In 1834, Livadia was acquired by Count L. S. Potocki from the commander of the Greek Balaklava battalion, F. Reveliotti. On the estate of Potocki, according to the design of F. F. Elson, a manor house, greenhouses, and a landscaped park were built.

From 1861, the Livadia estate became the summer residence of Emperor Alexander II and his family. According to the design of I. A. Monighetti, Count Potocki's house was reconstructed, and the Grand Palace, the Heir's Palace, the Small Palace, the Suite House, and the kitchen were erected. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was also built. From 1871, the architect of the Livadia residence was A. G. Vincent, who constructed the "Ericlik" dacha, the bell tower of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Ruschuk Column, the Ascension Church, and other buildings.

In 1894, Alexander III died in Livadia.

In 1911, a new White Palace was built for Emperor Nicholas II according to the design of Yalta architect Nikolai Petrovich Krasnov. According to some sources, Nicholas II spent about 4 million gold rubles on the palace. One of Krasnov's assistants was Alexander Rotach, who later became a famous artist and restorer.

Between 1902 and 1916, the palace of the Minister of the Court Baron Fredericks, the Suite Page Corps, and other structures were built in Livadia. The Grand Palace was dismantled in 1910, and the White Palace was constructed in its place, while the Small Palace was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War.

According to Article 412 of Volume X, Part 1 of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, Livadia was the palace property of the Imperial House, personal property of its members, and could be bequeathed and divided.

After the overthrow of the Provisional Government by the Bolsheviks, the Ministry of Agriculture was located on the territory of the Livadia Palace. On April 30, 1918, German troops occupied Livadia, beginning to plunder the palace. In November of the same year, it was seized by the White Guards with the support of the Allies.

In 1925, a sanatorium for peasants opened in the former royal palace, which became a climatic treatment complex in 1931. In 1927, V. V. Mayakovsky visited the palace, and in 1928, M. Gorky.

From February 4 to 11, 1945, the Yalta Conference took place in the Livadia Palace, where the leaders of the USSR, USA, and Great Britain, I. V. Stalin, F. D. Roosevelt, and W. Churchill met. The American delegation led by Roosevelt resided in the palace.

In 1953, the sanatorium was reopened. On July 16, 1974, the Livadia Palace became accessible to visitors with two departments: a historical and memorial one, featuring the exhibition "The Crimean Yalta Conference of 1945," and an exhibition department.

In 1993, the Livadia Palace received museum status. On July 16, 1994, an exhibition titled "The Romanovs in Livadia" opened on the second floor of the palace, dedicated to the stay of three generations of Russian emperors in Livadia.

Today, visitors to the palace-museum can see two exhibitions. The first floor features an exhibition about the Yalta Conference of 1945 and the stay of the American delegation, while the second floor showcases the life and leisure of Russian tsars in Livadia.

In the White Hall of the palace, where the sessions of the Yalta Conference were held, summits of heads of state are regularly conducted. Since 2004, annual meetings of the Yalta European Strategy have been held in the Livadia Palace, which have taken place in Kyiv since 2014.

In the 2000s, landslides in the area of the palace complex intensified, leading to damage to retaining walls and the destruction of communications. Cracks appeared in the rooms, causing a stir in the press. After delays, repair and anti-landslide works were carried out.

On February 5, 2015, a monument to I. V. Stalin, F. D. Roosevelt, and W. Churchill, created by sculptor Zurab Tsereteli, was unveiled in the territory of the palace-park ensemble.

On May 19, 2015, a bust of Emperor Nicholas II, made according to the model of sculptor A. A. Apollonov, was installed at the main entrance to the Livadia Palace.

On November 18, 2017, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a monument to Emperor Alexander III was unveiled in the park of the Livadia Palace.

The Livadia palace-park ensemble includes the Grand Palace, the Suite Page Corps, the palace of the Minister of the Court Baron Fredericks, the palace Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a picturesque park with preserved structures, pavilions, and fountains.

In Livadia, there is a cardiology sanatorium "Livadia" and the Livadia Park, laid out almost 160 years ago. The park features a terrenkur, the Sunny Tsar's Path, approximately 7 km long.

In 1954, the Mosfilm studio filmed the movie "We Met Somewhere" on the territory of the Livadia Palace. In 1955, scenes for the film "Othello" were shot there, as well as "The Gadfly" and "Twelfth Night," which captured the Italian Courtyard and Livadia Park. In 1967, "Anna Karenina" was filmed there.

In 1968, the Odessa Film Studio shot the film "One Chance in a Thousand," set in 1942 in Crimea, with many scenes filmed in the Livadia Palace.

In 1977, the Livadia Palace and park became the filming location for the musical comedy "A Dog in the Manger" by the Lenfilm studio. In 1978, the palace depicted the "Governor's Palace" in the film "Treasures of the Flaming Cliffs."

In 1982, the inner courtyard of the Livadia Palace became the filming location for a segment of the film "The Return of the Resident" by the M. Gorky Film Studio.