Crimea
Overview
The Republic of Crimea is a peninsula washed by the Black and the Azov seas with its capital in Simferopol. Several times in the history Crimea has been the object of international disputes due to its strategic location, warm climate, lush subtropical vegetation, mountains and seaside resorts. It was where the Russian aristocracy built their summer palaces which were later transformed into the sanatoriums for workers.
There are numerous sights and attractions including Livadia, Vorontsov and Bakhchisarai Palaces, Massandra Palace and Winery, Scythian Treasure, Swallow’s Nest, Balaklava Naval Museum, Aivazovsky National Art Gallery, Valley of Ghosts and much more.
In Crimea you have so many opportunities for sightseeing, for enjoying the subtropical climate and summer entertainment in the world-class hotels:
- Yalta is the main tourist center and a mixture of the Soviet hotels and modern high-rise apartments with palaces of the Russian tsar;
- Evpatoria, the city with more than 2500-years of history, named in honor of the Pontic king Mithridates VI who was a contemporary of the Roman Empire;
- Alupka, with its magnificent Vorontsov Palace where Churchill stayed during the Yalta Conference in 1945;
- Bakhchisarai, located in the canyon between Simferopol and Sevastopol, with its famous palace of the Crimean Tatar Khan, a cave city and an Armenian monastery built inside the cave;
- Sevastopol, a major port of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, awarded the title of “Hero City” for resisting the Nazis during World War II.
Sights
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Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai
Visit the ancient city, treat yourself to a bouquet of lavender collected in the Crimean meadows, taste unique local sweets such as baklava, Turkish Delight or hvorost, enjoy a cup of tea from mountain Crimean herbs in a cozy cafe near the magnificent palace of Bakhchisarai. The Khan’s Palace, a unique example of the imperial Islamic architecture of the Crimean Tatars. It is essentially a city within a city with its own mosques, mausoleums, baths, splendid frescoes and fine decoration work. Be sure to pay your attention to the exquisite wooden balconies facing the entrance to Chufut-Kale built exclusively for Muslim women from the Middle Ages to the present day.
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Swallow 's Nest
This breathtaking castle is a historical and architectural gem similar to a medieval fort. It is located not far from Yalta at Cape Ai-Todor on a 40-meter cliff wonderfully overlooking the Black Sea. The castle is an unofficial symbol of the peninsula resembling a bird’s nest that overlooks the coast.
The name of the first owner of the “Castle of Love” as called before “Swallow’s Nest” is unknown. It was a retired general and he took part in Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1888 for which he was granted land in the Crimea. However, at the time the castle was a wooden. Its present form “Swallow’s Nest” was due to the oil industrialist Baron Steinheil who liked to vacation in the Crimea. Steinheil purchased Aurora cliff area and decided to build a romantic castle which resembles a medieval building on the banks of the Rhine.
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Mishor - Ai-Petri Cable Car
Sail through the 1670-meter-wide valley by cable car at altitude higher than 1000 m above sea level. The entire route is divided into 2 sections: the lower section length 1310 meters and the top unsupported – 1670 meters with an elevation angle of 46 degrees. The lower cable car station is at a height of 86 meters above sea level and just 15 minutes lifting visitors can already see the panorama of the southern coast of Crimea from a height of 1153 meters above sea level – is the height of the upper cable car station – Ai-Petri mountain. From a platform of upper cable car station opens panorama of Mount Ayu-Dag, Yalta, Cape Ai-Todor, Swallow’s Nest, resort towns Mishor, Alupka and Simeiz and vast expanses of Black Sea.
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Crimean Wine Trail
The “Wine Trail” runs mainly along the coastline of the Southwestern, Southeastern and Southern Crimea.
The vineyards located in the eastern part of Crimea (Sudak, Koktebel, Sunny Valley and Old Crimea) are widely known for their dry wines. The most popular local grape varieties are Kokur and Kefesia which have been cultivated since the Byzantine era. Sparkling wines of the New World are no less famous. Southern wineries are specializing in producing dessert and fortified wines. Port wine, sherry and Massandra Madeira are the symbols of Crimean viticulture. The Crimean muscat wines are also produced in this area. It is more saturated and aromatic than European muscat wines due to the hot subtropical climate.
