Museums of Odesa: a list of the most interesting places for a cultural break

The first thing people associate with Odesa is the Black Sea, Derybasivska Street, Pryvoz market and the city's trademark humour. But the city is much deeper than this familiar image. Its history, art, literature, cinema and the underground world of the catacombs are best discovered through Odesa's museums.

If you are looking for where to go in Odesa at the weekend or what to see in the city, start with this selection.

It brings together interesting museums of Odesa that will help you see the city from a new angle and understand why for more than two centuries it has remained one of Ukraine's brightest cultural centres.

Museums of Odesa: a list of places worth visiting

Odesa National Art Museum

One of Ukraine's best-known art museums is housed in the Potocki-Naryshkin Palace, built in the early 19th century. It combines a classic museum collection with contemporary exhibition projects and cultural events.

The museum is at 5A Sofiivska Street. Allow at least one and a half to two hours. The collection covers Ukrainian art from 16th-century icon painting to contemporary works, and its best-known artists include Ivan Aivazovsky, Ilia Repin (Ripyn), Mykhailo Vrubel and Kostiantyn Kostandi.

The palace building itself and the underground grotto, which can be visited on special tours, deserve particular attention. The museum also regularly holds lectures, curator tours and educational programmes for children and adults.

More about the museum here.

Odesa Archaeological Museum

Ukraine's oldest archaeological museum was founded back in 1825. Its collection numbers more than 170,000 artefacts telling the history of the Northern Black Sea region from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages.

The museum is at 4 Lanzheronivska Street. Allow about two hours. Here you can see artefacts of the Trypillian, Scythian, Sarmatian and ancient Greek cultures, as well as one of Ukraine's largest collections of Ancient Egyptian antiquities.

At the entrance, guests are greeted by the famous Laocoön sculpture group, and the museum building itself is an architectural monument of the late 19th century.

More about the archaeological museum in Odesa here.

Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art

The museum is housed in the former Abaza Palace, one of Odesa's most beautiful historic buildings. Its collection introduces European and Eastern art of different eras.

The museum is at 9 Italiiska Street. Allow at least an hour and a half. The halls display painting, graphic art, sculpture, porcelain and decorative art from the Renaissance to the 19th century.

Besides valuable works of art, visitors are impressed by the palace interiors with their marble staircase, stucco and luxurious halls.

Learn more about the museum here.

Odesa Literary Museum

One of the city's most atmospheric museums tells about writers whose lives and work are connected with Odesa. The museum is housed in the former palace of the Gagarin princes from the mid-19th century.

It is at 2 Lanzheronivska Street. Allow about an hour to an hour and a half. The display covers the history of the city's literary life from its founding to the present and introduces Lesia Ukrainka, Ivan Franko, Isaac Babel, Adam Mickiewicz and many other authors.

The Sculpture Garden in the museum's inner courtyard, with monuments to literary characters and famous artists, deserves special attention.

Learn about the literary museum at 2 Lanzheronivska Street here.

Odesa Film Museum

Odesa holds a special place in the history of Ukrainian cinema, and the Film Museum on the grounds of the Odesa Film Studio tells this story best.

The museum is at 33 Frantsuzkyi Boulevard. One to two hours is usually enough. More than 10,000 items are gathered here: archival documents, costumes, posters, props, old film equipment and materials about legendary films made in Odesa.

During the tour you can learn about the development of cinema in the city and see items connected with the history of the Odesa Film Studio, which has been operating for more than a century.

“Secrets of Underground Odesa” Museum

The Odesa catacombs are one of the city's main legends, and this museum lets you see part of the underground world with your own eyes.

The museum is at 3-B 2nd Rozumovskyi Lane. Allow about one and a half to two hours, depending on the route you choose.

During the tour visitors descend into the catacombs, where they learn about stone quarrying, smugglers, the partisan movement and the history of underground Odesa.

The total length of the catacombs is estimated at several thousand kilometres, making them one of the largest underground labyrinths in the world.

Museum of Sound

One of Odesa's most unusual museums is devoted to the history of sound recording and music technology. Its collection was assembled by Odesa sound engineer Vasyl Pinchuk, who for many years researched and preserved musical and technical rarities.

The museum is at 25 Vsevoloda Zmiienka Street. Allow from one and a half to three hours depending on your interest in the topic. The collection holds thousands of items, from gramophones to tape recorders, vinyl records and vintage radios.

Besides the display, the museum has a live music club, a professional recording studio and a training centre for future sound engineers and DJs. Visitors can even create their own audio souvenir of their visit.

Chocolate Museum

One of the city's most original museums, where you can not only learn more about the history of chocolate but also see what real master confectioners are capable of.

The museum is at 14 Derybasivska Street. About an hour is enough. The display introduces the history of cocoa beans and chocolate production, and the exhibits include chocolate paintings, sculptures and themed installations.

Besides viewing the display, visitors can taste hot chocolate, buy sweet souvenirs and take part in workshops. The museum is especially popular with families with children and anyone who loves unusual gastronomic experiences.

Migdal-Shorashim Museum of the History of Odesa Jews

This museum introduces the rich history of the Jewish community, which played an important role in the city's development.

The museum is at 66 Nizhynska Street. One to one and a half hours is enough for an unhurried visit. The display covers the period from the first Jewish settlements to the present. It presents documents, photographs, books, household items and religious artefacts.

A visit to the museum helps to better understand Odesa's multinational character and the Jewish community's contribution to its culture, science and art.

Museum of Entertaining Science

If you are travelling with children or simply love interactive displays, visit the Museum of Entertaining Science.

It is at 4E Shevchenka Avenue. You can spend at least two hours here, although many guests stay three or four. Visitors can not only look at exhibits but also interact with them: start mechanisms, explore optical illusions, conduct physics experiments and test the laws of science in practice.

The museum is especially popular with families, as it combines entertainment and learning in one space.

What else to see in Odesa

If you have more time, look out for other museum spaces in the city. Among them is the Shustov Cognac Museum, where you can learn about the history of Odesa distilling and attend a tasting, and the “U baby Uti” Wax Museum, which families with children will enjoy.

Lovers of maritime history can visit the de Volan Museum of the Port of Odesa, and those with a sweet tooth will enjoy the Chocolate Museum.

Bookmark this selection and come back to it whenever you are planning where to go in Odesa on your next trip.

Read more about the museums of Ukraine in our guide to the country's cultural map, which brings together the most interesting museum spaces in different Ukrainian regions.