Each Black Sea City
has its own spirit.

All "major" tourist events of the resort cities happen in a beachfront area. There are different kinds of singers, performers and musicians, playing in the streets; artists, who create their arts in front of public; souvenir stands (some of them are very good); a lot of restaurants, nightclubs and discotheques. A special atmosphere of every Black Sea city makes you feel like a real vacationer.

Each city and tourist area of Crimea has its own "specialty". For example, Sevastopol area is associated with the ancient Greek settlement of Hersones and the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. Everybody knows about the “Big Three”, Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill, meeting at the Yalta Conference in 1945.

These well known facts made Sevastopol and Yalta famous.While other the Black Sea cities and tourist areas still remain unknown territory for the majority of Western visitors. They are waiting to be discovered.

What are the best places in Crimea to see? It is a matter of your preferences.

Sevastopol.

As the base for the Soviet Black Sea fleet, the "closed city" was not opened to all foreigners and most nonresident citizens until 1996. Present day the Black Sea city of Sevastopol is the large harbor city full of Russian naval officers.

The whole city is one big museum, with over 1,800 monuments and memorials. Sevastopol area is:

the The Black Sea Fleet, Balaklava (used to be the secret harbor of Soviet submarines), Middle Ages history, Panorama "Defense of Sevastopol in 1854-55", Diorama "Storming of the Sapun Mountain”,modern industry, centre of marine biology, etc.

Sevastopol’s landscapes are picturesque and unique. More than 500,000 tourists visit this Black sea city every year.

"Big Yalta"

"Big Yalta" is a chain of resorts spread for 72 km along the Black Sea coast. Besides the city of Yalta it includes several small towns and villages from Foros to Gurzuf. The most famous among them are: Foros, Nikita (Nikitsky Botanical Garden), Massandra, Livadia, Gaspra, Koreiz, Mishor, Alupka, Simeiz, Gurzuf.

These towns are the most beautiful pearls in the Black Sea necklace.Orchards, vineyards, plantations, famous palaces, parks, waterfalls, monuments of art and nature, wine-tasting halls, which surround them serve an excellent frame to emphasize their charm.

The Black Sea city of Yalta is an impressive sight, nestled up against the Crimean Mountains. Yalta is always full of charm and attraction. If you are planning to visit Crimea, then Yalta definitely is a place to see. It is not a bad idea to visit its Embankment first. Its atmosphere of everlasting romantic and merry holiday will stay with you after you return home.

The "Big Yalta" is full of history and interesting sites. The mountains around Yalta offer extraordinary scenic beauty and nice places to escape the hot weather down on the coast. Here is a short list of places which are worth visiting.

• Uchan-su is the highest waterfall in Crimea. It looks the most potent after heavy rains.

• "The Fairytale Glade" (Poliana Skazok) is an opened -sky museum with attractive sculptures made of natural materials.

• The Nikita Botanical Gardens. They are famous for their collection of over 28,000 plants from all over of the world.

• Take a boat trip to the Swallow's Nest. It's a place where there is a small Castle on top of a rock. (Now it's an extremely expensive restaurant). Everybody visits it when they stay in Crimea.

• The Yalta Conference Museum. It used to be the summer palace of the Russian tsar family.

• The "Massandra" wine cellars and the “Magarach” Institute of Viticulture and Wine. They are excellent places to taste the fine Crimean wines produced there, and to enjoy the scenery.

Yalta is a good place to travel from to many destinations in Crimea using a bus. Better idea is to take a boat. It will take you a bit longer, but you will enjoy the pleasant breeze and beautiful views which will have you in awe for days.

"Big Alushta".

Distance between Alushta and Yalta is only 32km. It has the same set of attractions as Yalta, but is nearly three times smaller than Yalta. Alushta valley is half opened to wind from the north in comparison with Yalta area. It makes the air in Alushta extremely pure and fresh.

The town is located inside the semi-circle of the mountains. This is a wonderful area for not tiring hiking. It will take you 20 min by bus + 3-5 hours by foot to reach very romantic places in the mountains: the Dzhur-Dzhur Falls, the Chatyr-Dagh Mount, and the Ghost Valley.

Bakhchisarai.

The Bakhchisarai area is one of the most interesting in Crimea. This small Black Sea city has Unusual nature, archaeological, historical, cultural monuments attract more than half million visitors every year.

The Middle Ages flavor feels deeply at every step there. The exhibition at magnificent palace of Khan Mengli-Girei tells about the medieval history, life, traditions and culture of Crimean Tatars.

Near Bakhchisarai there is The Uspensky cave monastery - now a place of pilgrimage for Orthodox Christians. Chufut-Kale cave city is located on a mountain plateau and connected with Bakhchisarai by a picturesque shady road (1, 5 km or 1 mi).

Sudak Area.

