Yalta, located on the Crimean coast, is deservedly called the pearl of the peninsula. It was here that Russian emperors, representatives of the upper classes and the Russian intelligentsia loved to rest. They left behind regal staircases, luxurious palaces, landscaped parks and museums that arouse genuine admiration for tourists. Yalta is also of interest for its comfortable beaches, stretching along the picturesque embankment, and modern tourist facilities. If you have the opportunity to look into this legendary corner of Crimea, where there are countless sights, we will offer you what to see in Yalta in 1 day on your own. Photos and descriptions of the most significant cultural and historical monuments will help you plan an exciting excursion.
Nikitsky Botanical Garden
The property of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden is located on the picturesque Black Sea coast in the vicinity of the resort, near the village of Nikita. Founded in 1811, it is listed as one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world and consists of several parks: Lower, Upper, Primorsky and Montedor Park. If you set a goal to see the whole variety of 2000 species of trees, ornamental and fruit shrubs, the whole palette of flowers and medicinal herbs, then plan to visit almost all day.
The upper park starts at the main entrance to the botanical garden. Here you find yourself in an oasis of exotic vegetation of the subtropics and tropics with slender cypresses, bamboo grove, yucca, wisteria and seasonal flowers, complemented by pools and fountains. The famous rose garden creates a special beauty and dizzying aroma.
The lower park occupies a rocky slope with stepped paths. Here you will get acquainted with the varieties of tropical fruit trees, see century-old oaks, fir trees and a grove of Lebanese cedars. An olive grove, complemented by an alley of cypress trees, enchants a corner of the Mediterranean.
In the youngest park "Montedor" it is pleasant to stroll in the shade of alleys and gardens laid out of trees bred as a result of selection. In the Seaside Park, facing the Black Sea coast, there are many tropical plants that love a warm and humid climate. The pearl of the park is considered to be the richest collection of Japanese flora, which inspired the designers to create a mini-copy of the Land of the Rising Sun. Another gem of this park is the Garden of Eden, famous for its exhibitions of spring, summer and autumn flowers.
Cactus greenhouse
The special pride of Nikitsky Garden is the impressive indoor cactus greenhouse - one of the largest in Europe. The cultivation of winter-hardy prickly pear, agave and yucca cacti began here almost a century ago. Today you will see almost all types of cacti and succulents - drought-resistant plants growing in the desert areas of South America.
Here, more than 600 varieties of cacti are amazing in their shape and colors. Here cactus growers will be offered to purchase the species they like and will be given recommendations for cultivation. In total, about 500 species of succulents grow under the roof of the greenhouse and the open terrace - plants with thick stems and succulent leaves that are not afraid of drought and stock up on water during the rains.
The well-known "money tree" also belongs to such plants. For your information, a visit to the cactus greenhouse is included in the program together with the Montedor park and the Garden of Eden, for which a new entrance has been opened near the bus stop opposite the lower colonnade.
Massandra Palace
The Massandra Palace was built for the son of the famous politician Count M.S. Vorontsov in the 1880s. Several years after the death of the owner, it was acquired for the royal family of Alexander III. Then in Massandra, a third floor was added to the two-story palace, the facade was decorated with decorative elements that added charm and eclecticism.
However, in connection with the death of the emperor, the completion was completed by his son, Emperor Nicholas II. Since 1992, the palace has been operating as a museum, where visitors get acquainted with the interiors of the royal rooms of the second half of the 19th century, decorated with stucco, exquisite wood carvings, tiles and frescoes. Of interest is the examination of the furniture in the halls for official receptions, the study and the bedrooms.
The walls of the rooms are decorated with portraits of members of the royal family and paintings by Russian artists; an important addition to the interior is the collection of royal porcelain dishes and vases. The palace area is also delightful with sculptures of heroes of Greek myths, the beauty of fragrant roses and a picturesque park. The museum is open to visitors from 9.00 to 18.00 on weekdays and until 20.00 on weekends.
