Livadia in Crimea: history, sights, travel and accommodation

As you can see on the map, in the southern part of Crimea, not far from Yalta, there is the famous resort village of Livadia. Clean air, beautiful scenery, warm sea and well-appointed beaches - all this awaits vacationers. Tourists will certainly not be disappointed with the trip and will bring home a lot of positive emotions and the most fun memories of their vacation.

The history of Livadia dates back to the Bronze Age - it was then that the very first settlements appeared here. Many centuries later, the settlement was chosen by the Greeks, and their descendants during the reign of Catherine II guarded the southern borders of their new homeland. The commander of the Greek battalion Lambros Katsonis bought a small piece of land and named it Livadia in honor of his native Greek city.

In the 30s. XIX century, the land was bought by the Polish count Potocki - by that time Crimea had already gained wide popularity among the Russian aristocracy as a popular holiday destination. Livadia began to be actively populated by Russians - by the 50s. In the 19th century, about 30 yards settled there, and the village itself was chosen by the royal family.

Over the years, Livadia has changed many owners, at the moment it belongs to Russia, but the fame of the resort extends far beyond its borders, and not only as one of the best resorts in the world, but also as a historical place where the fate of the whole post-war Europe was decided.

Even in imperial times, Livadia was developed as a health resort, therefore, in our time, a large number of sanatoriums, hospitals and boarding houses have been built here. The terrain infrastructure is replete with shopping malls, cafes, markets, first-aid posts, pharmacies and, of course, beaches. There are always rental bicycles and scooters, on which everyone can take an exciting walk through the picturesque surroundings.

The beaches in Livadia differ from Yalta, and for the better: due to the small number of tourists they are not crowded and always well-groomed, and the water remains clean. For vacationers sun loungers are provided, as well as umbrellas, shower cabins and dressing areas are equipped. Rescuers work on the beach around the clock.

The nature in Livadia is picturesque - the resort is located on the sea coast near the forest, and in the village itself, built on the side of the mountain, it is always warm and sunny. The main “highlight” of the town is that, due to the proximity of the sea and the mountains, a unique microclimate is created - the warm sea warms the land in winter, cools with a light breeze on a hot summer day, and the high mountains reliably protect the village from dank winds.

The weather is warm here - in winter, the air temperature varies from +21 to +24 degreesYou can swim from mid-May until the last ten days of October, even in the winter months the water temperature is not lower than +5 degrees, so you can relax here year-round, but the main flow of tourists falls on the velvet season.

Earlier, Count Potocki made a lot of efforts to achieve the prosperity of his estate, the object of his special pride was the park of amazing beauty, decorated with fountains, made of marble. The fountain “Nymph” enjoyed a special love of visitors, which was a real ancient sarcophagus, cunningly exported from Italy.

Of particular interest is the Imperial Cottage. When the emperor Alexander II became the owner of Livadia, on his instructions the count's estate by the efforts of the architect Monighetti turned into a royal residence - by the end of 1866 an architectural ensemble was built here, including about 70 buildings. The most beautiful of them were considered the Big and Small palaces. The estate of the Russian Tsar was an unusual mixture of Russian national and Mediterranean traditions. It was in this place through the efforts of Alexander II that one of the largest collections of paintings in the world and a rich library were collected.

By the end of the XIX century, the Grand Livadia Palace was dilapidated, and it was decided to demolish it and build a new castle on this site. So, at the beginning of the XX century. a unique example of Russian architecture from white Inkerman stone appeared, which has survived to our times unchanged. The architect N. Krasnov was guided by the principle of mixing the classical style with the increasingly popular modern - externally the palace looks like a palazzo of the Renaissance, but inside everything meets the requirements of the present.

You can immerse yourself in the Renaissance by going to the inner Italian courtyard surrounded by Tuscan columns, you can enjoy the oriental flavor in the Arab courtyard, which, in fact, is a light well.

