Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Vorontsovsky dvorets; adult/student 70/35uah; 9am-8pm May-Sep, to 4pm Oct-Apr) Crimea's
most exotic palace-park complex is wedged between the coast and Mt Ay-Petri, in a stun-
ning setting 16km west of Yalta at Alupka. The palace was designed by English archi-
tects for the English-educated Count Mikhail Vorontsov, the immensely rich regional
governor, and it's a bizarre combination of Scottish castle on its landward side and
Arabic-Asian fantasy on its seaward side. Its towers are said to repeat the contours of the
Ay-Petri plateau looming above it. Vorontsov brought serfs from his estates all over Rus-
sia to build the palace and park in 1828 to 1846. A century later Winston Churchill
stayed here during the 1945 Yalta Conference.
Tours take you firstly into the palace's luxurious interior, which includes an imitation
Wedgwood 'blue room', an English-style dining hall and an indoor conservatory.
However, the best views are from the lush gardens behind the palace, where six marble
lions flank the staircase framed against the backdrop of Mt Ay-Petri. Churchill joked that
one of the lions looked like him - minus the trademark cigar.
Bus 32 from Yalta's Veshchevoy Rynok bus station and bus 27 from Yalta's main bus
station shuttle back and forth to Alupka (7uah).
Sunny Path WALKING
Starting in Livadia Palace's lush coastal gardens, this scenic trail was built on the recom-
mendation of Tsar Nicholas II's doctor, who believed that regular outdoor exercise would
improve the royal family's tuberculosis. The tsar typically walked the route with a rifle
and in full soldier's gear, his adjutants following him at a respectful distance. The trail
stretches for nearly 7km to Rozy Lyuksemburg Sanatorium in Miskhor. From there, you
can catch bus 26 either further to Alupka or back to Yalta. Shortly before the end of the
trail, there is a turn-off to Gaspra/Miskhor and Ay-Petri Cable Car station. Although the
trail is generally well signposted, some stretches are disturbed by new development. If
you lose it, keep walking in the same direction and you'll find the trail again.
FIT FOR A TSAR
Livadia and Vorontsovsky Palaces are the only easily accessible aristocratic estates
on Crimea's southern coast, but there are at least a dozen more. They were con-
verted into Soviet-styled sanatoriums, which are hard to visit unless you've booked
your stay there with a local tour agency. But you can check yourself into at least
one of them. Well, almost. A short walk from the Lastochkino Gnezdo bus stop in
the direction of Yalta, Kichkine (
099 205 4000; www.hotel-kickine.ru ; d with/without sea
) is the former cliff-top residence of tsar's nephew, Grand
view from 990/840uah;
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