eated in a natural vineyard-ringed amphitheater of mountains, Yalta is a dramatically handsome resort on the southern tip of Crimea.  Yalta will always be a favored destination with its mild climate, lush green landscape and rugged beaches.
     The ancient homeland of the Scythians, the city gained fame as a choice 18th-century Russian retreat.  Treasures also remain from the 19th-century.  Vorontsov Palace, in a 100-acre park, is a remarkable piece of architecture not to be missed.  Edward Blore, one of the men who designed Buckingham Palace, helped create the palace as an "English country house" on the Black Sea coast.
     In 1945, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin met at Livadia Palace to decide the future of Europe.  The meeting became known as the Yalta conference and was probably one of the 20th Century's most important historical events.