<< PREVIOUS TOUR

TOURS LIST

NEXT TOUR >>

Palaces and wines of the Crimea

GROUP TOUR
Russia And Crimea 2004
8 Days / 7 Nights

   Print version

Day 1

Arrival in Simferopol, the capital of the Crimea, by flight/train. Transfer to Jalta (100 km).Check-in at the hotel A welcome cocktail will be served on arrival at the hotel. The guests will find a welcome gift in their rooms - a bottle of light Crimean wine. Dinner.

Day 2

Breakfast, sightseeing tour of Yalta including a visit to the Palace and park of Livadia, the former summer residence of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II. It was designed in 1911 in the Italian renaissance style. In 1945 one of the most important political and military conferences of the modern times, the Yalta Conference, was held in the Livadia Palace, and representatives of the great allied powers met there: Stalin for the USSR, Roosevelt for the USA, and Churchill for Great Britain. Lunch in the restaurant "Tsar's Cuisine". Afternoon tour of Massandra Palace known as a hunter's lodge of the Russian Emperor Alexander III, and the Alma Mater of the modern wine production, to see the unique collection of wines from the old wine cellars of Count Vorontsov. Later on this palace was a holiday destination, "datcha", for the Soviet top officials including Stalin, Khrushchov and Brezhnev. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 3

Breakfast, excursion to the valley of Alushta to visit the vineyards and to taste the ripe grapes. After lunch - a sightseeing tour of the famous resort city of Alushta brings tourists to the cellars of the local winery where the best samples of dry wines will be served. Dinner.

Day 4

Breakfast, excursion to Alupka includes a visit to the Palace and the fantastic park of Count Vorontsov. The Palace was designed by Edward Blore, court architect for King William IV and Queen Victoria of England. This 19th century masterpiece incorporates the styles of medieval castles with some oriental influences.

After lunch - visit to the wine cellars of Count Vorontsov to taste ten samples of prestigious Massandra fortified and dessert wines. Afternoon tour brings the guests to Magarach research institute of viticulture and wine-making established in 1828. Its highly trained fanatic technologists combine the old traditions and know-how with modern technology. They develop new brands of wines and are deeply concerned with breeding and introducing grape varieties. These vineyards must be visited and its best wines sampled. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 5

Breakfast. This day is one of the undoubted highlights of the tour - a visit to a champagne winery in the area of Sebastopol (80 km). No wine list is complete without champagne. Crimean sparkling wines make every occasion a real celebration. Besides wines in true French tradition, Crimean masters produce the famous Crimean pink and red sparkling wines - so called " Muscatel" and "Red" champagne.

Lunch is at one of the downtown restaurants in Sebastopol.

After lunch the guests will enjoy the city tour of Sebastopol, and a visit to the world-famed Panorama depicting the events of the Crimean war of 1854-1855). Dinner at the hotel.

Day 6

Breakfast, leisure day for swimming, lying in the sun, optional tours, shopping. Lunch and dinner at the hotel.

Day 7

Breakfast, visit to one of the farms specializing in grape growing. A drive through the unforgettable mountains brings you to one of the farms to harvest the grapes in the vineyards, to taste local wines, and to have a plentiful farm-style lunch.

After return to Yalta - a farewell dinner and a farewell gift - a bottle of champagne and a special Bacchus diploma to every guest.

Day 8

Breakfast, transfer to the airport.