Port of call

Sochi, Russia

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Description — Sochi, Russia

Sochi is a resort city in Russia, located on the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea in Krasnodar Krai. The city’s four districts stretch for a good hundred kilometres along the Black Sea shoreline. Together with the urban-type settlement of Krasnaya Polyana and nearby rural settlements located on the southern slopes of the Main Caucasus Range, it forms the municipal formation of the resort city of Sochi, also informally known as Greater Sochi. Sochi is the largest resort city in Russia, an important transport hub, as well as a major economic and cultural centre on the Russian Black Sea coast. Informally referred to as the “summer, southern and resort capital” of Russia. Among the cities on the Black Sea by population, Sochi ranks 3rd. Sochi is also the longest city in Russia and Europe. Like any major resort city, Sochi is packed with mini-hotels and small restaurants, around which smoke from barbecues curls, with souvenir shops featuring painted pebbles, shells, and dried fish. In the surrounding area there are caves and dolmens, as well as the largest dendrological park in Russia.

With the start of the Olympic construction boom, Sochi began to slowly but steadily transform. As a result, over the past seven years, a new city has grown on the territory of the only subtropical resort in Russia. During this time, kilometres of new roads were built, a new airport opened, and new hotels and holiday homes were developed. The Sochi waterfront today resembles Europe. Cozy little cafés are lined up along the Black Sea shore. All the many souvenir stalls are designed in a single style and hidden within the rows of shops. In Sochi’s restaurants, you can find dishes for any taste and budget, and even by the sea, admiring the waves, you can have lunch quite affordably.

As for entertainment-where to go and what to see-there are many such venues that appeared after the Olympics. The most popular ones are, of course, the Olympic Village and Krasnaya Polyana. The Olympic Village is more like a city: with its own life-support system, transport infrastructure, and park areas. Today it is a favourite place for young people to relax, since large open and, most importantly, flat spaces are ideal for lovers of all kinds of rides-roller skates, bicycles, skateboards, and electric cars. What’s more, all these means of transport can be taken for hire right in the Olympic Village without any hassle. On 1 June, a Sochi Park opened in the Olympic Village: an affordable Russian Disneyland with unique attractions, based on domestic animated films and Russian folk tales. In Sochi, in Krasnaya Polyana, there are 4 ski complexes. The largest and most beautiful in the European style is “Rosa Khutor”. This ski complex became one of the key venues of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. On the banks of the Mzymta River waterfront, there are already upscale hotels, shops, and restaurants. There is also a cable car that lets you reach the very top of the Caucasus Mountains in just a few minutes. At an altitude of 1200 metres above sea level, there is a snowboard park and a freestyle centre.

Climate

Sochi, like the entire stretch of the Russian Black Sea coast south of Tuapse, is located in the humid subtropical zone. Sochi’s climate is significantly influenced by the sea (in summer it is cooler there, and in winter it warms the area) and by the mountains (which shield it from cold northern winds). The maximum precipitation occurs during the winter period, mainly in the form of rain, and less often snow. Winter is mild, and summer is hot and humid. Since Sochi is located on the northern border of the subtropics, during winter occasional frosts and snowfalls are possible here, but within the city limits along the coast they occur extremely rarely and last for one to five days; in some years they are absent altogether. Sochi has a long summer (mid-April to October), a moderate autumn (November to January), a short winter (February to mid-March) and a short spring (mid-March to mid-April). The average annual temperature is +14.2 °C (in Adler +14.9 °C). The average temperature of February is +6.0 °C. The average temperature of August is +23.6 °C.

