Livadia is a resort town 3 km west of Yalta, located on the slope of Mount Mogabi. The village is famous for its white-stone palace with a park that previously belonged to the royal family, and clean, well-equipped beaches. Suitable for those who prefer a relaxing holiday surrounded by subtropical nature and classical architecture.
Useful information: Population: 1,074 people. Telephone code: 380-654 Total area: 1.61 km²
Photos of Livadia:
History - how Livadia was born
The history of the village is long and eventful; it can be divided into 6 main stages.
- Ancient settlements (III–I thousand years BC).
- Medieval castles (VIII–XV centuries). Evidence of this era are the remains of a large pottery production and the ruins of castle walls, which can be seen in Oreanda.
- The settlement of the Greeks Ai-Yan (St. John) in the 18th century.
- After Russia's victory in the Crimean War, Greek settlers were moved to the Sea of Azov region, and their lands were distributed to the Greeks who served in the Balaklava battalion. The best plots were bought by Colonel Reveliotis, who in 1934 sold them to the Polish Count Potocki. The count built an estate here, planted a vineyard on 20 hectares and founded a wine production. On 44 hectares, under the leadership of gardener Delinger, a landscape park was created with valuable trees, statues and fountains, an orchard and a greenhouse. A water supply system was installed from the mountain springs above.
- In 1860, Emperor Alexander II bought Potocki's estate. Since then, Livadia has become a permanent vacation spot for Russian emperors, and the entire Yalta coast has turned into an aristocratic resort. Pototsky's house was rebuilt into a palace, the Small Palace, houses for courtiers, servants and workers were built. The water supply system was updated, a dairy farm was built, the area of the gardens was increased, new greenhouses and greenhouses were built, and a vegetable garden was created. Under Nicholas II, the Grand Palace was rebuilt, the Page (Svitsky) building, a power plant, a winter theater, and an ice factory were erected.
- During the civil war, Livadia was occupied by German troops, who plundered the property of the palaces. In 1920, the royal estate was nationalized, and a state farm for wine production was created on its territory. In 1925, the first sanatorium for peasants with 300 beds was opened here, then new buildings with 1,600 beds were built. During the war, when the village was under German occupation, all the sanatoriums and almost the entire palace complex were destroyed. Only the Grand Palace has survived, where the Yalta Conference took place in February 1945. After the war, the sanatoriums were rebuilt.
Church of the Exaltation of the Cross
The Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was built in 1872. The interiors of the temple were created by the artist Isello, the icons were painted by academician Baideman. Beidemann's most famous icon, “The Exaltation of the Holy Cross,” was flooded and damaged by water, and then the famous master A. Salviatti created a mosaic instead of the icon.
The funeral service for Emperor Alexander III, who died in Livadia, was held in this temple. It was in this church that the wife of the last Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II, converted to Orthodoxy. Services in the temple were resumed in 1991.
Village infrastructure
The village is conveniently located on the Yalta-Sevastopol highway, with shuttle buses passing through it. A little over 1000 people live here permanently. There is a kindergarten, a school, and a boarding school. The resort is part of Greater Yalta. The city hospital is located in the vicinity of Livadia. There is a post office, telegraph, telephone office, bank, shops, bars, restaurants.
Waterfall "Uchan-Su"
The Uchan-Su waterfall, which means “Flying Water,” is located near Livadia (7 km from Yalta). This mesmerizing flow of water captivates all tourists without exception, because you can watch the play of water... endlessly.
Interesting places - attractions
The village is interesting for its palace and park complex.
Livadia Palace - erected in 1911 from white Inkerman stone in the Renaissance style, which is emphasized by internal courtyards - Italian with a marble fountain and Arabic, designed as a light well.
Livadia Park is a huge landscape park, occupying about 50 hectares, with elements of a regular style. In addition to local vegetation - pines, oak, beech, dogwood, yew, juniper - it also contains exotic plants: sequoia, Himalayan and Lebanese cedars, rare species of pine, magnolia, cypress, fan palm, wisteria.
The Church of the Exaltation of the Cross is the home church of the Russian emperors, built by the architect Monighetti in the Byzantine style with elements inherent in Georgian churches.
The Tsar's (sunny, horizontal) trail was laid back in 1861 in such a way that it does not contain sharp ascents and descents. The 6,711 m long road starts near the palace, passes through the rotunda pavilion with white columns in Oreanda, from which you can admire the panoramic view of the coast, and reaches Gaspra. This trail is ideal for walking for pulmonary patients, since the air in these places combines the smells of the sea, pine trees and other medicinal plants growing on the mountain slopes. A mixture of natural aromas cleanses the lungs and restores the functions of the respiratory system.
Organ Hall - in the building of the former royal power plant there is a center for organ music with the largest organ in the country with more than 4,600 pipes. Every year the international festival Livadia Fest is held here.
Wine tourism - a state farm, created on the basis of Golitsyn wineries, is part of the Massandra association. You can taste the best wines of Crimea in the Italian courtyard of the Livadia Palace.
Dolmens - on Mount Ai-Nikola there is an ancient Taurus burial ground with 20 stone boxes without lids dug into the ground.
Royal stables
As I already said, the word “royal” is quite popular here and is attached to any name. Let it be a restaurant, pharmacy or store.
But the royal stables and barracks that Monighetti for the military units guarding the estate are truly a heritage of the era.
Today it is not a museum object, but a historical building worth visiting. These are private properties and are surrounded by a fence, albeit a beautiful one.
The stables are located just above the bus terminus, right behind the famous Tsar’s Stables . Karetny Dvor can also serve as a reference point .
