic Great Palace, built in Italian Renaissance style with Byzantine, Gothic, and Arabic architecture elements. The famous Yalta Conference of 1945 took place here, during which Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin completed plans for Germany's defeat. The palace has a shop, a café, and a church.

This avenues of this park are shaded by chestnut, acacia, and cypress trees. During World War II, it came under particularly heavy German bombardments that left virtually no living thing in the park. Many monuments and statues here are dedicated to great sacrifices of that war. There's also a museum here. The park is about 20 minutes from the City Center by public transportation.

One of the most striking architectural constructions in the Crimea, this palace was completed by Czar Alexander III in 1889 and later became Stalin's summer dacha. The Massandra wine collection contains about million bottles of famous wines from all over the world, while the estate's winery produces its own vintages. You can view the palace's paintings and antique furniture collection, stroll through the surrounding park land, and taste some marvelous wines from the Massandra cellars.

One of the most famous monuments of Sevastopol, this column, which stands on an artificial rock among the waves, was the state emblem of the city in the Soviet times. It commemorates the scuttling of the Russian Navy (so that the ships would not fall into enemy hands and so that they would block entry into the harbor) after a year-long siege by French and British troops during the Crimean War. On top of the column is a bronze, two-headed eagle holding a laurel wreath in its beak.

The gardens were first laid out by Christian Steven, a Russian botanist (Swede by birth) in 1812. This superb example of architectural landscaping is also the largest scientific-research establishment in southern Ukraine and a nature reserve. The garden covers a few square kilometers of hillside all the way to the shore and is a home to 25,000 species of plants. The park is divided into 4 different sections, including an extensive rose garden and a garden of subtropical plants.

Founded in 1977, the museum was opened to the public in 1984. It occupies a 19th century palace built by the architect Ludwig Otton. The collections located in 24 halls utilize real historical objects to trace the history of literary Odessa. More than 300 writers are represented.

Trained dolphins and fur seals put on a show several times daily at this open-air performance pool.

Constructed in 1905, the cathedral was virtually destroyed during World War II, along with most of the rest of Sevastopol. It was partially restored and until 1962 remained a church. After, it was turned into a gymnasium and city archive. In 1992, the northern part of the cathedral was returned to church control and was re-consecrated in the name of great martyr Pantelejmon. It remains a worthy example of Orthodox architecture and is worth seeing (even though it seems to be undergoing a never-ending renovation).

This open-air museum, a branch of the local history museum, contains more than 200 statues of Ukrainian, Russian, and Western fairy-tale characters. Crimean artists, wood carvers, and stonecutters created the pieces. You can stroll among the sculptures when visiting the nearby zoo.

Constructed as the main entry to the city center, the legendary staircase once led directly to the sea. The stairs were the site of a 1905 battle between mutinying sailors and forces loyal to the Czar; the actual events sparking the clash remain uncertain but have been overshadowed by the version presented in the famous Sergei Eisenstein silent film The Battleship Potemkin (the massacre depicted in that film never happened). An optical illusion prevents you from seeing the actual steps when you stand at the top—all you can see are a few landings; from below, all you can see are the steps, making the staircase seem much longer than it actually is. Designed by the French architect Boffo, who lived in Odessa and designed many buildings here, the steps took four years to build and were completed in 1841. In all there are 192 steps at a length of 142 meters. To get up to the main boulevard, you can use the staircase or a funicular.

At the top of the Potyomkin Steps this boulevard was used as a backdrop for numerous Soviet-era films. And why not? The wide cobblestone street is framed by tall trees in a tableau that rivals Paris. Because of the numerous magnificent buildings, this boulevard is one of the most picturesque areas in Odessa.

The impressive Spaso- Preobrazhenskiy Cathedral is the crown on this street, the square where it is located a pleasant spot to take in the scenery on one of the benches. People-watching is popular here, and many come to shop in the Passage shopping mall. With its elegant architecture and sculpted decorations, the Passage between Deribasovskaya and Preobrazhenskaya is one of the most striking sights in Odessa.

Built between 1854–1888, Neo-Byzantine St. Vladimir's Cathedral commemorates the siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War of 1850s. The Cathedral is the burial place of several renowned Russian admirals, including Lasarev, Kornilov, Istomin, and Nakhimov, and has become the church most associated with the Russian navy.

The statue of Duc de Richelieu, who was a relative of the famous 17th-century French Cardinal, is the first thing you see on the top of the Potyomkin Steps. After fleeing to Russia in 1803, Richelieu was named mayor of Odessa by Czar Alexander III. He ruled for 11 years, turning the small Black Sea village into a modern city, before returning to France. After cleaning up a corrupt administration, Richelieu transformed the Black Sea village of Odessa into a modern city.

These extensive ruins are all that remain of the ancient Greek colony that was built around 422 BC, when the area was known as Taurica by the Greeks. The city was surrounded by a long defensive wall and a series of towers, the remains of which can still be seen. A characteristic feature was a grid of streets. The first excavations were begun here in 1827. In addition to the ruins themselves, you can visit the museum. The famous "Foggy Bell" that was erected here in 1776 was cast from a melted German cannon to warn ships of dangerous conditions during bouts of bad visibility. The French took the bell (along with all the other bells of Sevastopol) after Russia's defeat in the Crimean War, and it ended up in the belfry of Notre-Dame de Paris, where it hung until 1913, when Russian diplomats secured its return to Chersonesos.

One of the greatest Ukrainian architectural monuments is also one of the most beautiful theaters in the world. It was constructed by the famous Viennese achitectural partners Helmer & Fellner in 1884 with an Italian baroque facade, a Renaissance-style entrance, and decorative stone figures depicting scenes from Aristophanes and Euripides. The architects, remembering a fire in a Viennese theater, provided the foyer with 24 exits. The auditorium is in the style of Louis XVI, with a chandelier that weights almost 21/2 tons, surrounded on the ceiling by frescoes depicting scenes from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Created by Franz Alekseevich Rubaud in 1905 to mark the 50-year anniversary of the 349-day defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War, this huge 360-degree painting is four meters high and 115 meters long. It presents an almost life-size reconstruction of the defense to create an authentic-seeming presentation. During World War II, the circular building housing the Panorama was destroyed, but it was restored by Soviet painters in the years after the war. There is also a small museum of Crimean war objects and uniforms.

The tallest of all the Crimean waterfalls at 98 meters, Uchan-Su is spectacular to look at. An observation platform on the upper part of the waterfall called the "Eagle's Nest" gives you almost a bird's-eye view. The ancient Greeks called the waterfall Kremastro-Nero (hanging water), but it was the Turks who called it Uchan-Su (flying water); now it is often called simply the Yalta waterfall.