Old Crimea - how to get there, what to see, where to stay

General information about the Old Crimea and why to go here

Old Crimea is a city in the south-east of the Crimean peninsula, located 100 kilometers from Simferopol and the airport, and 120 kilometers from the Crimean Bridge (Old Crimea on the map). There is no beach or sea here, the nearest Black Sea coast is located 25 kilometers away in Feodosia, and therefore it is certainly not worth considering the Old Crimea as a seaside resort.

But the city is known as a fascinating tourist destination with several important historical and cultural attractions of the early and classical Middle Ages, and the cradle of Tatar and Muslim culture on the peninsula. Excursions from the seaside resorts of Crimea are organized in the Old Crimea to get acquainted with its sights, or you can come here on your own for one or two days for a deeper acquaintance, there is no point in going for a longer period.

We tell you about all the interesting things that can be seen in the Old Crimea, how to get here, where to stay and when it's better to go here, in our guide. But before you go here, we advise you to get acquainted at least briefly with the history of this city, so it will be much more interesting. Here is a brief summary of the most important events in its history:

The history of the Old Crimea

Old Crimea is one of the oldest cities of the peninsula, which has experienced many events, cultures and religions. And although the founding time of the city is considered to be the XIII century, in fact, archaeological excavations indicate the existence of settlements here in the Neolithic period. Traces of ancient Greek civilization have also been found here (since the IV century BC), but the most well-studied part of history dates back to the period after the X century AD.

It is known for certain that in the XI century Armenians began to settle these places, who played an important role in the formation and development of the city, making it an important center of trade. In the XIII century, after the conquest of the steppe part of the Crimea by the Golden Horde, a large city was formed here, which gets the name Kyrym. At the same time, the city also bears another name Solhat, which the Genoese assigned to it, and as it is believed even earlier. There is, however, a version that the Armenians gave the name Solkhat to the city even earlier.

In the XIV century, Kyrym became a major center of trade on the Silk Road. It was the period of its heyday: the city grew, residential quarters, mosques, madrassas, temples were built. There is even a version that the city was divided into two parts: Tatar (Muslim) and Genoese (Christian). Some of the temples and mosques built at that time have survived to this day and are now historical landmarks, in particular, the Uzbek Khan and the Surb Khach Armenian monastery. Unfortunately, some of the ancient buildings have survived to our time only in the form of ruins.

In the XV century, the Crimean Khanate was formed and the peninsula gained independence from the Golden Horde, the city began to lose its political and commercial importance. The capital was moved to the newly built city of Bakhchisarai, and the Old Crimea became just one of the cities of the khanate.

In the XVIII century, the power on the peninsula changed once again: Crimea became part of the Russian Empire. Then the city almost disappeared completely: the majority of its population emigrated, and according to the census of 1805, only 114 people lived here. During the XIX century, the city began to gradually revive again, and in the XX century, during the reign of Soviet power, its population increased to almost 10 thousand people, and remains approximately at this level today.

Hotels and accommodation in the Old Crimea, where to stay

Unfortunately, there are very few accommodation options in the Old Crimea, only a few pieces. But what is completely inconvenient, even that there is, it is almost impossible to find and book a hotel, guest house or private accommodation through the well-known search and booking systems for accommodation and hotels, they simply do not exist there. Therefore, there are only two options left: to look for contacts of private housing through bulletin boards or dubious sites of individual accommodation facilities, or to come to the city and look for options on the spot. To be honest, we do not recommend any of these options, since in the first case there is a chance of being deceived, and in the second there is simply no guarantee that there will be free rooms. Still, it's better to try to search for placement on trusted sites. So at least there will be a guarantee that you will not lose money:

• 🛌 Search for hotels on Ostrovok.ru
• 🛌 Search for affordable housing in the Old Crimea on Sutochno.ru (👍 we recommend it, the bonus system works)
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Crimea on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for accommodation and hotels in the Old Crimea on Otello from 2Gis

Weather and tourist seasons in the Old Crimea, when is the best time to go

The weather in the Old Crimea is typical for the southeastern part of Crimea with a relatively mild climate: there are no harsh winters and moderately hot temperatures in summer. However, climatologists also highlight the peculiarity of local weather. The fact is that the city is located at an altitude of 300 meters above sea level at the foot of the higher peak Argamysh (722 meters). The slopes of Argamysh are heated by the sun's rays and create an upward airflow, which in turn "pulls" fresh air of the Black and Azov Seas here, creating the conditions of a climatic resort suitable for patients with lung diseases.

However, in practice this does not matter at all, since there are no infrastructure conditions for such treatment and a long stay in the Old Crimea. The city is visited exclusively as a place with sights, and the weather does not make any obstacles to their inspection, so you can go here in any season. Nevertheless, in warm weather it is much more pleasant to walk through historical monuments and ruins, and this is the period from May to October inclusive.

