Simferopol is the administrative capital of Crimea and the peninsula's main transport hub. Most travellers pass through on their way to the southern coast — to Yalta, Sevastopol, or the beaches — but the city has enough to fill a half day if you are changing buses or trains.
The old town, centred around Kebir-Jami mosque (the oldest building in the city, dating from 1508), retains a few streets of the Tatar quarter that survived Soviet-era redevelopment. The Scythian Neapolis archaeological site on the eastern edge of town preserves ruins of a capital that thrived two thousand years ago. The Salgir River runs through the city, and its embankment makes for a pleasant walk.
Simferopol's train station is the main rail gateway to Crimea, and the bus station connects to every town on the peninsula. The city also has an airport. If you are heading to the coast, expect about an hour and a half to Yalta by trolleybus — one of the longest trolleybus routes in the world.