Taste of travelling: popular gastro touristic routes of Crimea

It seems that to make a gastro tour is a simple matter. You travel to different regions or countries, with a travel guide in your hands, and eat, eat whatever you see. But gastronomic tourism is something completely different. This is a study of a country or region through the prism of local ethnic cuisine, its traditions and history. For such trips Crimea offers several interesting routes. 

"The stomach is full − the heart is light" 

The trip is a two-day route with a visit to the gastronomic attractions in the Simferopol district. This is an acquaintance with the culture of ukrainians through national cuisine in the restaurant "Prince Pleasure", and tasting German dishes at the Gartenthal estate, and a visit to the koumiss (fermented mare’s milk) works and the pheasant nursery. And the tourists will be exposed the life and culture of the crimean tatars, take a walk at the Ostrich farm in the village of Denisovka and taste exotic dishes from ostrich eggs and ostrich meat. In addition, the gastro tour participants will enjoy a goat cheese tasting at the Goat farm and visit the Eco-Bread bakery in the village of Kolchugino. 

"The Gold of Sugdeya"

This gastronomic route is a two-day tour along the Sudak – Solnechnaya Dolina – Noviy Svet road, during which the participants visit wineries and taste local wines. Besides, excursions are organized for tourists in the town of Noviy Svet, where they will see the famous prince Golitsyn trail and visit wine cellars where sparkling wines mature, and the town of Sudak, where they visit the Genoese fortress, the museum of history, tasting rooms and wine cellars. During this tour, enotourists will be able to fully appreciate the taste of the local winemaking products. 

"No fish − no work, no wine – no dance"

This two-day gastronomic route will be to the pleasure of the sea and seafood lovers. It passes through the cities of Kerch and Shchelkino, the village of Mayak and the village of Bagherovo. Connoisseurs will not only enjoy the unique taste of the Black Sea gifts, but also have an opportunity to learn the best recipes of fishermen cuisine. Along with a rich culinary program, guests will find interesting the historical part of the tour.  They will get acquainted with the history of the city’s fisheries, see the monument to a fish, visit the Museum of Flora and Fauna of the World Ocean, the famous fish market, the snail breeding farm and much more.  The tour ends with a tasting of the Brandy Factory vintage products in the village of Bagerovo.  

"Wildfowl with pleasure, wine with measure"

This route is designed for experienced enotourists and for those, who just want to try crimean wines and local wildfowl. Here the participants of the tour will have an excursion around Alushta and local landmarks and the "Zateryanniy Mir" (lost world) restaurant, which serves crimean wildfowl dishes; visit wineries in Alushta, Tavrida and Malorechensky and taste the Magliv wine and brandy factory products. In addition there will be a delicious lunch at the "Stariy Krym" (old Crimea) restaurant of the crimean tatar cuisine. 

"A table with pies makes house nice" 

This gastronomic route is a two-day automobile and walking tour of the western Crimea, where tourists will get acquainted with the cuisine and history of different peoples. Thus, in Eupatoria, gastro tourists will visit the Odun Bazaar Kapusy cultural and ethnographic centre, attend a pilaf cooking class, get acquainted with the culture of Karaites and taste Karaite cuisine in the Karaman café. After this the tourist will taste Jewish dishes accompanied by interesting stories about Jewish traditions and cuisine in the "Yoskin Cat" café-museum. In addition, guests with have sightseeing tour of the Saki district, see the famous Crimean salt-works, taste fish dishes on lake Donuzlav, and then learn about all the traditions of local fishing on Cape Big Atlesh in the Chernomorskiy district.  

"The cuisine of the Crimean palaces"

This gastronomic route also lasts for two days and represents an absorbing journey along the "heart" of the peninsula − the South Coast of Crimea. The participants of this gastro tour will visit the Chekhov House-Museum, where they will drink tea from the samovar and taste local pies, then the "Grand Terrace" restaurant with Mediterranean dishes and the "Horatio" restaurant, which offers a variety of duck dishes. Next, guests will go on a guided tour of the Massandra winery, visit the Nikitsky botanical garden, the mussel and oyster farm in Katsiveli, the Vorontsov Palace, including the tasting room located in the former wine cellars of Count Vorontsov, and Livadia, where there is the palace – former southern residence of the Russian emperors. The tourists will visit the "Tiflis" and "Tsar's Stable" restaurants, where they serve dishes of сaucasian cuisine. 