In general, this nook of Livadia is quite authentic and cute. Don’t miss the fountain for watering horses from 1871 next to the stables and the house of the head of the security, which today doubles as a wine cellar.
Livadia beaches - review
Most of the beaches are narrow pebble, separated by breakwaters, many belong to sanatoriums. The water is clean. The depth of the bottom increases sharply, so it is not very comfortable or safe to relax here with babies. Since the height of the village above sea level is 141 m, the descent to the beaches is quite long (15–20 minutes) and steep. But you can use paid sanatorium elevators.
Dolphin Beach is a medium-pebble beach 250 m long with free entry, free Wi-Fi and changing rooms. On the beach there are paid areas for increased comfort, toilets, showers, rental of umbrellas and sun loungers.
Livadia Beach is a free, small-pebble beach with a gentle entrance to the water. You can go down to it along a path from the park or by a paid elevator. On the beach there are sunbeds, awnings, changing rooms, a first-aid post, a cafe, and a boat station.
Accommodation
Hotels
In Livadia, more than a dozen hotels, private mini-hotels, apart-hotels offer their services, rooms of various categories, from economy to luxury and apartments. Some hotels offer their guests additional services - for example, massage, sauna, fitness rooms, etc., some have their own swimming pools or SPA complex.
The Livadiysky SPA hotel is considered one of the best (many of those who have been there believe that it deserves more than the declared three stars), travelers also speak well of the Kichkine hotel and the SV Guest House. The cost of living in Livadia hotels is from 40-45 USD. and higher in high season.
Sanatoriums
Livadia sanatoriums are popular among those who suffer from cardiac diseases, diseases of the circulatory system, respiratory system, and diseases of the nervous system. The Chernomorye sanatorium is considered one of the best - it has a modern diagnostic base, treatment uses methods of physical therapy, balneotherapy, physiotherapy and climatotherapy, phototherapy, etc. The cost of a superior single room in high season is 68 USD, the price includes treatment and three meals a day.
Private sector
If you wish, you can also rent a private house in Livadia - comfortable, with everything you need for living (washing machine, TV, refrigerator, Wi-Fi, as well as a garage for a car, barbecue, etc.). A house for 5-6 people about a ten-minute walk from the sea will cost you an average of 120 USD. per day.
How to get to the village?
The starting point of most tourists coming to Crimea is the city of Simferopol. You can get to Livadia only with a transfer in Yalta, which is reached by regular bus and trolleybus No. 55 from the Simferopol railway station. At the Yalta bus station you need to change to minibus No. 11, 100, 102, 107 and get off in Livadia. Minibus number 11 stops closest to the palace.
To get here by car or bicycle, you need to overcome 88 km of the picturesque route Simferopol - Yalta - Sevastopol.
Livadia on the map of Crimea
GPS Coordinates: 44°28'31″N 34°08'35″E Latitude/Longitude
Livadia Palace
Even if I wanted to start from the other end of the list, I could not, since this palace of the Russian Empire is Livadia itself. Life and bustle began around him. He set the vector for the development of not only Livadia, but also Yalta.
Every small guest house, restaurant and even shop dreams of imperial glory and certainly uses the terms “royal”, “palace” or “imperial” in its description.
Well, what about the palace itself? In fact, this is the main and only palace - the summer residence of the head of the Russian Empire.
Yes, there is also a hunting lodge - the Massandra Palace, personal estates of members of the Romanov family - Dulber, Kharaks, Ai-Todor and Kichkine .
And we do not attribute this to the families close to the emperor: the Vorontsovs, Yusupovs, Naryshkins and Raevskys.
In total, there are about 30 palaces of famous families in Crimea, but the main and unique one, number 1, is Livadia. In terms of importance and status, it is the summer branch of the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg.
Alexander III died here, and Nicholas II took the oath of service to the empire. The granddaughter of the British Queen Victoria, Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt, the future wife of Nicholas II, was also baptized here.
In general, as you understand, visiting the Livadia Palace requires blood and wear. Here is a preparatory article for you before the visit.
- Address: Livadia, Baturina, 44a
- Opening hours : from 10:00 to 17:00, except Monday. Excursions are strictly on schedule.
- Tickets : 400/100 rubles for the main exhibition (children 7 to 16 years old).
- Official website : Livadia-palace.rf
- How to get there : 500m from the bus terminal to the palace.
When to go on vacation
The swimming season in Livadia begins at the end of May and lasts until October. Many tourists prefer to come to the resort in July, when the sea water warms up to the temperature of fresh milk, and the abundance of sun allows you to acquire a beautiful, even tan.
The climate in the village is subtropical Mediterranean type. The Crimean ridge protects the resort from cold winds, so Livadia is considered one of the warmest places on the peninsula.
High season
In summer, the air temperature rises to +25°C, sometimes to +28...+35°C. The sea warms up to +26…+27°С, which is considered ideal for visiting the resort with children.
Despite the heat, it is comfortable to relax in the village, since sea breezes blow through Livadia during the day, and coolness comes from the mountains in the evenings. During this period, vacationers make excursions around the area, sightseeing and spend time on the beaches.
Low season
The flow of tourists in Livadia decreases only in the second half of autumn. In winter and early spring, those vacationers who want to explore the Livadia Palace and breathe in the healing air with the aromas of pine needles come to the village.
In winter, the temperature at the resort rarely drops below zero. Usually the thermometer stays at +5...+7°C, so guests of the village can walk to their heart's content without fear of freezing.
