Vorontsov Palace is the most visited attraction in Crimea and one of the most popular places in Ukraine. Every year, only the interior of the palace is visited by over 700,000 people. During the summer season and in May the number of visitors is enormous, so if you want to be alone, then come here out during the low season.
The palace was built in 1828-1848 as a summer residence for the count and later prince Mikhail Vorontsov. The palace was designed by English architect E. Blore. He is also the author of the detailed design of Westminster Abbey and part of Buckingham palace. Curiously, Blore never came to Alupka and received all information by snailmail. By the way, the palace is built of local stone - diabase, which is two times harder than granite.
Plan of the palace at the time of construction ©Yuriy Buriak
The palace gained worldwide fame in 1945 during the Crimean (Yalta) Conference of the Allied Powers, where a decision on the post-war division of the world was made. The palace housed Winston Churchill with delegation and hosted meetings of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the three powers. Churchill even wanted to buy the palace from Stalin.
Vorontsov Palace is one of the most technologically advanced attractions in Ukraine. It has wi-fi, a web camera and audio guides in six languages: Ukrainian, Russian, German, English, French, and Chinese.
Many times the palace was involved in Soviet and Ukrainian movies.
The Moorish Revival southern faсade features elements of Islamic architecture. ©Yuriy Buriak
Eastern facade of the Vorontsov Palace ©Yuriy Buriak
Guest building and southern terrace of the Vorontsov Palace ©Yuriy Buriak
Western part of the palace in neogothic style ©Yuriy Buriak
Palace rooms are preserved in original condition, each room is individual. There is a large collection of paintings inside, some of which (204) were donated to the museum in 1988 by Vitaliy Golubev, the professor of botanics. In 2013, he gave the museum 546 paintings worth more than 5 million euros.
Dining room of the palace ©worontsovpalace.com.ua
Dining room of the palace ©Yuriy Buriak
Dining room of the palace ©Yuriy Buriak
Wooden ceilings in the Vorontsov Palace ©Yuriy Buriak
Winter garden in the Vorontsov Palace ©Yuriy Buriak
Winter garden in the Vorontsov Palace ©Yuriy Buriak
This billiard table was made of mahogany by English company "Barrow and Watt" in the middle of the XIX century. ©Yuriy Buriak
Blue room ©Yuriy Buriak
Winter garden in the Vorontsov Palace ©Yuriy Buriak
Winter garden in the Vorontsov Palace ©Yuriy Buriak
A park around the palace is a masterpiece of landscape art.
Vorontsov park, Ai-Petri view ©Yuriy Buriak
Vorontsov park ©Yuriy Buriak
Vorontsov park ©Yuriy Buriak
Vorontsov park ©Yuriy Buriak
Vorontsov park ©Yuriy Buriak
Helpful Information
Distribution of tourists by months:
January - 1%
February - 0.5%
March - 2%
April - 2%
May - 5%
June - 10%
July - 20%
August - 43%
September - 11%
October - 3%
November - 2%
December - 0.5%
Getting there: The palace is located in Alupka. From Yalta it can be reached by bus #32 from the clothing market in the center, by bus #27 from the bus station or on a pleasure boat. You can catch the same buses in Livadia, Miskhor, Koreiz. From Sevastopol by bus to Miskhor or Yalta. From Simferopol by bus to Simeiz or Kastropol, or first to Yalta and then by local buses.
