Odessa (pop. 1,000,000) has been blessed with prosperity (and cursed with corruption) since its founding by Catherine the Great in 1794. Beneath the city lies the world’s longest series of catacombs. The tunnels were the base of resistance during the Nazi occupation. The labyrinth is only legally accessible with a private guide. FGT and Eugenia travel agencies (see below), as well as most hotels, organize excursions for about 20hv. The Odessa Art Museum (Художний Музей; Khudozhiy Muzei), ul. Sofiyevskaya 5A, houses a diverse collection of 19th-century art, as well as an underground grotto of secret passageways. (☎80482 25 10 34. Open M and W-Su 10:30am-5:30pm. 3hv for each of the 3 exhibits.) The crowds on ul. Deribasovskaya guarantee an animated scene at any time of day, and the fashion stores and cafes provide entertainment for all. The Pushkin Museum and Memorial (Литературно-мемориальний Музей Пушкина; Literaturno-memorialniy Muzey Pushkina) at #13 was the hotel where Pushkin lived during his 1823-1824 exile from St. Petersburg. (Open M-Sa 10am-5pm. 5hv, students 2hv.) The city’s crowded beaches are easily accessible, though their quality varies. To reach nearby Lanzheron (Ланжерон) beach, walk through Shevchenko park or take marshrutka 253 or 233. Tram #5 goes to Arkadiya (Аркадия), the city’s most popular beach. The Potemkin Staircase (Потьомкинськи сходи), as made famous by Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 film Battleship Potemkin, also known as the Maritime Stairs, has 192 steps, and is a must-see for film and history buffs alike.
Private rooms (from 30hv) are the cheapest accommodation options; hosts solicit customers at the train station. Hostels, however, rival private rooms in price and often trump them in comfort. Black Sea Backpackers’ Hostel , Yekaterinskaya 25, 2nd fl., has a bar, free breakfast, computer access, jacuzzi, kitchen, and Wi-Fi, along with a great location. (☎80482 25 22 00 or ☎80482 24 55 67; www.blackseahostels.com. Dorms US$25 May-Oct, $20 per night Nov.-Apr.) Tavriya (Taврiя), Ploshcha Grechevskaya, in the basement of Galeria Afena, has a huge selection of cheap Ukrainian food, pizzas, crepes, and desserts, with live music. (Drinks 4-10hv. Soups 4-6hv. Entrees 6-20hv. Desserts 3-5hv. Open daily 8am-11pm. Cash only.) On summer nights, the crowds head to Arkadiya, where a strip of nightclubs blasts everything from electronica to hip hop with an emphasis on Russian pop. Tram #5 goes to Arkadiya but stops running around midnight; taxis back from the clubs cost 25-40hv.
Trains run from pl. Privokzalnaya 2 (Привокзальная), at the northern end of ul. Pushkinskaya, to: Kyiv (10hr., 5 per day, 60-90hv); Lviv (12hr., 2 per day, 70-90hv); Moscow, RUS (23-27hr., 1-3per day, 180-290hv); Simferopol (12hr., 70-90hv); Warsaw, POL (24hr., 1 per 2 days, 400hv). To reach the bus station, take tram #5 to the last stop. Buses run from ul. Kolontayevskaya 58 (Колонтаевская) to Kyiv (10-12hr., 8 per day, 66-88hv). FGT Travel, ul. Deribasovskaya 13, in Hotel Frapolli, provides tourist information. (☎80482 37 52 01; www.odessapassage.com. Open daily 8:30am-7pm.) Postal Code: 65001.
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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