Sochi, Russia
Fisht Stadium
Olympic Park
Riviera Park in Sochi
Sochi Park
Park is at the height of SKYPARK
Rosa Khutor Ski Resort Complex
Entertainment Center “Galaktika”
AquaLoo Complex
Cultural and Ethnographic Center “My Russia”
Olympic Park, Coastal Cluster
Spend the day at the beach
Sochi Oceanarium

Location on the map

Sights

Fisht Stadium

At the “Fisht” Stadium, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Sochi took place. It was designed by one of the world’s largest architecture firms, Populous, whose portfolio includes stadium projects such as “Yankee” in New York, “Wembley” in London, the “United Center” in Chicago, and many others. The shape of “Fisht” somehow resembles a rocky cliff, and its name is owed to a peak in the western part of the Caucasus range, to which, according to legend, Prometheus was once chained. The unusual roof of the main Olympic stadium is made from a durable light-transmitting material that will protect visitors during bad weather. Today, “Fisht” is a multifunctional sports and entertainment center and will also host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Olympic Park

Olympic Park is one of the main venues of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. On its grounds are the main sports facilities where ice hockey, speed skating, short track, figure skating, curling competitions were held, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the XXII Winter Olympic Games. Today, trips are organized within Olympic Park on golf carts and sightseeing steam locomotives, a free sports ground with sports equipment and training devices, a karting track, rentals of pedal cars, electric-powered tricycles, bicycles, kids’ electric cars, segways, roller skates, “Sochi Park” attractions, and there are restaurants and cafés, souvenir sales points. The park also features a light-and-music fountain.

Riviera Park in Sochi

Riviera Park in Sochi is one of the most unique and beloved corners of nature for both local residents and city guests. Established in 1989, Riviera Park has long become part of Sochi’s historical and cultural heritage and a natural and historical landmark. The park area, almost 14.7 hectares, is located on the right bank of the Sochi River in the central part of the city. In Riviera Park you can see around 240 different species and forms of trees and shrubs, take a stroll along the plane-tree avenue, visit a unique rose garden, and have fun at more than 60 attractions.

Sochi Park

This park is aptly called the Russian Disneyland. Sochi Park is a magical world and the first theme park whose idea is based on Russia’s rich cultural and historical heritage. Sochi Park is made up of five lands, where fairy tales live and adventures rule. Begin your journey at the entrance “Alley of Lights”, take a “Quantum Leap” on the fastest and highest extreme roller coaster in Russia, located in the “Realm of Science and Fantasy”. And then, on the wings of the magical “Firebird” - Russia’s most thrilling free-fall attraction - fly into the “Enchanted Forest” to meet Zmey Gorynych. And if, during this exciting adventure, you get a little tired, head to an oasis of calm and quiet - the “ECO-village”.

Adventure Park at Height SKYPARK

40 km from the resort of “Rosa Khutor”, in the Trout Farm area, there is the first adventure park in Russia at height level - SKYPARK, created by AJ Hackett. To date, 8 parks under the AJ Hackett brand are operating worldwide in different parts of the globe: in Germany, France, China, Australia and Singapore. In summer 2014, the park opened on a trial basis. Guests will be able to take an unforgettable walk across the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge (439 meters), located at a height of 207 meters above ground level, and experience incredible thrills by jumping on an elastic rope 69 meters long - “Bungy 69 m”. All other attractions and facilities in the park will open as they are completed and after the full testing procedure has been completed.

What to see

Rosa Khutor Ski Resort

Rosa Khutor Ski Resort is an Olympic venue of Krasnaya Polyana, located at the foot of and on the slopes of the Aibga Ridge, 40 kilometers from Sochi. Rosa Khutor Resort is not only a set of sports facilities, but also a modern city that stands on the beautiful Mzymta River, with stunning architecture (similar to Saint Petersburg), where there is everything for a great vacation-restaurants, cafes, bars, modern upscale hotels, parking areas, rentals of sports equipment, branded stores, and small souvenir shops. By cable car, you can ride all the way to the highest peak of the mountain range and enjoy the surrounding views. At the highest point on the route, you can go horseback riding and grab a bite at a restaurant with a beautiful open veranda offering views of the Caucasus Mountains.

