The Feodosia Museum of Antiquities is one of the oldest museums in Europe and the oldest local history museum in the province of the Russian Empire. It was established by the decree of Emperor Alexander I in November 1810 and opened in May 1811 under the guidance of the Feodosia mayor S. M. Bronevsky.

The foundation of the museum's collection consisted of antiquities gathered by the Feodosia merchant Dzevardzhi, which were purchased for 1,000 rubles by the decision of the city council. The collection included lapidary monuments from the ruins of medieval Kaffa and ancient artifacts. Some of the first exhibits, such as marble lions and a slab depicting a griffin, can still be seen in the museum's exhibition.

Initially, the museum was housed in an abandoned mosque, but in 1871 its collections were moved to a new building, specially constructed by I. K. Aivazovsky on Mount Mithridat. The museum was located there for almost half a century, but during the Great Patriotic War, the building was destroyed.

Since 1925, the museum has been located in part of I. K. Aivazovsky's house. In 1941, the most valuable exhibits were evacuated, but the main collection remained in Feodosia. During the occupation, some exhibits were taken to Germany. In 1945, the museum reopened to visitors in Aivazovsky's house, and since 1988, its exhibitions have been housed in a building that is a monument of early 20th-century architecture.

The museum's funds contain many unique monuments of history and culture. The exhibition covers all stages of the history of southeastern Crimea, from the primitive communal system to the events of the Great Patriotic War, and introduces visitors to the past of Feodosia, Kaffa, and Keffe, the only city that has retained its ancient name.

Today, the museum has over 80,000 exhibits. The sections of the permanent exhibition, the exhibits of the lapidary courtyard, and the exhibitions tell about the nature of southeastern Crimea, the peoples of the region, and the rich history of the city of Feodosia, Kaffa, and Keffe.

The nature department reveals the secrets of the Karadag mountain range and the underwater world of the Black Sea. The halls of 'Archaeology' feature exhibits from the Paleolithic to the end of the Middle Ages. Ancient Feodosia was one of the largest Hellenic ports of the Northern Black Sea and an important part of the Bosporan state. The Genoese Kaffa became the successor of Greek Feodosia, the center of administration for Genoese colonies in the region. From 1475 to 1771, the city was known as Keffe, the administrative center of the Turkish part of Crimea. In the 1770s and 1783, it was the residence of the last Crimean Khan, Shagin-Girey.

The 'Karaim Settlement' hall contains unique household items of the Karaites, one of the oldest peoples of Russia. The 'Great Patriotic War' hall features weapons from that time, and the museum's collection is considered the largest in southeastern Crimea. The lapidary courtyard exhibits monuments that tell about the peoples who left their mark in the history of Crimea.