Sevastopol - Crimea, Ukraine
The 'Hero city' Sevastopol is a unique city within Ukraine. Firstly, it is the most Russified city you will find in Ukraine. What that means is not only that everyone in Sevastopol speaks Russian (this is in fact the case in most Ukrainian cities), but also that most people consider themselves to be Russian, and identify themselves with the Russian culture and Russian politics.
Sevastopol - Crimea, Ukraine is also unique in Ukraine in that it was closed to foreigners until 1992. Home to the Russian Black sea naval fleet, its streets are awash with sailors in smart military uniforms. Unlike in Britain, where military towns sometimes have a reputation for the unruly behaviour of its soldiers or sailors, in Sevastopol the presence of the navy and sailors plays a key role in keeping the town orderly and clean. Sevastopol - Crimea, Ukraine is cleaner than other Ukrainian cities, and a sense of pride in the town pervades in Sevastopol that is sorely lacking in most other Ukrainian cities.
Sevastopol, Crimea - Ukraine, offers a variety of attractions that can satisfy a wide range of touristic demands. Abundant history, some great architecture, remarkable ruins, lively nightlife, bars all round, no shortage of sandy beaches and more. Anyone with a keen interest in the 2nd world war or the Crimean war will find much in Sevastopol to hold his or her interest. I personally enjoy visiting communist era monuments, and Sevastopol has a multitude of impressive examples of these. In Sevastopol you can see the Black navy sea fleet where there are over 400 Russian and 100 Ukrainian vessels. Sevastopol - Crimea, Ukraine contains the ruins of an ancient Greek city called Khersones, which was founded in 422BC. These ruins are very large in scale, and romantically located right next to the sea.
The buildings in Sevastopol have a certain grandeur and uniform beauty that is lacking elsewhere in Crimea. It is difficult to believe that most of them were built after the Second World War, as they look older. The city was devastated in the war though, and there are only a few buildings left in Sevastopol that survived it.
Perhaps the greatest single attraction in Sevastopol is its extensive catacombs, which are a gargantuan 350,000m2 in size. A guided tour takes you through underground command posts, fortifications, and the former emergency headquarters of the back sea fleet.
Unlike Simferopol, Sevastopol's neighbouring city that functions at full strength all year round, Sevastopol is very much a summer city. Its center is concentrated along the waterfront, and in summertime it is thronged by bars, attractions, hustlers pushing boat trips, and flocks of people strolling under the summer sun. In winter time the bars are taken down, the streets quiten down considerably; and suddenly Sevastopol seems a lot smaller.
Sevastopol is more relaxing outside of the high season. Particularly during the months of July and August it can be very difficult to get decent priced accommodation, as these are the Russian and Ukrainian summer holidays, and the demand for accommodation always exceeds the supply in Sevastopol. A fine time to visit Sevastopol is in May, June, October and September. These months are still warm and pleasant, the summer time attractions are running in Sevastopol, but the town is a lot less hectic and the prices much more reasonable.
The best nightlife in Sevastopol is found on and around the waterfront. As well as bars there are also some nightclubs, all which have an open-air dance floor and terrace in summer time. A 20 minute bus ride from the center and you get to 'Omega', the second most important entertainment complex in Sevastopol. This is a suburb of Sevastopol which has its own waterfront, and its own array of bars, restaurants and nightclubs.
Sevastopol is beautifully located around a large bay, with arguably the best beach being on the north side of the bay, which is only assessable by boat. For many tourists in Sevastopol, few things can be better than waking up in a nice flat or hotel in the center of Sevastopol on a warm summers morning (hopefully hangover free), ambling down to what is many peoples favourite place to eat - the Potato house (great international food, right on the seafront), then taking the nearby boat over to the north side of town, lazing on the beach for a few hours, then slowly making your way back to the flat or hotel to prepare for an evening out in Sevastopol under the warm air of a Crimean summer evening.
Whatever your touristic demands, Sevastopol will have something for you, and if all else fails, you are on the doorstep of one of the most fascinating places in the entire world - Crimea, the beautiful peninsula of southern Ukraine.
To find out more about Crimea please go to http://www.accesscrimea.com
