The 2014 Olympic Winter Games transformed Adler. Those arriving on holiday are greeted by a string of modern hotels, convenient transport links and many attractions. The center of attraction of the renewed resort is the Imereti Lowland with unique stadiums, the Formula 1 track, sports palaces, arenas, Sochi Park, and a railway station.
But this was not always the case in these places. Once upon a time, these swampy places with a humid, hot climate and malaria-carrying mosquitoes were called nothing less than “Death Valley.” Adler and the surrounding areas were a place of exile at the beginning of the 19th century. Disgraced poets, writers, politicians, and officers were expelled here. Moreover, such a measure of punishment was practically equivalent to the death penalty. It was difficult for a European to survive in such conditions.
It was. But let's return to our time and get acquainted with the main attractions of one of the districts of Sochi.
Olympic Park
In preparation for the Olympics, many sports facilities were erected in the Imereti Lowland. They hosted winter sports competitions and hosted the opening and closing of the Olympic Games. An Olympic village was built next to the complex of sports facilities, which later became a comfortable recreation area.
Entrance to the Sochi Olympic Park is free. You can visit it from 8:00 to midnight (sometimes entry is limited, but information about this is posted in advance on social networks). The park's territory is large - 200 hectares. It’s easy to navigate the area; there are signs everywhere.
The main entrance and ticket center, where you can buy tickets for events, competitions, karting, and an ice skating rink, are located on the side of the Imeretinsky Resort railway station. Here you can rent a bicycle (rental – 200 rubles per hour) or use an electric car without a tour or with a tour.
Official website: olympic-park.rf.
Olympic Flame Bowl
In the very center of the park stands the “Olympic Flame Bowl”. This 50-meter-tall structure, resembling the silhouette of a bird, can be seen from different parts of the park. In the evenings, an impressive performance is staged here - the Singing Fountains show, which illuminates the park with light and fills it with the sounds of popular melodies. 264 cannons fire jets of water 30-70 meters high, illuminated in bright colors.
The main buildings are located around this spectacular site: arenas, sports palaces, centers.
Fisht Stadium
This huge structure of unusual shape resembles a seashell or a snowy mountain peak. It was here that the winter games opened and closed in 2014, and the winners of the competition were awarded.
On the site of the stadium there used to be a village of Old Believers. Its inhabitants were resettled. But the Old Believer cemetery has been preserved in its original location. It is located next to Fisht and is hidden from park visitors by a beautiful fence.
Ice Palace "Bolshoi"
This sports facility resembles a giant frozen drop. During the Olympics it was the main hockey stadium. Now it hosts ice shows, sports competitions, and large-scale concerts. At night, its pearl-white dome with built-in multi-colored luminous modules is incredibly beautiful and visible from afar.
Ice Arena "Shaiba"
The Shaiba ice arena is located next door. The building's shape really resembles a puck and a snow whirlwind. The peculiarity of this building is that the stadium can broadcast images from the outside, working like a television screen. There are also no steps inside the structure.
Ice cube
Next to the “Puck” there is an “Ice Cube”. This is a curling center.
used after the Olympics by the Tennis Academy.
Iceberg Palace
“Iceberg” is a 34-meter ice palace. Lined with stained glass in blue shades. Impressive with capacity and interiors. During the Olympics, figure skaters and speed skaters competed for the title of the best in the palace arena. Today it is used for training and holding hockey tournaments.
In the summer, visitors can go ice skating at the Iceberg training arena by purchasing a ticket and renting skates.
The park also houses a concert venue, the Wall of Glory, and the Olympic rings.
Sochi Autodrom and Formula 1 track
Sochi Autodrom and the Formula 1 track are located near the main entrance to the park. Here, during the tour, you can learn about how the races are organized and conducted.
The Sochi Auto Sport Museum is located on the ground floor of the Main Grandstand. The exhibition features models of classic and racing cars of the last century. There are also quite rare specimens.