"Give us this day our daily bread" 

This two-day gastro tour offers a visit to the east of Crimea: Belogorsk and the villages of Topolevka, Zelenogorsk, Petrovo and Donskoyeh. Thus, in Belogorsk, tourists will see the monument to Cheburek and learn its history, visit the "Ak-Kaya" restaurant of the crimean tatar cuisine and the pumpkin festival (depending on season). In Topolevka, the participants of the tour will visit the Voloshko apiary, where you can try different honey samples, and in the village of Zelenogorskoyeh − the koumiss workshop, where you can taste dairy, meat products and sausages. In addition, tourists will visit the "Umut" festival of herbs and the Gartenthal estate, where they will get acquainted with the traditions and customs of Crimean Germans and taste their traditional dishes. 

"The city is nice with houses, and the table with pies" 

This unusual route is a two-day tour of Bakhchisaray and Balaklava, as well as of the villages of Novopavlovka, Tabachnoyeh, Zalesnoyeh, Rodnoyeh and Orlinoyeh. Connoisseurs of culinary delights will get acquainted with russian and crimean tatar cuisines, taste the products of local producers, and also visit the "Chudo Oslik" (wonderful donkey) farm in Zalesnoyeh, the Ostrich farm in the village of Rodnoyeh and the brewery in the village of Orlinoyeh. In addition, guests will get acquainted with the town of Bakhchisarai, visit the Khan's Palace with participating in a tasting of sweets in the Degermen café and taste crimean tatar cuisine in a local restaurant. And Balaklava − there tourists will be shown an unusual exposition about the history of local fishing, they will be exposed to the Museum of the History of Balaklava, invited to a local restaurant where they cook food from freshly caught Black Sea seafood, and they will also be told about the production of sparkling wines at the "Golden Gully" winery.  

"The life is very much like food – it’s either bad or pretty good"  

This two-day automobile and walking gastronomic adventure in Simferopol and its environs introduces tourists to the culture and life of different peoples of the multi-ethnic peninsula. Within the framework of the tour, it is planned to visit the "Armenian Yard"’ − cultural and ethnographic centre, the "Rioni" georgian restaurant, the turansky estate in the village of Sovkhoznoyeh, where they grow more than 100 grape varieties.  

In addition, gastro tourists will visit apple orchards in the village of Kostochkovka, the Nizhnegorsky cannery in the village of Nizhnegorsky, the Shatilov Estate complex with a tasting of sheep breeding products in the village of Tsvetushcheyeh. The participants of this gastro tour will not only be able to taste the dishes of armenian and georgian cuisine, but also take a walk in the gardens, vineyards and even take part in the harvesting!  

"I like to have fun! Especially − to have meals"  

This gastronomic journey lasts two days and includes a visit to the cities of Theodosia, Stariy Krym, the village of Koktebel, the village of Shchebetovka and the village of Solnechnaya Dolina (sunny valley). The tour participants will have an excursion around Theodosia with a visit to the Museum of Fish and Fishing, where guests will be told about coastal fishing in the Black Sea from prehistoric times to the present day, they also may take part in the "WineFeoFest" wine festival or the "Barabulka" fish festival, depending on the season. The tourists will also be offered the products of the Starokrymsky winery, the Koktebel and Arkhadereseh vintage wine and brandy wineries in Solnechnaya Dolina. Interesting excursions and specific tastings are offered at each object of the gastronomic tour.  

As you can see, gastronomic tourism in Crimea is developing actively and annually attracts tourists from all over the country. Here you can try the cuisine of the different peoples of the multi-ethnic region, learn much about the culture and life of these peoples, their culinary traditions, and just have a good time.