Things to Do in Sochi: Sea Port, Arboretum, Olympic Park and Mountain Resorts

Because Sochi spans both a humid subtropical coastline and a 2,500-metre alpine ridge within a single municipality, its attractions divide naturally between historic seaside architecture, botanical estates, modern Olympic venues, and karst canyons carved into the foothills of Sochi National Park. Grouping sights by corridor prevents unnecessary backtracking along the 145-kilometre shoreline.

1. Central Sochi Architectural and Botanical Sights

1. Sochi Marine Terminal and Primorskaya Promenade: Completed in 1955 to designs by architects Karo Alabyan and Leonid Karlik, the passenger terminal at 1 Voykova Street is crowned by a 71-metre stainless-steel spire and surrounded by Vladimir Ingal's sculpted allegories of the four seasons and four cardinal directions. Walk from the Sea Port fountain along the coastal promenade past the 1890 Sochi Lighthouse and the 1891 Cathedral of the Archangel Michael.
2. Sochi Arboretum (Dendrarium): Founded in 1889 by Saint Petersburg publisher and playwright Sergei Khudekov on the slope of Lysaya Mountain, the terraced park of roughly 49 hectares shelters 76 species of pine, 80 species of oak, and 24 species of palm. Ride the nearly 900-metre cable car to the upper belvedere before descending past Villa Nadezhda and the cast-iron French fountains described in our Sochi Arboretum and Riviera Park guide.
3. Winter Theatre and Sochi Art Museum: Built between 1934 and 1937 by architect Konstantin Chernopyatov, the neoclassical Winter Theatre is encircled by 88 Corinthian columns, while Ivan Zholtovsky's 1936 palace at 51 Kurortny Prospekt houses the Sochi Art Museum named after Dmitry Zhilinsky, displaying around 6,000 works from antiquity to the 20th century.

2. Khostinsky District: Sanatoriums, Springs and Karst Massifs

4. Stalin's Dacha, Ordzhonikidze Sanatorium and Matsesta: Designed by architect Miron Merzhanov and rebuilt in 1937, the dark-green Stalin Dacha stands on a forested ridge above the Matsesta Valley, where Vladimir Shchuko and Vladimir Gelfreikh's 1930s Matsesta Viaduct leads toward the monumental columned portico of Hydrogen Sulphide Bathhouse No. 4 and Ivan Kuznetsov's 16-hectare Ordzhonikidze Sanatorium ensemble.
5. Mount Akhun, Agura Waterfalls and Eagle Rocks: Climb the 30.5-metre limestone Romanesque tower built in 1936 by architect Sergei Vorobyov atop Greater Akhun (663 metres), then hike the trail along the Agura River past three waterfalls, each roughly 20 to 30 metres high, beneath the 125-metre vertical limestone cliffs of Eagle Rocks.
6. Khosta Yew-Boxwood Grove and Vorontsovo Caves: Protected since 1931 across 302 hectares on the eastern slope of Mount Akhun, the relict Yew-Boxwood Grove preserves ancient berry yews and a tectonic stone labyrinth, while the upper Kudepsta Valley holds the multi-entrance Vorontsovo Cave system.

3. Sirius Olympic Coast and Krasnaya Polyana Peaks

7. Sochi Olympic Park in Sirius: Walk or cycle the coastal esplanade in the Imereti Lowlands to see the Fisht Olympic Stadium, the 12,000-seat Bolshoy Ice Dome, Adler Arena, and the evening musical fountain show at the Olympic Cauldron.
8. Skypark and Akhshtyr Gorge: Cross the Mzymta River canyon on the suspension footbridge at Skypark Sochi and visit the prehistoric limestone gallery of Akhshtyrskaya Cave.
9. Rosa Khutor and Krasnaya Polyana: Ride the Olympia, Zapovedny Les, and Caucasus Express gondolas from the 560-metre Mzymta River valley to the 2,320-metre summit of Roza Peak on the Aibga Ridge.