Protected on three sides by mountains, the region around Yalta enjoys an exceptionally mild climate accounting for its position as a favored vacation spot and spa center. The area’s largest and most important resort is Yalta. Here at the Golden Riviera, Russian aristocrats built their elegant summer palaces and palatial villas, which rivaled those of Nice and Cannes. Livadia became the summer residence of the tsars and earned fame as the site of the Yalta Conference in 1945. Noted literary greats made Yalta their home, among them Tolstoy, Chekhov and Gorky.   Following the 1917 Revolution, most of the opulent mansions were converted to sanitariums, where Soviet citizens came to recuperate. Today, many of the palaces have been reinstated to their former glory. ShoppingThe principal shopping area is spread all along the Roosevelt and Lenin Embankments. Painted wooden Matryoshka dolls, lacquer boxes, traditional embroidery and amber jewelry are popular buys. Other interesting items may include caps, caviar, vodka, hand-painted wooden articles, balalaikas, and pins.

CuisineAlmost any restaurffffffffffffffant downtown serves "Crimean" dishes, a combination of Turkish, Tartar, Georgian, Armenian, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine. It usually is hearty.

Other SightsChekhov House-Museum.  Famous Russian writer Anton Chekhov spent the last years of his life here in this small cottage in the center of Yalta. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The largest Orthodox church in the Yalta region houses beautiful icons and Ovations itself in the fine woodwork of its altar.