Alupka is a resort town, situated 17 km (11 mi) to the west of Yalta. It is famous for the Vorontsov's Palace, designed by English architect Edward Blore in mixture of Scottish baronial and Neo-Moorish styles and built in 1828–1846 for prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov.

Alupka was first founded as an Greek settlement. After the Greeks, Alupka came under control of the Byzantine Empire. The first written mention of Alupka dates to 960 in a document about the Byzantine Emperor Romanos II. Later on, Alupka was controlled by the Crimean Tatars. After the Crimean campaigns, the city came into possession of Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin, governor-general of the Novorossiya Krai. In 1798, the city had a population of 211, consisting mainly of farmers. In the end of XIXth century and beginning of the XXth Alupka was a famous resort. In the middle of XIXth century it was even more popular, than Yalta, mostly because of the work of Governor of NovoRossia - Mikhail Vorontsov, who build here a Palace.

Vorontsov's Palace was designed by the English architect Edward Blore built in 1828-1846.

A large English-style park on the territory of the Vorontsov's Palace was constructed from 1824 to 1851, and was envisioned, designed, created, and maintained by Chief Botanist of the Southern Coast of the Crimea, Carolus Antonius Keebach.

During the Yalta Conference, the palace served as the residence of Sir Winston Churchill and his English delegation.

Alupka is located at the foot of the 1234 meter Ai-Petri (St Peter) Mountain of the Crimean Mountain Chain. Since 1987, a three kilometer cable car, one of the longest in Europe and split into two stages, carries passengers to and from the mountain, providing visitors with excellent views of the surrounding area and the Black Sea.