The ruins of the ancient Greek city founded in 422 BC are of great significance to local visitors. This is the place where Volodymyr the Great was famously baptised into Christianity in AD 988, launching what would become the Russian Orthodox Church. Earlier that year, he sacked the city, helping the Byzantine emperor to put down a local rebellion. Today the best-preserved structure is the ancient theatre. There's also the restored Vladimirsky Cathedral and an interesting museum displaying items excavated on the site. History apart, Khersones provides a nice photo opportunity, particularly with the stone arch, whose bell comes from a Crimean War cannon. In May, the place is ablaze with blooming poppy flowers.

Local bus/marshrutka 22 goes directly to Khersones. Or catch trolleybus 2 or 6 westwards to the Rossiya (россия) stop, turn back to the first street (vul Yeroshenko; Ерошенко) and walk for 15 minutes.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Primorsky Boulevard

1.57 MILES

The city's bay-facing showcase greets seafarers with an array of whitewashed colonnaded buildings. Fresh from a Russian-funded spruce-up, the boulevard is…

2. Black Sea Fleet Museum

1.67 MILES

Full of ship models and Crimean War snippets, this small museum is visually impressive, even though all inscriptions are in Russian. The upper-floor…

3. Eagle Column

1.68 MILES

The Eagle Column commemorates Russian ships deliberately scuppered at the mouth of the harbour in 1854 to make it impossible for enemy ships to pass.

4. Panorama of Sevastopol's Defence

1.85 MILES

The focus of Sevastopol's wartime memories, this is a circular building, its inner wall covered in a mammoth-sized painting. Supplemented with 3D props,…

5. Usta

21.38 MILES

Ten years ago Crimean Tatar handicrafts were on the verge of extinction, but Ayshe Osmanova resolved to rescue her people's culture from the precipice…

6. Khans' Palace

21.47 MILES

When she was busy ordering the mass destruction of Bakhchysaray's mosques in the 18th and early 19th centuries, Catherine the Great spared the Khans'…

7. Uspensky Monastery

22.7 MILES

Stop for a moment and say 'aah!' at possibly the cutest little church in a country absolutely jam-packed with them. Part of the small Uspensky Monastery,…

8. Devlet-Saray

22.71 MILES

The site where Crimean Tatar khans originally settled in Bakhchysaray now consists of a modest museum, ruins of a public bath, a mausoleum where 18…