KYIV, Ukraine, December 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Southern Ukrainian peninsula Crimea opens the list of the
new year's 20 must-see places, picked
by the National Geographic
Traveler editors. "The Crimean
Peninsula, with its voluptuously curved Black Sea coast of
sparkling cliffs, is paradise - with Riviera-grade vistas but
without Riviera prices," describes the south Ukrainian gem the
popular tourist magazine.
The list can be found here
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/best-trips-2013
National Geographic informs that Crimea has 300 days of
sun a year, boasts numerous health resorts, as well as a bit of
Soviet past heritage in a form of, say, "once secret
nuclear-blast-proof Soviet submarine base in Balaklava, a piece of
Cold War history, now a museum", the "concrete block architecture",
and even the "unsmiling babushkas". The famous Livadia Palace in
Yalta is also located on the peninsula. The site became the scene
for the 1945 conference that reconfigured postwar Europe, reminds the author.
Another Crimean attraction is wine. "I could kneel in front of
this wine," the magazine quotes recent visitor Cathy Newman. At Crimean vineyards "you may have
the pleasure of tasting a Riesling with the scent of alpine
meadows, port the color of rubies, and a nectar called "Seventh
Heaven," teases National Geographic. Travel tips from the
travel resource also include recommendations as to when to go,
where to stay, how to get around, where to dine, and even what to
read before you go.
Crimea is the center of seaside vacations in the country.
Locals, as well as numerous tourists from the neighboring countries
visit the Black and Azov Sea beaches of the peninsula. In May
through October, the place is alive with many musical festivals,
jazz events in particular. At the beginning of autumn Crimean Yalta
hosts the high-profile Yalta European Strategy (YES) meeting. It
attracts many state officials and international political figures
and economic experts, e.g. the Nobel Peace Prize winner and the
President of Israel Shimon
Peres.
Other sites that made it to 2013 best include Grenada, Marseille, Memphis, Missouri River Banks, Ravenna,
Thessaloniki, and Uganda. Burmese land of Bagan, Norway's gateway to the Arctic - Bodo, an
island in Nova Scotia Cape Breton, Great Bear Rainforest,
Hudson Valley, Jarash, Malawi, Quito, Indonesian island Raja Ampat, St.
Augustine, Uganda, and Chilean
port Valparaiso complement the top 20.
SOURCE Worldwide News Ukraine