Massandra beach
The international Blue Flag award already speaks of the excellent quality of beach cover, sea water and comfortable beach infrastructure of Massandra beach. Among the city beaches, this is the most popular place for swimming, sunbathing and sea activities. The coastal strip is dotted with large and small pebbles, and the depth of the sea is growing quite quickly, so here you need to look after the children more closely.
All beach areas, separated by 6 breakwaters, have sun loungers, parasols, changing cabins, showers and toilets. The zone of increased comfort, in addition to the listed infrastructure, stands out for the bungalow. Lifeguards are on duty on the Massandra beach, there is a first-aid post, a bar with soft drinks and a cafe.
The territory of the Grand M Beach beach club with the possibility of relaxing on open and closed roof terraces, the presence of a pool with water from mountain springs stands out with increased comfort. As evening falls, the club turns into a beachside café with DJs, dancing and live entertainment.
Embankment
The promenade decorated with slender palm trees and lush southern vegetation is one of the main attractions of the resort. It resembles the promenades of the famous Mediterranean cities of Cannes and Nice. The embankment is divided into upper and lower. The upper part is compared to the Moscow Arbat with boutiques, cafes, restaurants, hotels, expressed in one architectural ensemble in the style of the early twentieth century.
An unprecedented charm is given to the upper promenade by the ancient Chapel of the New Martyrs, the Baths of Rofe, the hotels "Oreanda" and "Villa Sofia", of the late 19th century. Attention is drawn to the buildings of the Chekhov Theater and the former International Seamen's Club, which today houses the unique Theater of Wine and Crimea. It is impossible to pass by without stopping near the monuments to the writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, the actor Mikhail Pugovkin, the writer of political detectives Yulian Semenov.
The greatest interest among tourists, where they like to be photographed, is aroused by the sculptural composition "The Lady with the Dog", on which, in addition to the heroine of the story, the action of which took place on the embankment, there is a statue of its author, Chekhov. Going down, where the city beach stretches along the promenade, you can swim or just sit on a bench, admiring the sea and a beautiful view of Mount Ai-Petri.
Count Mordvinov's palace
The historic two-century building of the palace of Count Mordvinov, standing on a hill in a luxurious park zone, attracts attention with its grandeur on Sverdlova Street. On the north side, it is surrounded by a mountain. In the landscape of the palace territory there are many centuries-old trees, bizarre shrubs and skillful sculptures.
Built in Mediterranean architectural style, it is reminiscent of Italian Renaissance villas.Standing out with graceful facades built of alternating greenish Gurzuf sandstone, which changes color under different lighting conditions with ashy local sandstone, the mansion creates an atmosphere of medieval Tuscany around. The interior of the Mordvinov Palace is breathtaking.
The interior was decorated with marble, precious woods, skillful mosaics and decorative stucco moldings. The wall paintings alone in the 79 rooms of the palace occupy 2000 sq. m. The use of architectural forms in the interior - marble columns, original balconies, fireplaces and other details cause genuine admiration.
Crocodilarium
Crocodilarium has something to surprise nature lovers. Opened in 2011, he managed to gain popularity among tourists. For several years, the crocodilarium has replenished with many species of crocodiles, turtles, snakes and reptiles living in conditions close to their natural habitat. For the rare Siamese crocodile, the conditions for living in a combination of fresh water and swamps have been created.
The peculiarity of sharp-winged crocodiles digging holes in the ground for wintering, and in the warm season, swimming in sea water, is taken into account. Here you will see the world's largest crested crocodile - a native of Australia and the smallest smooth-headed caiman - an inhabitant of tropical rivers. A member of the Ghanaian gharial family, an endangered species dating back 65 million years, also lives in the crocodilarium.
You will also see the African Nile crocodile, famous for its size and presence of the third century, the Cuban crocodile, Spectacled caiman and Dumb crocodile. In total, 25 large aquariums are equipped in the premises of the crocodile house, which have become the residence of these species of exotic fauna. You will find the Crocodilarium at the end of the promenade along the huge crocodile figure at the entrance.
