Southern Ukraine – the treasury of cultural and natural wonders: Odessa and its oblast

You are planning to have a trip along the seaside of Black Sea but you don’t know where to go? It is a typical situation considering the low level of marketing activity in tour companies. But believe, just in Odessa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson you may spend the entire season contemplating amazing miracles of culture and nature. To see all the historical places and not to depend on time we recommend to rent a car for the trip.

Medieval military fortresses of The Ottoman Empire, The Russian Empire; Khortytsia – the womb of Cossacks; Odessa – the architectural and cultural pearl of all post-Soviet countries; the real sandy desert inside the largest artificial forest in the world; underground city; geysers; the dead sea Syvash – and all these are in the south of Ukraine.

This territory definitely could be called marvelous. Here the cultures of different times are meeting each other. Scythians, Cimmerians, Sarmatians, Greeks, Byzantines, Turks – each of the peoples once inhabited this region, forming the history of the region. Knowing all the riches of South Ukraine, it becomes clear why at one time different ethnic groups fought for their right to dwell here.

The climate in the region is moderate, with a distinct difference in spring, summer, autumn, winter. Summer is hot and slightly arid, winter is mild, with a low amount of precipitation. The location away from all the centers of tectonic oscillations negates the occurrence of destructive earthquakes.

Have decided to rent a car? Find out where to go first of all!

The main treasure and pride of the region –  it’s the cultural capital, a pearl of the sea – Odessa. Immersion in this extremely picturesque and multicultural city will give an understanding of a national variety of the South. The historic center of Odessa is the natural museum under the open sky. The architectural splendor and “soul” of each building are felt in each brick. Up and down by Potemkin Stairs and on Primorsky Boulevard walked such outstanding minds as Alexander Pushkin, Mark Twain, Anton Chekhov, Nikolay Gogol, the general de Richelieu, Josep de Ribas and many others.

In the summer Odessa completely changes, looking like rather the noisy Spanish resort, than the cultural capital of South Ukraine. The city is located on the coast of the Black Sea and counts with dozens of wide sandy beaches. Here you will find rest for any taste: clubs, amusement parks, recreational zones, museums, restaurants etc.

The special mention deserves the so-called Odessa dialect and mentality of the people, city legends, and authentic jokes, but one picture is worth a thousand words.

And in the neighborhood of Odessa is hidden so-called “the Ukrainian Venice”. This name is given not for nothing: the town of Vylkove all is penetrated by a set of the channels connected by wooden bridges. In the South of Odessa region has remained the medieval Turkish fortress. The Akkermansky outpost is the biggest in the territory of Ukraine.