Arrival by personal Yacht is a paperwork nightmare but pleasantly endured as the officials are most accomadating and helpful. English is widely spoken. The city of Odessa lives up to its name "The Pearl of the Black Sea" The yacht harbour is next to the ferry port and a 2 minute walk to the Potemkin Steps. From these steps you are minutes from the city centre.
The largest barrier is the Cyrillic alphbet. It is very difficult to read any of the signs, but ask and you will find. Many people here speak English. I have been plesantly surprised.
Hope to give you more information as I spend time in this lovely city.

Odessa, Ukraine combines classical Italian architecture with a major shipping port/ industry plus a large dose of Black Sea Tourism. You will need to put on your traveling shoes as you explore the many interesting sights and sounds of Odessa. Downtown Center city—plus that is.
The city has fantastic buildings, beginning with the Opera House (under renovation for my visit, no shows unfortunately. 04/06) The natural To-Do list also includes; the Potyomkin Steps- with free trolley ride up while I visited, “The Cannon” defending the port, and even the Archeological Museum is interesting. Be sure to take a stroll down both Frantsuzsky Blvd. And Primorsky Blvd. With luck you will be arm in arm with your sweetheart- or ??? .
You will find terrific eats at just about any kiosk or small market; plus $.60 beers with flavor!!
Gear up for the treasure hunt on Deribasovskaya St. (easy for you to say.) and you can not miss the Artists and Souvenir Market in the park here. There is plenty of very interesting art to view, some less so, find what appeals to you and make the deal. By all means, load up on plenty of modest trinkets for family and friends back home. They will all appreciate your thoughtfulness and you get off for less than $5.00—win – win, yes? You will be supporting a growing economy and returning home with treasures from the East for the masses wherever.
My favorite dining was definitely – Kumanets- for traditional Ukrainian food—terrific!! The worst by far was pizza from Pan Pizza- hardly New York style or anywhere else for that matter. Top Sandwich is good and reasonable, too.
I regret that I do not know the name of the market on the outskirts of Odessa, nor whether they are open other than Saturdays. Find it, figure it out and than check it out--- you will be amazed. I did enjoy apricots and dates at the fruit and produce market adjoining the “Market to beat Markets”
Oh, and another thing—the ladies of Odessa are strikingly beautiful.
Go for it! And safe travels wherever you wind up

Just returned from a trip to this wonderful Ukrainian city. It is going through quiet a transformation - when you get outside of the center there are lots of high rise and luxury building on the rise. Overall the city is very charismatic, fully of very trendy, slick looking people. Gorgeous women everywhere, warm atmosphere and most importantly great food.

A few must see sights are the Opera House and statue of Duke. I believe he was the man behind building Odessa. Prior to the trip I looked into hotels but my girlfriend suggested private apartments and it worked out flawlessly. I used Odessaapts and rented a flat for much less than any decent hotel.

A few things worth pointing out about Odessa: everyone is always well dressed, even when not going out for an occasion. Women take great pride in their appearance and as a result appear to be much more feminine. Odessa is quiet different from Western Ukraine and appears to be much more 'European'. Saw lots of tourists - German, Irish, Turkish all in town for various reasons. All in all, Odessa is a great destination for anyone looking to see a different side of Ukraine.

Everyone knows about the Steps, but there's more to see within walking distance of them. Odessa is a city undergoing change and is most interesting to just wander around the downtown. The downtown has a nice scale to it because all buildings cannot exceed in height the most important monument in town. The City Gardens have vendor setups with local artwork plus a decent cafe for a break from the concrete.