Balaklava

Balaklava is rapidly changing from being primarily a working port and (in Soviet times) a secret submarine base for the Russian navy, to a leisure destination for tourists, lured by the history of the place and the drama of the rugged coastline. Period houses along the waterfront are being restored, a new hotel, the Golden Symbol, with its own harbour has opened and the place has an air of fresh prosperity.

The harbourmaster at the Golden Symbol, himself an ex-submariner, will tell you about the maze of tunnels within the hillside, that allowed large numbers of Soviet submarines to hide unobserved. It is an indication of the way things are moving that you can now take a tour inside the previously secret base, and the large floating dry dock which used to be used for submarine repairs is to be moved to the naval harbour in Sevastopol this year. Crewing a submarine was a dangerous business, and the town has several memorials to sailors and commanders who are remembered for acts of bravery.

Unlike elsewhere in Crimea, restaurants in Balaklava are generally called Tavernas - a nod in the direction of the `Archipelago Greeks' from the islands, who settled this part of the coast under Catherine the Great. It was a Greek battalion which attempted to prevent the British occupation of Balaklava at the start of the Crimean war by holding out on the commanding heights where the ruins of the Genoese fortress overlook the town. There are locals with Greek names today, who can trace their encestry back to this period.

Apart from the excellent restaurant `The Gavan' on the ground floor of the Golden Symbol, there is a famous seafood restaurant with a good selection of Crimean, Georgian and French wines and an English menu, as well as numerous tavernas along the waterfront.

The `Aquamarine' diving centre offers scuba diving along the coast, and from the Golden Symbol you can get a variety of boat trips, from sea fishing to dolphin spotting.

There are three swimming beaches along the Balaklava inlet, but the locals will advise you to walk the extra distance to the far side of the Genoese fortress, where the beach faces the open sea - or to get a boatsman to take you to a wild beach along the coast, accessible only from the sea (but make sure he remembers to come and collect you!) or to swim in one of the numerous sea caves which abound under the cliffs.