ul. Ochakovtsev

The name of Sevastopolis was originally chosen in the same etymological trend as other cities in the Crimean peninsula; it was intended to express its ancient Greek origins. It is a compound of the Greek adjective sebastos, 'venerable') and the noun polis ('city').

Despite its Greek origin, the name is not from Ancient Greek times. The city was probably named after Empress ("Augusta") Catherine II of the Russian Empire who founded Sevastopol in 1783. She visited the city in 1787, accompanied by Joseph II, the Emperor of Austria, and other foreign dignitaries.

In the west of the city, there are well-preserved ruins of the ancient Greek port city of Chersonesos, founded in the 5th[citation needed] (or 4th) century BC by settlers from Heraclea Pontica. This name means "peninsula", reflecting its immediate location. It is not related to the ancient Greek name for the Crimean Peninsula as a whole: Chersonesos Taurike ("the Taurian Peninsula").

The city of Sevastopol is located at the southwestern tip of the Crimean peninsula in a headland known as Heracles peninsula on a coast of the Black Sea. The city is designated a special city-region of Ukraine which besides the city itself includes several of its outlying settlements. The city itself is concentrated mostly at the western portion of the region and around the long Bay of Sevastopol. This bay is a ria, a river canyon drowned by Holocene sea-level rise, and the outlet of Chorna River. Away in a remote location southeast of Sevastopol is located the former city of Balaklava (since 1957 incorporated within Sevastopol), the bay of which in Soviet times served as a main port for the Soviet diesel-powered submarines.

The coastline of the region is mostly rocky, in a series of smaller bays, a great number of which are located within the Bay of Sevastopol. The biggest of them are the Southern Bay (within Bay of Sevastopol), the Archer Bay, a gulf complex that consists of the Deergrass Bay, the Bay of Cossack, the Salty Bay, and many others. There are over thirty bays in the immediate region.

Through the region flow three rivers: the Belbek, Chorna, and Kacha. All three mountain chains of Crimean mountains are represented in Sevastopol, the southern chain by the Balaklava Highlands, the inner chain by the Mekenziev Mountains, and the outer chain by the Kara-Tau Upland (Black Mountain).

Attractions include:

• Chersonessos National Archeological Reserve
• Sevastopol Art Museum named after the N.P. Kroshitskiy
• Sevastopol Museum of Local History
• Aquarium-Museum of the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
• Dolphinarium of Sevastopol
• Sevastopol Zoo
• The Monument to the scuttled ships on the Marine Boulevard
• The Panorama Museum (The Heroic Defence of Sevastopol during the Crimean War)
• Malakhov Kurgan (Barrow) with its White Tower
• Admirals' Burial Vault
• The Black Sea Fleet Museum
• The Storming of Sapun-gora of 7 May 1944, the Diorama Museum (World War II)
• Naval museum complex "Balaklava", decommissioned underground submarine base, now opened to the public
• Cheremetieff brothers museum "Crimean war 1853-1856"
• Museum of the underground forces of 1942-1944
• Museum Historical Memorial Complex "35th Coastal Battery"
• The Naval Museum "Michael's battery"
• Fraternal (Communal) War Cemetery