Everybody knows Yalta and Sevastopol. Sudak is not as glossy a tourist magnet of the Black Sea as they are.But it always attracts interesting people from different countries who arrive here to paint, to do archaeological excavations, to write poems and to make films.

Sudak started from the Genova's fortress built in the 13th century. The completely restored fortress is something you must see.

Seven kilometers (4.5 mi) from Sudak a small village called Novy Svet is located. Novy Svet is a botanical preserve, one of the most beautiful places on the Black Sea coast, and the birthplace of Crimean champagne. It is really a perfect place. A nook full of fantastic cliffs, mysterious grottos, sparkling varicolored bays, rare vegetation, scent of pines and junipers, soft and consistent whether.

Novy Svet winery was founded by the Prince Lev Sergeyevich Golitsyn in 1878. It’s still in business. At the winery you will hear about the production of sparkling wines, visit cellars and taste sparkling wines.

Feodosiya.

Feodosiya is a major Black Sea port at the western end of the Feodosiya Gulf. The 25 century old town is a great beach town offering fifteen kilometers of sunny sand and warm dry climate.

Favorite places of Feodosians and visitors are the many kilometers long embankment stretching along the Black Sea coast. It is overflowing with carved wood souvenirs. Some of them are made of sweet-smelling juniper. They will remind you of the scent of the Black Sea and Crimean Mountains when you get home. You will find a lot of fun there at any time of the day and night.

In 1880 a famous Russian artist Ivan Aivazovsky established an artists' studio and picture gallery in Feodosia, which he donated later to the city. The Aivazovsky Picture Gallery in Feodosia houses some 400 pieces of his works, as well as paintings by Crimean seascape artists.

History lovers will take pleasure in exploring amazing Greek and medieval ruins. Feodosia still keeps antique remains under the modern city and around it. Everywhere in the city you will see medieval towers and ancient temples, a lot of monuments and memorable places.

Nearby Koktebel is a community also well worth visiting.It took nature a million years to create the majestic look of massif Karadag. Its volcanic forms rising above the sea surround Koktebel from all sides. Pristine nature not disturbed by civilization attracts visitors on ecological trails of unique mountainous Karadag.

Karadag Dolphinarium, Marine Aquarium, the Museum of Nature and History are waiting for you to familiarize with their inhabitants.

The must sees in Koktebel include the gliding museum. At the Klementyev Mountain (Uzun-Sirt) you will have the possibility to fly above the Black Sea by glider, motor-hang-glider or delta-plane.

The small Black Sea city of Koktebel is associated with a number of famous names of Russian culture. There is the museum of poet, artist, and philosopher Maximilian Voloshin. The walls of this museum keep in their memory glorious names of M.Tsvetaeva, M.Bulgakov, V. Veresaev and other famous people.

The Fox Bay beach in Koktebel has long been associated with naturism. For many decades naturists have co-existed peacefully with surrounding nature of this very special place where primeval power can be felt in the earth.

Koktebel is the land of cognac and wine - manufacturers. "Koktebel" winery is one of the largest wineries in the Crimea, producing a variety of brandies, vintage dry and dessert wine, and liquors.

Kerch.

You won’t find lush greenery or bright colors here like other Crimean places. But it is still the same amazing Black Sea and Crimea. You will find here bizarre rock formations, dozens of the mineral mud-baths, and a rare phenomenon of nature - the cold mud volcanoes.

26 centuries ago ancient Greeks founded Panticapaeum (present - day Kerch), which became the capital of Bosphoran Kingdom. Numerous archaeologist expeditions work in this area every year. Archaeologically Kerch is of particular interest. Among the highlights of the the Black sea city of Kerch are:

• Site of ancient settlement" Panticapaeum (5th century BC-3rd century AD)
• Tsarskiy Kurghan (4th century B.C.)- burial mound for one of the Bosporian kings.
• Melec-Chesmenskyi Kurgan.
• The Church of St.Joan the Baptist (8th century.)
• Turkish fortress of Eni-Kale. (18th century)
• Large Mithradates Ladder leading to the top of Mount Mithradates, contains 428 footsteps (built in 1833 -1840)
• Obelisk of Glory on Mount Mithradates, built after World War II
• Memorial of heroic guerilla warfare in Ajimushkay mines

  Cape Kazantip is an exceptionally interesting place. Starting from 1993 the hordes of young Ukrainians and Russians, with some reinforcements from other former Soviet republics and the rest of Europe came here for the Kazantip festival, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. Hundreds of DJ's from all over Europe have brought their records for this festival.

  But the local authorities eventually got tired of this rebellious dance revolution and forced the festival to move. The organizers found a new spot, and that Kazantip madness happens on the beach near the hamlet of Popovka near Evpatoria every summer. Their website is at www.kazantipa.net (in Russian).

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