Yalta, Ukraine

Perched on Ukrainian southern coast of Crimea, Yalta passed through many hands over the centuries until Russia took control in the late 18th century. The city became the Black Sea's classiest resort when Tsar Alexander II made nearby Livadia his summer residence. Before the Russian Revolution the coast was peppered with aristocratic estates, and though many of the palaces were briefly workers' sanitoria after the revolution, most reverted to dachas for the party elite.

The city centre stretches back from the eastern end of Yalta Bay, straddling the Bystra River. Everyone gravitates to the naberezhna Lenia, a vehicle-free waterfront promenade with jetties, palms, pebble beaches, snack bars and art markets. Some of Yalta's best beaches lie along Yalta Bay west of the mouth of the Bystra. Half way down the bay and just back fromthe naberezhna is a chair lift that deposits riders at Darsan, a temple-like lookout on the hill above the bay. Just north-west of the lift is the Alexandr Nevsky Cathedral, a beautifully composed piece of neo-Byzantine architecture built at the turn of the century. Fans of Anton Chekov will want to visit the Chekov House-Museum, where the great Russian playwright spent the last five years of his life. The house features numerous editions of Chekov's works, memorabilia like his pens and medical kit, and a garden.