Inside Odessa's Party Culture: The Devil's Arcade

By Rollo Tomasi

Odessa is a mysterious and ancient city where East meets West and intrigue rules the day. The setting for numerous movies of espionage and international suspense, the city of just over 1 million souls was recently a key location in the Hollywood blockbuster Transporter 3 as well as several films of the 007 franchise for good reason. Capitalize on this unearthly mood in a city where a night on the town is an indulgent adventure not soon forgotten.

Odessa is one of the largest cities of the former Soviet Union and the fourth largest in Ukraine. The municipality has more local character than any other city in the country with a unique Russian/Ukraine/Mediterranean tilt.

Settled by ancient Greeks, then officially founded by Catherine the Great in 1794, Odessa became wealthy in the 19th and early 20th centuries on trade, shipping, and smuggling. To this day Odessans are renowned for their sharp wit and uncanny trading abilities which were shaped by and large by the cultural mix of Russians, Turks, Tatars, Greeks, Armenians and a host of other ethnic groups. French and Italian influenced architecture lends this city a truly international flavor.

Odessa’s nightlife is notorious for it’s hedonistic makeup. This is surprisingly more so than in Kiev, Kharkiv or other major cities such as St Petersburg, and makes Odessa famous for its generally liberal stance towards the lively arts. At any given establishment swarms of willing bodies rock out to rhythmic dance music pumped from supercharged sound systems.

Infamous frolic in Odessa is typically the first and only reason vacationers from all over Europe and the U.S. visit the city. A truly 24 hour city, once the sun sets, legendary night spectacles kick in where amazing women from all over Russia and Ukraine indulge themselves in all night parties throughout the world famous seaside resort.

Indeed, there’s a reason Odessa is the major Eastern European destination for men from the West seeking ladies for companionship and marriage. Simply look out the window of your flat or step out onto the walk and you’re senses will be bombarded by the sheer numbers of beautiful women simply walking about in the city. On his first visit to Odessa this writer literally stopped in his tracks at the sight of so much perfect variety and struggled to come to terms with the visual sensation. Ponder the anomaly of so many outstanding specimens of God’s greatest art in one place.

Women in Odessa, as in all Ukraine, set the moral standard for society and are proactive in their drive to embrace life in all it’s facets. In the clubs and restaurants visitors can see throngs of remarkable women dancing in groups by themselves, no men in sight. Tables full of local and imported femmes dining and laughing at posh restaurants and seaside bars soaking up the sun, showing off their pretty skin drenched in lotion and sunscreen.

Beads of sweat bulge on your brow as the music reaches fever pitch in the many clubs that proliferate the city. Odessa girls, legendary for their beauty and ability to drive men insane with their charm, dance in summer dresses and scant swimwear to become sea goddesses of their own female subspecies.

Thankfully there’s plenty of public and private security in the city so chances of unpleasant incidents are few. One of the great advantages is that nightlife is both intense and inexpensive so one can have a great time wherever they decide to go. The greatest advantage of Odessa’s nightlife is that all main attractions are easily accessible and, depending on the season, are largely focused in particular areas allowing visitors to switch clubs and crawl pubs most efficiently. Odessa is the perfect place for party holidays with vibrant nightlife all year long.

There are two main areas where Odessa’s nightlife is concentrated…

First is the old downtown area or Center around Deribasovskaya Street. During the cold months the epicenter of entertainment moves downtown to the city’s center, creating a bustling and crazy environment. Although trends change annually and the popularity of any given venue will vary with time, there’s a few choices that are classic, and must visits for both visitors and residents.

YO! Club 

One of the largest multi-level dance venues in Eastern Europe will give you a healthy dose of Odessa’s party atmosphere with a number of stages operating simultaneously. Here you’ll find every type of party animal, mostly young women too hot to handle with you bare hands. Euro-dance, cocktail-hall with live music, a restaurant, 18 lanes of bowling (8 Brunswick tracks), billiards (Russian pool), and a sushi-bar. The casino features roulette, black jack and poker. Wonderful jazz evenings with the best performers are held Wednesdays. 

Polskiy Spusk, 15 

Tel: 37-15-15

 

Palladium 

Palladium is a 4 Star hotel and restaurant banquet hall by day and raucous multi-level night club at night. The main hall easily accommodates over a thousand people worked to a frenzy dancing to house and techno. The lower level accommodates about 200 persons and music is of a distinctly ethnic flavor. Here’s where it really cooks as a multiracial clientele vibrate to indigenous chants. Hotel features a Turkish bath and a Finnish sauna. 

4 Italian Boulevard 

Tel. 728 66 51, 728 77 30

 

ARENA 

Arena features an extravagant layout in the center of Odessa, with a custom-made DJ booth and state of the art sound system. The club-restaurant serves up fine European cuisine and accommodates parties of up to 400 people. The club features a large outdoor patio and two levels of fun and music and boasts one of the highest female to male ratios of any central Odessa night venue. 
12 Lanzheronovskaya / Ekaterinisnakaya
Tel: 41-14-12

 

Bounty aka Cosmo Club 

CaIl this club Miami meets Odessa with all the tropical amenities. Dance to sizzling Latin beats including Salsa, Meringue, Reggaeton and Cumbia. Live bands power out the hottest sounds this side of Havana. Simple d?cor with a Latin twist, yet one of the most well attended clubs in Odessa packed with live wires almost every night of the week until sunrise. Located in the center of the city. 

13th Fontana Station 

Tel. 612-84-82

Faktura 

Progressive dance music on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays. Acid-Jazz on Tuesdays, Wednesdays. Stylish club design. No pop music. An “elite” club with face-control and more hot women to drive you out of your mind. 

Address: Rishelievskaya, 60 

Tel. 34-98-80

Dive 

Live music from 19.00 till 23.00 every day except Monday (jazz, Latin-American). Billiards. VIP-hall. Works from 10.00 until the last visitor leaves. 

Address: Gavannaya stг. 6 

Tel. 731-52-72

 

Mirazh 

A multi use venue has night club, casino and restaurant. A little Las-Vegas if you will with concert programs and a stylish interior design.

Preobrazhenskaya, 36  

Tel. 22-03-10, 34-77-95 

 

The Beach 

The most celebrated place in Odessa for nightlife, clubs and alternative bars is the Arcadia Beach district. Here you’ll find discos and nightclubs in abundance, for all tastes, ages and pocket books, many on the sand, many 24 hours a day, all throbbing hot. 

 

Ibiza 

Designed as a gigantic ant hill with white walls, blue slab floors, pink doors, neon bars, cute, friendly guards. People are having fun everywhere, upstairs and downstairs with a Black Sea view from portals all over the club. Pure Pathos. 

Tel. 777-02-05 (04)

Assol 

A large ship-type club, operates day and night as an elite seafood restaurant and a wild club filled with sweating, writhing dancers by night.

Tel. 746 6633

Itaka 

This club is designed as an ancient Greek temple with columns, Greek statues and marble elements create a unique atmosphere for it’s many pagan guests. Hosts many concerts with artists from all over Europe and Russia, and regular music shows with light and special effects that can be seen for miles out to sea. Must see.
Tel. 34 9188