Yalta Sights and Attractions
Yalta Sights – A Museum in the Open Air
Usually acquaintance with Crimea starts with its main resort – Yalta. Thousands of tourists and guests of Crimea strive to visit this acknowledged capital of the Crimean resorts. Yalta is often called a huge museum in the open air. The town itself, created as a place of rest and rehabilitation of the Russian aristocracy, is full of palaces, villas, private residences, churches and park complexes. Walking along Yalta one may follow the scenes of the literature and movie heroes of a play by P.A. Vyazemsky “A Meeting in Yalta”, a story by A.P. Chekhov “ Lady with a Dog”, a novel by M. Roschin “Bunin in Yalta”, a novel by I. Potanina “Blues of Yalta in Autumn”, a novel by I. Ilph and E. Petrov “Twelve Chairs”, a story by A. Kuprin “The White Poodle”, a movie by S. Soloviev “ASSA”, “The Crew” movie. A video to the song “Sings the January Snowstorm” from the “Ivan Vassilievich Changes Profession” movie was also shot here.
Key Sights of Yalta
A special place in the history of Yalta is occupied by the city embankment (the last renewal occurred in 2004). The embankment is one of the oldest streets of Yalta and the central walking area. It is enframed with palm trees and filled with an endless chain of attractions, coffee shops and restaurants. Multiple architectural styles are presented here. The embankment is covered with wonderful red granite and light-grey porphyrite. In the middle of the embankment near the dock for cruising motor ships there is a lower stop of the rope-way leading to the Darsan hill. The western end of the embankment is dominated by the Golden Fleece restaurant in the form of an ancient Greek ship. Right opposite the restaurant one can observe a great spherical crown of the Aisedora Duncan sycamore tree (over 500 years of age!). Beside that tree the famous ballet dancer dated Sergey Yesenin. Still further at the very western end of the embankment there is an exhibition hall of the Commonwealth of Artists where one can appreciate and buy wonderful paintings.
The next famous place of interest in Yalta is Lastochkino Gnezdo (The Swallow’s Nest) – a fancy building resembling a medieval knight castle. It has justly become a peculiar symbol of the Southern Crimea, and a wonderful model for many movies. According to one of surveys the Swallow’s Nest castle was considered one of the seven wonders of Crimea. The Swallow’s Nest castle was constructed in 1912 according to the project of A.V. Shervud, an architect and son of a famous architect V.O. Shervud, the author of the project of the History Museum in the Red Square in Moscow. Here the “Amphibia Man” movie was made, and the lair of the sea devil was laid under the castle rock. The detective movie “10 Little Indians” was also made against that scene.
Besides, very important and well-known sights of Yalta include the Roffe bath house (from 1975 it was the rehearsal room of Chervona Ruta band), the Armenian church, center of organ music Livadia, the Yalta rope-road, Alexander Nevsky church, Joannes Zlatoust church, zoo, Lesya Ukrainka museum, the Aquatoria theatre of sea animals, the Yalta aquarium, crocodile farm, museum of butterflies and wax figures. Sights of Greater Yaltainclude the Livadia, Massandra, Vorontsov museum-palaces, the palace of Alexander III, the Dulber palace, the Foros church of Resurrection, Nikitsky botanic garden, the Adalari rocks (twin rocks) beside Hurzuph, the Red Stone rock, the mountains of Ai-Petri, Aiu-Dag, Koshka (the Cat), the waterfall of Uchan-Su, a mountain lake Karagol, the tsar sun path from Livadia to Gaspra. We will highlight some of these in detail below.
The Vorontsov Palace
One of the most popular places of interest of the Greater Yalta is the famous Vorontsov palace in Alupka built in 1828-1848 according to the project by Edward Blore, a famous English architect, for count M.S.Vorontsov. The architecture of the palace building reminds of aristocratic residencies of Elisabeth Tudor. The south façade portal is a chef d’oeuvre of the architectural fantasy of E. Blore. The décor is based on a good artistic blend of the Tudor and indo-islamic architectural styles. A wide diabasic staircase decorated with marble sculptures of six snow-white lions made by an Italian sculptor Bonanni leads you down from the palace to the sea. Interiors and interior decoration items are very well preserved. The unique Blue Parlor delights with its superfine stucco ornament of white lianes with flowers. A graceful marble carved chimney and furniture in the Russian Classicism style are in perfect harmony with the wall finish. And everyone must see the interior garden of the palace! Sculptures of Apollo Belvedere, an Astronomy Muse Urania, Bathing Aphrodite are arranged around the fountain. These sculptures were made of Carrara marble according to ancient models. Expressive plastics and unforgettable smile distinguish “The Little Girl” of Italian master Quintilliano Corbellini. Even established artists failed to reproduce the Corbellini Little Girl’s smile.
Massandra Palace
One would not pass by another Yalta sight– a wonderful palace of Alexander III in Massandra. According to the idea of the French architect Etienne Bouchard the building that was being constructed in the 1880-ies according to a project developed for the mountain area, had to remind royal castle palaces of the XVI-XIX centuries along the Loire banks. But the construction works were resumed in 1892-1900 according to the project of professor M.E. Messmacher who modified the décor of façade of the palace ensemble in the Art Nouveau style. The western palace frontpiece facing Yalta is extraordinarily expressive. It is belted with open galleries, terraces, balustrades, caracoles and laced gratings. Particularly impressive are the unforgettable views from the balconies of the western frontpiece on the court side of the park with three gradually declining terraces, majestic sequoias, fir trees, flower beds and a slope gently turning into a green meadow. Around the palace there are 6 sculptures – copies of a collection of antiques of the Emperor’s Berlin Museum: sphinges, satyrs, dragons. Saggital towers and high chimneys make the palace is directed upward, so it looks light, elegant and dreamlike. The magnificent fit-out and décor of parlors, dormitories and cabinets of His and Her Majesties, of the grand staircase, dining room and the billiard room will not leave the visitors indifferent.
Massandra Winery and the Tasting Complex
Among the unusual items of interest in Yalta one may point out the world-famous Massandra winery with a tasting room and a museum of winemaking, getting the exclusive awards at international competitions dating back to over 100 years. Visitors of the site and tasting room may get an insight into the process of creation, birth of the famous wines, development of new original appellations.
You will have a wonderful opportunity to visit galleries of wine cellars, look at the exhibits of the winery museum, follow the process of wine creation and appreciate the wine flavors at the degustation session.