Church of St. John Chrysostom
In the historical center on Polikurovsky Hill, surrounded by a cypress park, the building of the Church of St. John Chrysostom is admired for its beauty. This church, dating back to the first half of the 19th century, became the first religious building of a resort town made of stone, for the consecration of which Tsar Nicholas I himself came. Whether you are on a mountain, in the sea or in a valley, you will see a temple with a non-traditional Orthodoxy architecture with features of a pseudo-Gothic style from everywhere ...
After several reconstructions, today we see the architecture of the church in a combination of European Gothic with "Moscow Baroque". The highlight of the complex is a white and pink three-tiered bell tower with four snow-white bulbs in the corners of the upper part and completed with a golden dome topped with a cross. Inside the temple is decorated with wooden decor on carved icon cases, domes, vaults.
The walls are decorated with biblical paintings. In the temple you will see many family relics passed down by generations of residents, several shrines, the main of which is called the reliquary of St. Luke. Near the church there is an old cemetery, where famous people of the country and the city found peace.
Cable car Yalta-Gorka
Near the hotel "Tavrida" there is the lower station of the Yalta-Gorka cable car, along which you get to the upper station, located at the top of the Darsanovsky hill. The cable car ride, which stretches 600 m above the center of Yalta, lasts only 12 minutes, overcoming an elevation difference of 120 m. Two passengers sit in each cabin directly on the move, because the cable car moves in a vicious circle without stopping.
In total, together with Yalta-Gorka, there are three cable cars in the city, but this line is the oldest, offering stunning views of the city and the sea landscape from a height. Upstairs you can walk to the Hill of Glory with a memorial dedicated to the fallen soldiers in the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars, look at retro cars in the Museum of Automotive Art. At the upper station, it will be pleasant to relax on the open terrace of the lounge bar, admiring the panorama.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, towering in the city center near the Darsan Hill, serves as the main active Orthodox church in the city. Already from afar, it attracts attention with its beauty, embodied in the architecture of the Moscow style of the 17th century, becoming the brightest attraction of the resort. Its facade, reminiscent of a tower from Russian fairy tales, stands out for its lush traditional Russian decor.
The color of the facade in a white-pink tone in combination with yellow visually gives the temple an airiness. The mosaic on the facade, depicting Alexander Nevsky and made by the famous Venetian artist, is fascinating. Despite the seeming lightness, the dimensions of the cathedral are quite large. It has 2 thrones - the lower one for 700 people and the upper one for 1000 parishioners.
Entering the interior of the temple, you will be amazed by its interior, decorated in the Byzantine traditions with skillful paintings of saints and biblical subjects on the walls and vaults, the beauty of the iconostasis made by the masters of icon painting from the Vladimir region. The bell tower is adjoined to the building of the temple, completed with an onion with a cross, delighting with the richest decoration of the facade and the ringing of original bells.
Museum of Automotive Art
The Museum of Automotive Art, which opened in 2017, has already collected many unique samples of not only retro cars, but also cars created on the basis of past years, which embodied the imagination of the masters. You will be surprised by one of the fruits of the author's boundless imagination that served as the foundation of the museum - a shark car, created on the basis of the old "Victory".
An honorable place here is given to the legendary exhibits of the Soviet automobile industry: the hunchbacked "Zaporozhets", "Victory", "Volga-21" and their brethren with an original designed tuning. So far, the Museum of Automotive Art offers no more than 20 original author's models for viewing, but there are plans to increase their number by another 10 times.
All the exhibits displayed in the museum pavilion are on the move and participate in permanent car exhibitions, races and other events. Visitors-car enthusiasts and boys especially like the fact that they can get into the car, start it, look under the hood, and take a picture against the background of a rare model with its own entertaining story about those people to whom the car once belonged.
Zoo "Fairy Tale"
The private zoo "Fairy Tale", founded at the end of the last century, is admired by many tourists. To the habitat of animals from all over the world, occupying an area of the western outskirts of Yalta of 30 thousand square meters, you have to go in the direction of the Kuibyshevo settlement along the Yalta-Alushta highway. The entire location of the zoo consists of several terraces located at different levels. Convenient paths, bridges and steps are laid to the enclosures and animal cages.
