potemkin steps

Strange steps with a different view from bottom or top. Funicular ride if feeling bit lazy, fun to ride. Visited as part of the city tour which is well worth a try. ! hour for about £3.

Nice view of the port, small souvenir shops below and vendors on top. Worth the walk on a sunny day. The steps were designed so that viewed from the top the steps at the bottom appear to be as wide as at the top. Does not work out the same viewed from the bottom. Something to do with the Theory of Relativity.(TripAdvisor, why do you force to pick time of visit within the last year? Dumb)

Dear TripAdvisor readers:This is a great place for a first or second date. My girlfriend and I met about 100 meters away at the Statue of Catherine the Great. We walked down the Steps and crossed a road to the Odessa Port. There are maybe 175 steps or so, and they are very steep. Going down them was not the problem. I have a slight problem with asthma, so about half way back to the top we had to stop. We did this to allow me time to catch my breath. Obviously my being an asthmatic is not the Potemkin Steps' fault! It is possible to take a ride down to the Odessa Port without using these Steps. However, I don't recommend doing that. Get some exercise, bring an inhaler if you need to, but definitely WALK down and up the Potemkin Steps. It was a wonderful experience my girlfriend and I are not like to ever forget!If you have any questions or concerns relative to the Potemkin Steps, feel free to e-mail me at the below address.Jason StockardEnville, TN, USAjason.stockard@yahoo.com

Not only the view is great but the people who mingle and the vendors who hawk their wares are fun to experience. I love to stand at the top of the steps and visualize the movie. I have great photos with a local dressed as a Cossack along with a lot more memories in and around the Steps.

Interesting history to the steps. Walk or run up and down a few times......or take the elevated if you wish. It is kind of the gateway to central Odessa and near many sites, shopping and restaurants and cafes!

Immortalized by the famous Eisenstein's movie, stairs are great at any time of the yearTopped with Duke de Richelieu monument, they provide the great view over the Odessa bay and port (spolied by ugly hotel in the middle). Fun to go down - nice park access in the middle to the left and right

We called into Odessa whilst we were on a cruise ship, we could see the famous Potemkin steps.You have to cross a busy road, then walk up the steps then you are in the main part of Odessa, very near to the monument of Catherine the Great. There are street vendors and lovely parks to walk through and buskers playing music.

It's magnificent, however I always saw much bigger and wider in the pictures.Just be careful with guys with big birds. They pretend they do not understand that you do not want, let the bird sit on your shoulder and force you to pay for nothing. I mean they bully you a bit.We were ripped off 250 local currency whatever it is.Just be careful!

Having visited Odessa several times over the past 10 years, I never tire of walking the city's many parks and exploring the hidden treasures along the way. The Potemkin Steps are located just off an outdoor shopping and park, with scattered sidewalk restaurants and tourist oriented vendors. There you can purchase the latest in hand carved jewelry, small statuette's and delicate lace at reasonable prices. Everyone is willing and expects to negotiate. Open air art galleries with local painters presenting their latest pieces are usually seen in the same area. You cannot ignore the smell of the hot food being hawked. Most of the items are easily identifiable, but just ask if in doubt. Most vendors speak a small amount of several languages, just try your luck. Odessa is the destination of many Europeans and you will hear many languages during a short excursion. Buses cover the entire city and while crowded are especially cheap. Remember in all of your negotiations, most people in Ukraine, even Odessa live below the poverty level. It never hurts to pay a little extra, rather than saving every cent on a non-vital purchase. With the Ukraine currency inflated, prices on local products are very reasonable. Try the steps, and get the photos- just to prove they exist and prove you climbed them at least once.

I guess this is one of those "I need to see it at least once" attractions. If you want to visit the port or go on a boat ride around the bay, it's the only way to walk there. It is difficult to get a good photo of them unless you are all the way across the street on the port itself. There is a tunnel that goes under the street as your descend the stairs, turn right.

If you say "Odessa" - you think about the Potemkin steps, if you say "Potemkin steps" - you think about Odessa. If you havn't seen it - you havn't seen Odessa!

a must walk place in Odessa. we arrived on a cruise ship and so went up and down the odessa steps several times. there is also a funicular if you don't want to climb up.

Great View of the port from the top of the steps. many people visit this place to take photos. Great view from the bottom of the steps too. If you do not want to walk up the steps take the funicular

Very impressive stairs, but the surroundings are not exactly charming.Great views from the top floor of the harbor building complex across the street.

Lovely atmosphere surrounds the area. Nice view of the Odessa dock area and wonderful views looking up the stairs. There is a main road at the bottom but this does not distract one from admiring the steps. Cable car available for those who can't walk the steps. Can't visit Odessa without visiting here.