The house church is creating a special atmosphere - it was in it that the members of the families of several Russian emperors prayed. The church was built in accordance with the Byzantine canons of temple architecture and complemented by several features of Georgian religious buildings. Today the church is called Holy Cross Church and delights all visitors with the elegance of its forms. Before, the white marble iconostasis and the blue vault dotted with gold stars caused special delight for visitors. Unfortunately, after the revolution, most of the values ​​were lost, and the iconostasis was destroyed - today its analogue is constructed of wood, which imitates stone carving in its texture.

The authors of the palace and park ensemble tried to fit all the structures into the surrounding space as harmoniously as possible. In total, Livadia Park occupies about 50 hectares, and throughout the entire territory the natural landscape is adjacent to park man-made art. The vegetation here is represented by traditional Crimean plants and supplemented with shrubs and trees that are completely unusual for these places - each vacationer can see huge sequoias, rare species of pines, Lebanese cedars and even exotic roses.

Behind one of the palace buildings, the Tsar’s trail begins, which after 5.7 km connects Livadia with the Gasprinsky mansionfamous for the fact that Leo Tolstoy often visited here - it was in memory of him that one of the places on the trail was called “Yasnaya Polyana”. In the times after the collapse of the USSR, the trail became desolate, but in recent years all possible efforts have been made to reconstruct it.

In the halls of the palace complex is now a museum, whose expositions represent the main milestones of the history of the complex. So, one of them is associated with the Yalta Conference, and the other represents canvases dedicated to the history of the Romanovs.

If vacationers get to Crimea by plane, You can always get to Livadia from the airport in several ways:

• Minibus No27 - this flight starts from the airport itself;
• intercity bus;
• trolleybus traveling on the route Simferopol - Yalta.

All of the listed minibuses go regularly, so catching them is not difficult. If the tourist has a lot of luggage with him, it is preferable to take a taxi, which quickly and comfortably takes you to your destination.

It is very convenient to get to Livadia from Yalta - the distance between these settlements is only 3 kmBy the way, the road will go through the huge vineyards of one of the most famous wineries in Crimea, it is here that the famous brands of cahors, port and muscat wines are produced. If you want to get to Livadia, you can also take it by water - every three hours a boat arrives ashore, which takes tourists to the resort town.

The village of Livadia is very small, but despite this, it contains significant tourist flows. A lot of establishments operate here, where holidaymakers are resettled. These are sanatoria, hotels, hotels, guest houses, recreation centers with their own beach, as well as the private sector, where you can always rent a house for a family of vacationers.

One of the most comfortable guest houses is considered to be Livadia. It is built on the slope of Mount Mogabi - here you can not only relax, but also heal. The price of the permit usually includes accommodation in rooms, three meals a day and therapy for patients with heart disease.

Everything necessary for a comfortable healing holiday offers another popular resort - "Black Sea". For visitors, not only comfortable sleeping quarters are equipped, but also a volleyball court, a gym, tennis courts, as well as an indoor pool, a winter garden, conference rooms and a rich library.

The sanatorium has its own pebble beach, which communicates with the hotel by cable car.

Livadia Spa Hotel is surely not to be underestimated. From the huge windows of the sanatorium, a picturesque panorama opens, and if you wish, you can pay for both "all inclusive" and one-time meals. The boarding house has three swimming pools, a natural solarium, a sauna, a billiard room, a sports hall, as well as a playground. There is a private beach less than 50 meters from the hotel.

As evidenced by the reviews of vacationers, the comfort of rest primarily depends on the chosen housing and its proximity to the sea. It is best to give preference to sanatoriums, which are located almost on the coast - this can greatly reduce the time spent on the road to the beach.

Despite the fact that today Livadia is considered one of the most comfortable resorts, nevertheless remnants of the Soviet period make themselves felt - there are often hotel complexes on the territory of the area that have not been properly renovated for many years, and this factor should certainly be consider when choosing a hotel.

It should also be borne in mind that part of the Sevastopol highway passes through Livadia, so if you rent a guest house near it, then you are unlikely to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Overview of Livadia in the Crimea - in the next video.