The picturesque landscape of the territory is made up of exotic trees, shrubs, flower beds between which there are sculptural compositions and fountains. In total, the "Fairy Tale" is home to 1,500 animals, including hundreds of species: predators, primates, artiodactyls and other mammals. They are accompanied by rare representatives of the bird family.
It is interesting to look at more than 100 species of amphibians and reptiles in the "Marine Aquarium", the entrance to which is designed like a shark's mouth. Taking a look from the Ferris wheel and taking pictures of the resort's landscapes against the backdrop of Mount Ai-Petri, the Uchan-Su waterfall, the vastness of the Black Sea and the entire "Fairy Tale" is an indescribable pleasure. In summer, the zoo is open from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm, and ticket sales stop 2 hours before closing.
Glade of fairy tales
If you are relaxing with a child, be sure to give him the joy of visiting the Glade of Fairy Tales - a town in a picturesque forest on Mount Krestovaya, where the fairy-tale heroes depicted in the sculpture settled. This magical place at the foot of the quaint castle-like Stavri-Kaya rock has become a real children's open-air museum.
Next to it, the noisy stream of the Uchan-Su waterfall falls from a height, creating a mysterious atmosphere of the "Glade of fairy tales". The old residents of Polyana - Chernomor, Taras Bulba, Puzyr, Buratino, Laptya and Solominki every year welcome new residents to their fairytale city, where they have already formed: "Pushkinskaya Polyana" with the heroes of the poet's fairy tales and a pond where the old man catches a goldfish, "Slavic Field "With the heroes of Russian epics, possession of doctor Aibolit.
Baba Yaga has settled in a hut on chicken legs, which turns to people with a creak. Guests are invited by the "Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors" with metal guards guarding the entrance. Some visitors of the museum are not averse to visiting the jaws of a wooden dragon, others - to take a picture, hugging Vasilisa the Beautiful. Before the entrance to the museum, on an epic stone, there are signs on which way to go and a warning not to waste time in vain.
Palace of the Emir of Bukhara
One of the most significant historical and cultural monuments of Crimea is the building of the Palace of the Emir of Bukhara, erected at the beginning of the XX century. The palace is located above the Seaside Park, founded at the end of the 19th century on a site acquired by the emir of Bukhara from the city.
The two-storey palace building, built of Kerch stone in the style of Moorish architecture for the summer residence of the emir, attracts attention by the combination of its asymmetrical parts of rectangular, faceted and semicircular geometric shapes. The presence of terraces, loggias, porticoes, balustrades and belvederes draws attention to the facade, causing an involuntary admiration for its architecture.
Against the background of the delicate colors of the facades, the sophistication of the Moorish exterior is given by the columns with graceful capitals decorated with openwork carvings, the framing of arched windows and a jagged parapet. A marble staircase leads to the palace, guarded at the end by sculptures of lions. Nowadays, the palace of the Emir of Bukhara is occupied by one of the buildings of the sanatorium "Yalta" and you can see its interior design only with a guided tour.
House-Museum of A.P. Chekhov
A visit to the memorial House-Museum of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, located in the house built by the writer, called "White Dacha" will reveal many interesting facts of the last years of his life. Chekhov had to settle in Yalta due to poor health. His mother and sister moved with him in 1899. The family settled in the house built by the writer on the plot he had acquired.
Under the roof of this house, his famous works were born: the stories "The Lady with the Dog" and "In the Ravine", the plays "Three Sisters" and "The Cherry Orchard", and the stories "The Bishop", "On Christmas Day" and "The Bride". After Chekhov left life, his sister became the mistress of the house, who came here for the summer and kept the house. Thanks to her efforts, the living environment of the "White Dacha" was preserved.
The museum has decorated exhibitions with personal belongings of the writer, notebooks, items that were in his use. Here you can see rare archival photographs of the family and a collection of letters. In total, more than 1,700 exhibits are kept in the funds of the memorial museum. To accommodate the entire legacy of the writer and promote his work, another building was built on the territory of the museum complex, work has begun on the restoration of the botanical garden planted by Chekhov.