Entertainment Center Galactika

A complex of unprecedented scale and format is located in a picturesque valley at an altitude of 540 meters above sea level, two kilometers from the “Rosa Khutor” railway station. The complex covers an area of about 50,000 sq.m. Total capacity - up to 4,000 people. Guests of “Galaxy” have year-round access to: a water park, an ice arena, a children’s interactive educational club, a bowling alley, 3 cinemas, restaurants, a food court, open terraces, a nightclub, a conference hall with 1,100 seats, a shopping gallery, and parking for 1,200 vehicles.

AquaLoo Complex

In the village with the aptly named “Gorny Vozdukh” (18 km west of Sochi), on a vast seaside property spanning a couple of dozen hectares, a health, sports, and entertainment center has been established. It includes a large sanatorium, where wellness and spa procedures of practically any kind are offered, a guest house, a spacious fitness complex, a bowling center, restaurants, bars, night clubs, a concert hall, and the only indoor water park in the south of Russia. In the park, besides thrilling water attractions, there are saunas, solariums, pools with hydromassage and an artificial ocean wave-and all of this operates in any season and in any weather. Another pleasant extra is its own “Bely plyazh” (“White Beach”)-a 250-meter-long and 50-meter-wide fine-pebble beach-with free umbrellas and sun loungers, children’s slides, and a diving center. They say it’s one of the most environmentally clean places in the Black Sea region.

Cultural and Ethnographic Center My Russia

Just five hundred meters from the ski resort “Rosa Khutor” is the “Cultural and Ethnographic Center ‘My Russia’.” The ethnographic center “My Russia” is divided into several sectors according to geographical principle: “Caucasus,” “Suzdal,” “Central Russia,” “Moscow,” “Krasnodar Krai,” “Saint Petersburg,” “Russian North,” “Kazan,” “the Urals,” “Siberia,” and “Buryatia.” Each building is styled to match the architecture of its respective region. Visitors will be able to explore exhibitions that introduce them to the creative and economic achievements of different parts of our Motherland, as well as taste dishes from national cuisines, buy traditional souvenirs at market stalls designed in the style of 18th-century Rus’.

Spend the day at the beach

Sochi is 150 km of magnificent, spotlessly clean beaches, stretching “like a snake” along Greater Sochi-the longest city in Russia. Public beaches are always crowded; however, in contrast to that, there are huge opportunities for a variety of leisure activities and lots of entertainment. The “wild” beaches have no facilities, but that’s exactly where all the romance lies! There are never many people here, the water is usually perfectly clean, and it’s easier to breathe. Among the city’s best beaches are the pebble-and-stone city beach “Primorsky,” running parallel to the promenade; the spacious sandy-pebble beach “Riviera” near the eponymous park, where morning meditation sessions are held and, in the evening, they “turn up the music” to groovy tunes; the paid private beach from the hotel “Zvezdny” near “Riviera,” offering plenty of entertainment; the sandy beach with bits of pebbles in the water at the “Albatros” sanatorium near the Bocharov Ruchey Presidential Residence.

Recommended excursions

Olympic Sochi

The Olympic Venues Tour is a wonderful opportunity to visit the Coastal and Mountain cluster of Olympic Sochi, see the magnificent structures with your own eyes, learn how they were used during and after the Games, and feel the atmosphere of the Olympic capital. The guided tour begins at the Coastal cluster; the group heads to the Main Media Center, visits the Olympic Village and the Olympic Park. Here you can see grand sports arenas and stadiums, take a ride on golf carts and take photos with the Olympic torch, visit the themed amusement park “Sochi Park” or watch the route of the Russian leg of the “Formula 1” races. The second part of the tour is a visit to the Mountain cluster located in Krasnaya Polyana. Tourists will visit several ski complexes (“Rosa Khutor”, “Gornaya Karusel”, “Gazprom”), take a stroll along the embankment of the Mzymta River. If desired, you can ride up to the mountains by cable car, visit the “Dary Krasnoy Polyany” tasting hall, and attend the cultural and entertainment center “Galaktika”.

You can find out more detailed lists of excursions and their prices after booking the cruise in your “Client Personal Account”.