Travel Reference
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Yalta
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Yalta's air - an invigorating blend of sea and pine forest sprinkled with mountain chill -
has always been its main asset. Back in the 19th century, doctors in St Petersburg had
one remedy for poor-lunged aristocrats: Yalta. That is how the Russian royal family and
other dignitaries, such as playwright Anton Chekhov, ended up here. Old parts of Yalta
are still full of modest and not-so-modest former
dachas
of the tsarist-era intelligentsia
,
while the coast around the city is dotted with the luxurious palaces of the aristocracy. But
back in 1913, a Russian travel guide remarked that Yalta was a long way from the Rivi-
era in terms of comforts and civilisation. And it hasn't got any closer, despite the ex-
tremely beautiful setting in the shade of the chalk-faced Mt Ay-Petri.
