«In the whole Crimea there is no other mountain landscape that can compare in its beauty with the Massandra views…».
Dubois de Monpere
The towns and villages that make up the Big Yalta are similar to each other, but each of them has its own peculiarities and unique features that make them stand out from the rest. Massandra is one of the centers of Crimean winemaking and attracts tourists by the fact that here you can visit one of the oldest and best winemaking plants. No less interesting to the guests of the village and the opportunity to see the former royal residence — the palace of Alexander III, inspiring many with its fabulous architecture, as well as broken around it picturesque Massandra Park. And the mountain scenery here is considered by many to be the most inspiring on the southern coast of Crimea.
Massandra — a small urban-type village, located 5 km northeast of the center of Yalta. Every year, thousands of tourists spend their vacations in Massandra, wishing to enjoy a quiet vacation, away from the hustle and bustle, but at the same time have the opportunity to have fun — you can get to the discos and bars of Yalta in a few minutes. Massandra attractions also attract travelers — the famous Alexander III Palace with a park and a winery.
It is believed that, as in other nearby settlements, there were settlements here in ancient times. At the dawn of our era here lived descendants of Alans and Goths, and in the Middle Ages these lands were owned by the Genoese. At the end of the XV century the territory of the present Massandra passed to the Ottoman Empire — then the village consisted of 22 families. The village was a part of the Crimean Khanate for only 9 years until the Crimea was taken over by Russia in 1783, after which all the Christian population was resettled in the Azov region. When the village was deserted, it was interested in magnates Pototsky, who began to organize their estate here, and in 1881, Prince S.M. Vorontsov, who became its new owner, begins to transform it into a lush palace and breaks around the picturesque park. Today in the magnificent landscaped Massandra Park, recognized as one of the best in the Crimea, you can see many species of plants, including exotic — sequoia, magnolia, Himalayan and Atlas cedars, dendron and others. Since 1889 the palace has been in the hands of the imperial family and belongs first to Alexander III, under whom it acquires its present appearance, and then to the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II. In the same years in the village founded a winery Prince L. Golitsyn — later it became one of the best in the Crimea and not only, and in 1998, the collection of wines stored in its cellars, numbering about 1 million bottles and is the largest in the world, entered the Guinness Book of Records.
Every guest of Massandra can visit both the famous palace and the legendary wine factory, which is a really unique opportunity, because the palace has perfectly preserved the original interiors, and at the factory you can taste the famous Massandra wines. Today here for an ordinary tourist can reach what for many years was available only to the chosen ones — during the Soviet regime in the palace rested only the highest officials (Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev spent their vacations in the palace), and excursions and tastings at the plant began to be held only in 2001.
But it is not only the sights of Massandra that attract travelers to this wonderful corner of the Crimean South Coast: tourists also appreciate the picturesque views, beautiful climate, clean landscaped beaches, health-improving atmosphere. As in other settlements of the South Coast, here begins to have a therapeutic effect on the body of the air alone, which mixes wood and sea aromas, complement aerotherapy positive emotions caused by each person stunning marinistic and mountain landscapes. The whole village is literally drowned in greenery, which also has the most beneficial effect on each guest — vacation in Massandra is very popular among those wishing to gain strength and relax from the stone walls and dust of cities.