Prymorsky Boulevard is one of the finest urban promenades in Eastern Europe: a broad avenue shaded by acacia trees, running along the clifftop above the port, lined on one side with the Italianate palaces of 19th-century merchants and officials. At the western end stands the Vorontsov Palace colonnade; at the eastern end, the Potemkin Stairs descend to the sea. In between, a succession of statues, benches, and views of the Black Sea make this the place Odessans come to walk in the evenings.
The boulevard was designed as part of the city's original 1794 plan and was largely complete by the 1840s. The buildings along it — including the Londonska Hotel, the City Hall, and several palaces now converted to offices and museums — give it the feel of a set piece from imperial Russia, preserved almost intact. The statue of the Duke of Richelieu, the city's first governor (a French émigré), stands at the top of the Potemkin Stairs looking out to sea with his right arm extended — the most photographed pose in Odessa.