Sochi on the Black Sea is Russia’s largest resort and a popular holiday destination all year round. The coastal area was historically part of various kingdoms before becoming Russian in 1829 following the Russo-Circassian and Russo-Turkish Wars. Russia established a series of forts along the coast to resist Circassian attacks, and the war did not end until 1864. Meanwhile, Sochi was founded in 1838 as Fort Aleksandria at the mouth of the Sochi River in the Black Sea, and the following year the place was called Navaginsky. In the 1850s, the garrison of the fort was evacuated because of the Crimean War, while Russians, Belarusians and many others started the colonization of the coast from the 1860s.

Sochi hit a population low in 1887, when the population dropped to 98, but from here the city developed again. In 1890 the lighthouse in Sochi was built, and in 1896 the place was renamed Sochi. The number of citizens increased rapidly, not least from the beginning of the 20th century when Sochi became a holiday town. The first of the city’s holiday hotels opened its doors in 1909, and in 1917 Sochi achieved the status of a city with over 13,000 inhabitants.

Tourism gave further growth from 1923, when the coastal railway to Tuapse opened, during the Stalin era, Sochi became a serious holiday town, and Stalin himself had a house here. During that time, large and opulent buildings were built in various styles, and since then it has been followed up with countless new buildings in and around Sochi. The city became known in large parts of the world in 2014, when Sochi hosted the Winter Olympics.

Today, Sochi is a lovely city with a mild climate and many sights and activity opportunities. The city is spread over a large area along the banks of the Sochi River and along the Black Sea, and you can start a tour in the central city area, which lies between Sochi Railway Station and the Sochi River. Sochi railway station was built 1950-1952, and it stands with its characteristic bell tower as a beautiful architectural monument from the Stalin era. From here you can walk south along the elegant pedestrian street, Navaginskaya ulitsa, which with its palm trees and many plants forms a lovely urban space. Navaginskaya ulitsa is also a nice street with shops, cafes and eateries.

In the southern part of Navaginskaya ulitsa there are several museums that you can visit. Here is the Mega Museum SSSR, which exhibits a wealth of products and environments from the Soviet era, and the Sochi Sports Museum, which, among other things, depicts the Olympic Games in the city in 2014. If you continue from here towards the Black Sea, you come to Sochi’s marina, where the city’s marine terminal is located as the port’s passenger building for traffic with, among other things, ferry routes on the Black Sea.

The terminal is one of Sochi’s best-known buildings. It was built in Stalinist style in 1955 with its 71-meter-high spire. On both sides of the marina, you can take a walk along the promenades along the sea, where there are also beaches all the way. In the area you can also see Archangel Michael Cathedral from 1874-1890, which is Sochi’s oldest Orthodox church.

From the marina, you can walk east along the street Kurortny Prospekt, where the Sochi Art Museum is open in a temple-like building from 1936. The museum has fine exhibitions with works by Russian and international artists. Kurortny Prospekt is also a good example of how Sochi was developed as a fashionable holiday area from the beginning of the 20th century. Classy sanatoriums were something that attracted the wealthy, and you can see them in this direction, among other things.

One of the most impressive of the classic sanatoriums is the Ordzhonikidze Sanatorium, located east of Sochi. The sanatorium was built 1935-1937 in neoclassical style with a sea view and a combination of sea air and vegetation. Centrally between the large buildings is the fountain, which is the site’s landmark. Other examples are the Metallurg Sanatorium, also located along Kurortny Prospekt, and the Sochinsky Sanatorium, which has its own funicular to the sea.

There is also another popular excursion destination along the Black Sea in the area east of Sochi. Here you can visit the Sochi Olympic Park, which was laid out and built for the Olympic Games in 2014. In the park you can see the Olympic stadium, which was used for, among other things, the opening and closing ceremonies at the Games. In the park you can see the architectural highlights from the 2014 Games and the area that is also used as a Formula 1 track when racing at the Sochi Autodrom. At the autodrome there is an interesting car museum, and at the Olympic Park, located in the city of Adler close to the border with Abkhazia, you can also visit the amusement park Sochi Park.