Odessa City Guide

Odessa - regional city of Ukraine, port on the Odessa gulf of Black sea. Territory of 160 square kilometers. The population 1 129 000 according to last census. It is based in 1794. The third on size city of Ukraine after Kiev and Kharkov, the main industrial, cultural, transport, scientific and resort center of Northern Black Sea Coast. In the cosmopolitan population of city Russian, Ukrainian and Jews prevail.

Climate

Moderately continental and rather dry. The quantity of sunny days in a year exceeds 290. Winter short and soft with average temperature about zero of degrees of Celsius. A snow and temperatures below -10  ° With are observed seldom. A summer is long and hot with a middle temperature near 25 °С. Temperatures are not uncommon higher 35 °С.

Economy

Odessa is the largest marine port of Ukraine, transporting a corn, sugar, coal, nefteprodukty, cement, metals, jute, wood, products of machine-building industry. Base of naval, fishing and whaling fleet. Large railway center. Basic industries of industry are shipbuilding, treatment of oil, engineer, metal-workingness, easy, pischepererabatyvayuschaya, woodworking, agricultural and chemical industry. Large resort center, disposes numerous beachs, sanatoriums and health resorts.

Culture

Odessa is proud of the unique architectural and cultural legacy. In town there is an university (founded in 1865), theater of opera and ballet (1809), historical museum (1825), city library (1830), astronomic observatory (1871), art gallery (1898), other educational establishments, theaters and museums. Except for an university, Odessa disposes other educational establishments of higher qualification, including medical university, marine academy and conservatory. Such men of mark, as poet Alexander Pushkin, biochemist Il'ya Mechnikov and singer Leonid Utesov, lived here in different times. A few generations of brilliant humorists, borning and growings in Odessa during the last century, won a city the special reputation of the capital of the Russian-language humour. At home ranged old part of city in different architectural styles from Renaissance to Art Nuvo.

Transport

A regular air report connects Odessa with Vienna (Austrian Airlines and Air Ukraine International, daily), Tel aviv (ElAl), Istambul (Turkey Airlines), Athens, Aleppo, Larnakoy, by Moscou, Kiev, Kishinev, Yerevan, Tbilisi and in a number of other cities of Europe and Asia the Passenger trains regularly ply between Odessa and Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava, Vienna, Berlin, Moscou, saint Petersburg, basic cities of Ukraine and many other cities of the former USSR.

A bus report connects Odessa with Germany (Berlin, Hamburg and Munich), Greece (Saloniki and Athens), Bulgaria (Varna and Sofia) and whole in a number of cities of Ukraine. Passenger ships and ferries are plied between Odessa and Istambul, Khayfoy and Varna.

Finances

Banks of Odessa and other cities of Ukraine accept the credit cards of Visa and MasterCard mainly. The exchange of foreign currency in Odessa is made everywhere, in addition, in town set great number of ATMS.