Hotels
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CRIMEAN BREEZE HOTEL
Number of rooms: 108
Distance to the city center: 2 km
Distance to the airport: 10 km
Address: 298683, Russia, Crimea, Parkovoye village, Parkovoye highway, 39The CRIMEAN BREEZE Hotel is a five-star luxury resort in Yalta with 20 hectares of subtropical forest, a 300-meter sea embankment and three private beaches, a marina, six saltwater pools, a helicopter pad, several sports fields, a gym and a SPA complex, a children’s playground and private parking. The hotel offers individually furnished rooms, apartments and luxury villas. Natural materials including local wood and marble are used in the hotel’s interiors.
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OREANDA PREMIER HOTEL
Number of rooms: 168
Distance to the city center: 4 km
Distance to the airport: 100 km
Address: 35/2 Lenin str., Yalta, Crimea, 98635, RussiaOREANDA PREMIER Hotel has been welcoming guests since 1907. Having preserved its bourgeois atmosphere of the Romanov emperors, today the hotel offers guests a luxurious stay in the modern sense. It is located on the seashore, on the Yalta embankment within 30 minutes drive from the main attractions of the Crimea.
OREANDA PREMIER Hotel has everything for a comfortable stay: a beach, swimming pools with sea water and water attractions, numerous restaurants, a fitness and spa center, a beauty salon. The hotel offers four well-equipped halls for business and private events.
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MRIYA RESORT & SPA
Number of rooms: 425
Distance to the city center: 30 km
Distance to the airport: 124 km
Address: 298685, Russia, Crimea, Opolznevoye village, General Ostryakova str., 9MRIYA RESORT & SPA is an upscale world-famous resort surrounded by an extraordinary subtropical landscape and includes a five-star hotel and seventeen villas on the Black Sea coast, medical and wellness centers. The hotel offers its guests all possible amenities of a seaside luxury resort: eight restaurants, conference and banquet halls, a private beach, indoor and outdoor pools, two cinemas, billiards and bowling, gym and professional tennis courts, playgrounds and an amusement park and much more. All rooms have spectacular views of the Black Sea and the mountains. The medical clinic of the resort with a total area of 5000 sq.m. offers luxury apartments. The clinic is equipped with the most modern diagnostic equipment manufactured by world industry leaders. Seventeen villas of the resort are furnished with exquisite handmade furniture and decorated with natural materials.
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YALTA INTOURIST HOTEL
Number of rooms: 1186
Distance to the city center: 4 km
Distance to the airport: 94 km
Address: 50 Drazhinsky str., Yalta, Crimea, 298600, RussiaYALTA INTOURIST Hotel is the largest resort in the city, located a few minutes walk from the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Massandra Palace. The rooms are pleasantly decorated, well-furnished and functionally equipped with refrigerators, air conditioners, private bathrooms, TVs. All rooms have balconies. The hotel complex has 25 restaurants and bars, a wellness center, tennis courts, a football field, horse riding facilities, massage rooms, a fitness center, a swimming pool, a children’s playground, a business center, a nightclub, karaoke, a beauty studio, eight conference rooms with a maximum capacity of 1,000 guests.
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BRISTOL HOTEL
Number of rooms: 149
Distance to the city center: 1 km
Distance to the airport: 95 km
Address: 10 Roosevelt str., Yalta, Crimea, 298600, RussiaThe BRISTOL Hotel is located in the Old Town of Yalta, close to St John Chrysostom Cathedral, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Wax Museum. It offers comfortable rooms with high ceilings and balconies, modern design and panoramic views of the southern slope of Ai-Petri Mountain and the harbor of the Yalta Seaport.
The extensive infrastructure of the hotel includes a restaurant, a business center with two spacious conference rooms, a gym, an indoor swimming pool and a sauna complex, a massage room and a beauty salon.
