The city of Sochi is technically 147 km (92 mi) long, but the port, best
beaches and grooviest facilities are contained within the 12 km (7.5 mi) of
Sochi proper. The city, at the heart of the 'Russian Riviera', is an oddity in
many different ways. Oddest of all is that a city famous as a summer playground
for the Russian elite should be hosting the Winter Olympics of 2014. Politics
aside, there are good geographical and historical reasons why Sochi has reached
this pinnacle of resort aspiration. Because it faces south, with the Caucasus
Mountains rising immediately behind, it benefits from a microclimate that, in
turn, has for a hundred years attracted interest from the most powerful people
in Russia.
Russia's leaders, before and since the Revolution, invested heavily in
the area, building homes for themselves, and ensuring that public funds
maintained the quality of the city's facilities for all comers. Simultaneously,
heavy industry was not allowed to infect the region, and even the international
freight terminals are segregated. Visitors arriving by cruise liner are brought
ashore at a quay full of sleek, ocean-going private yachts, moored in front of
a series of cafes and restaurants whose colourful umbrellas and toned clientele
have more in common with St Tropez than Stalin might have wished. The terminal
building itself looks like a classical church, complete with steeple and spire
- a very Russian touch. Aside from the winter sports available an hour away,
Sochi's tree-lined avenues are full of wooded parks, good museums and
galleries, and a non-stop, ubiquitous, cafe and club-culture to amuse visitors
drawn to a year-round sequence of festivals - of fashion, music, art, and
anything quirky that might come along. There are 250 spas in the area, 30
botanical gardens of real interest, and the Russian National Wildlife Sanctuary
and Caucasian Biosphere Reserve up the road are within the (teclmical) city
limits. Sochi boasts that it can keep anyone amused, anytime, and it's true. Hotels in Sochi
