Steep mountain peaks serve as a lovely backdrop for Yalta the jewel of the Crimean peninsula and our favorite Ukrainian city. Were not surprised that the writer Anton Chekhov would choose to live in this seaside resortit seems to be a combination of Carmel California the French Riviera and Greece. Yalta (pop. 80 000) has exemplary resorts museums and beaches.

Be sure to see Livadia the former Romanov vacation home (palace really) used for the World War II conference of Stalin Churchill and Roosevelt. Chekhovs former residence has been turned into a museum; inside youll find the writers medical bag (from his days as a doctor) and the piano Rachmaninov played when he visited. Allow at least two (but preferably three) nights for relaxation. Just outside of Yalta set on a hilltop beside the ocean are the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens which boast 1 600 varieties of roses and a very good restaurant/club. Dont miss the Swallows Nest a fantastical castle perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea (the castle was in fact designed for a German businessman by a U.S. architect).

We enjoy the refreshing ferry or hydrofoil ride between the resort towns along the coast. Alupka from which you can take a cable car to Mt. Ai-Petri for fabulous views and Miskhor with a beautiful beach are our favorite resorts. Special trips can be arranged to Sevastopol and Balaklava important sites in the Crimean War immortalized in the poem The Charge of the Light Brigade." Another excursion goes to Bakhchisarai a city of minarets and mosquesit was once the capital of the Crimean Khanate. While there see the magnificent palace of Khan Mengli-Girel and the Fountain of Tears which inspired Pushkin to write the poem The Fountain of Bakhchisarai.

Theres no airport in Yalta; you fly to the regional capital of Simferopol set among beautiful vineyards and orchards then take a car into the city (about an hours drive). 210 mi/340 km southeast of Odessa.