Crimean tours usually start and end with a visit to Simferopol (Сімферополь) the area's regional capital and crossroads. A city of 400,000, Simferopol is situated on the Salhyr (Салгир) River in the center of the Crimean peninsula. Many travelers fly in, and passport control can be a slow process. Train is a good way to reach Simferopol, since it's a major rail junction for larger cities in Ukraine and Russia. For drivers, major highways lead to Simferopol.
The city has a pleasing exotic ambience with remnants of the old Tatar quarter with its narrow winding streets and Oriental buildings. There's a university; numerous research institutes; theaters of Ukrainian music and drama and Russian drama; a fine arts museum; a philharmonic orchestra; and a circus. Most of the shops, cafes, and tourist attractions are around Karl Marx and Pushkin Streets and Prospekt Kirov. Kirov crosses an attractive city park on the banks of the river. The most interesting attraction is Neapolis, a 20-hectare (50-acre) excavation less than a mile southeast from the city center between Vorovsky and Krasnoarmeyskaya streets. Neapolis was a Scythian town from the 2nd century B.C.E. to the 4th century C.E., then it was abandoned after attacks by the Goths and Huns. Excavations started in 1827 uncovered a thick-walled city containing stone buildings, some ornamented with tiles and frescoes. A royal mausoleum with burial chambers dug into the rock formations contains the graves of 72 Scythian noblemen with their gold ornaments and weapons. Not a protected archeological reserve, Neapolis is not on the standard tour itinerary but arrangements to see it can be made with a private guide.