Current weather in the Old Crimea and forecast

How to get to the Old Crimea

The Old Crimea is located in the southeastern part of Crimea (on the map). From the capital of Crimea, the city of Simferopol and the main airport of the region are 100 kilometers away, from the Crimean bridge 120 kilometers.

How and how to get to the Old Crimea briefly:

• ✈ By plane. Since Simferopol Airport is closed, you can only get by plane through the nearest airport in Sochi (Adler). Then from Sochi airport to Simferopol or Vladislavovka station by train or trains with a transfer in Krasnodar (it will take about a day), and from there by taxi or bus.
• 🚆 By train. There is no railway in the Old Crimea, but you can go by train to Feodosia or Simferopol, and from there by taxi or bus to the Old Crimea. You can also get off at Vladislavovka station and from there to the Old Crimea by taxi from 500 rubles.
• 🚌 By bus. Regular and tourist buses run from neighboring regions and cities of the Russian Federation directly and passing to the Old Crimea. Also, many flights are operated from other cities of the Crimea, especially often from Feodosia and Simferopol, which allows you to visit the city during the day to explore the sights.
• 🚗 By car. There is a highway leading to the Old Crimea through the Crimean Bridge, after passing the bridge it will be necessary to drive 120 kilometers along the Tavrida highway.
• 🏙 With excursions . Old Crimea is a popular tourist destination, and day trips from most popular resorts are offered here. It is especially convenient to visit the city with excursions from the nearest resorts Feodosia, Koktebel, Sudak.

The bus is the only type of public transport that goes directly to the Old Crimea. There is a fairly important bus station in the city with a developed network of routes. You can get there from many cities and resorts of the Crimea, as well as from Sochi, Gelendzhik, Anapa, Taganrog, Melitopol and other cities. Not all long-distance buses go directly to the city, so you need to look for passing buses in the schedule. You can see the schedules here:

• Bus schedule to Old Crimea on Unitiki.com
• Bus schedule to Old Crimea on Bus.tutu.ru
• Bus schedule to Old Crimea on krimavtotrans.info

Расписание автобусов до Старого Крыма

For details on all other ways to get to the Old Crimea on your own, read our separate instructions here.

Transport in the Old Crimea and what to use to move

The city is small, and most of its interesting places can be viewed on foot. In particular, the main museums of the Old Crimea and the Khan Uzbek Mosque are located compactly and not far from each other in the city center, so you can visit them all in one day without transport. And it will not be difficult to get to them from the city bus station if you come here by bus. However, if you want to see everything here and get to know the culture and history of the Old Crimea more deeply, you will either have to use transport or walk a lot. For example, to the monastery of Surb-Khach (and it can not be missed) from the city center 5 kilometers, to the chapel of Panteleimon 2 kilometers.

Unfortunately, it will not be possible to rent a transport such as a bicycle or scooter, which means that if you are without your own transport, you will have to use a taxi or city buses. But to be honest, buses are weak helpers here, because they rarely go, and their routes are passing so that they don't go to distant attractions anyway, and in the city center they are simply useless. So ideally, try to come here on your own or rented transport, or come with a ready-made excursion, during which you will be taken to all the most interesting places.

Sights of the Old Crimea and what to see

Old Crimea is one of the oldest cities in Crimea. Its history is rich in events, cultures and religions, which have left behind many iconic historical places here. During archaeological research, it was established that the first settlements on the site of the modern Old Crimea existed as early as the Neolithic period (this is the period from 10,000 to 2,200 BC!!!), but their traces can only be seen in city museums. Most of the sights here date back to the Middle Ages.

Among the most interesting and must-visit, we recommend:

• The ancient Armenian monastery of Surb Khach.
• The oldest of the active mosques in Crimea is the mosque of Khan Uzbek.

It is also worth visiting at least one of the thematic museums, we recommend the Literary and Art Museum, where you can get acquainted not only with works of art, but also see archaeological artifacts.

If you have enough time, you can visit other interesting thematic museums and historical and cultural sights of the Old Crimea, which we will tell you in detail later. To see all the sights here, one full day is enough, and together with the museums, two days will be enough. Which is convenient, museums work here without traditional weekends on Mondays or Tuesdays, so you can safely come to the Old Crimea any day of the week.

You can come to the Old Crimea to explore the sights for one day as an independent trip or with excursions from other resorts of the Crimea, especially conveniently from Feodosia, Koktebel or Sudak. If you are traveling on your own and there is no shortage of time, then you can come here and spend the night for a day or two, but the problem is that there are very few accommodation options here. But what can you do, because so far the city is not particularly in demand for overnight stays among tourists, and therefore there are almost no offers.

A hollow list of attractions of the Old Crimea, indicating their opening hours, the cost of visiting and ways to get to them yourself here.