Next to the Autodrom there is the Forza Karting Sochi Karting Center with a 500-meter track and high-class cars.
Terrarium "Jungle World"
This is another place near the resort town of Sochi that attracts children and adults. In the Jungle World terrarium you can not only get acquainted with the life of reptiles and amphibians collected from different parts of the world. On the territory of the complex there is a petting zoo with the opportunity to feed and pet cute rabbits, goats and birds. Bright parrots and agile monkeys live in the enclosures of the terrarium. However, the main things worth seeing are crocodiles, anacondas, boa constrictors and chameleons. In the afternoon, feeding of snakes and lizards begins. But keep in mind that the snakes are fed live birds. Such a sight can shock kids. Photography is allowed in the terrarium. But you can’t turn on the flash - it can disturb the local wildlife.
Museums near the Olympic Park
Next to the sports facilities there is the Sochi Park amusement park, the Sochi Museum Center, which unites permanent exhibits and exhibits on one site, and the Sochi Automuseum.
Between the Ferris wheel and the Fisht stadium on the eastern side of the park, in a discreet building, there is an educational and developmental museum center (https://sochi-museum.ru/). It consists of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum, the USSR Museum, and the Nikola Tesla Museum. To visit each of them (they operate on an individual schedule) you will need a separate ticket.
You can get to the Museum Center by walking a short distance from the Sochi Park stop (buses No. 57, 135, 100, 125c, some of which stop only on request) or from the Fisht Arena stop.
The Nikola Tesla Museum is located on the ground floor. After an animated video with a story about the great scientist, stunt magician Megavolt arranges scientific and entertainment sessions with lightning for visitors - the Tesla Show (the group must be at least 6 people).
The USSR Museum (on the second floor) is open to the public daily.
The Leonardo Museum with an exhibition dedicated to the inventions and achievements of the scientist, artist, sculptor, mechanic, and philosopher Leonardo da Vinci is located on the third floor. Many exhibits are operational and reproduced according to the artist’s sketches. They can be touched and experienced during an educational walk accompanied by a guide.
Nearby, in a building with facades decorated with oriental ornaments, there is an Automuseum with a retro collection of Soviet-era cars (now closed). During the Olympics it was the House of Fans of the Russian national team.
Sochi Park
This entertainment complex with attractions of varying complexity, stylized as Russian epics and fairy tales, is interesting for both children and adults. Official website: https://www.sochipark.ru/.
Its territory of 20.5 hectares with the Bogatyr hotel, whose guests can visit the attractions for free, borders the Olympic Park. In summer, the park is open daily from 10:00 to 22:00. In the off-season, a separate operating schedule for the park and attractions is drawn up depending on the month.
To visit, you must purchase a single ticket at the box office from 10:30 to 17:00. You can use it in the park all day, visit the dolphinarium, ride unlimited rides, and participate in show programs.
Before visiting, you must check the opening hours and ticket prices (depending on the month of visit).
To determine the age category of a ticket, the determining factor is height (measured in shoes):
- Up to 107 cm – free.
- From 107.1 cm to 140 cm - children's ticket.
- From 140.1 cm – adult ticket.
To ride your favorite slides and carousels at least once, to get around all the playgrounds and themed areas without haste, or to take a short break for lunch in a cafe, you will need at least 8 hours. Therefore, putting everything aside, we went to have fun in the park for the whole day.
Attractions of Sochi Park
It took a lot of effort and time to test myself on almost all the rides. And there are more than 20 of them in the park: from classic carousels to the extreme attraction “Firebird” with a free fall from a height of 65 meters.
No less thrilling is guaranteed by the “Snake Gorynych” with a dizzying kilometer-long track with unexpected descents and ascents, on which you can rush at speeds of up to 100 km/h, and the “Quantum Leap” speed slide.
For those who don’t like extreme sports or are not tall enough, giant swing boats, water slides, chain carousels, a Ferris wheel, and a race track are suitable. For the youngest visitors there are funny rocking cars, “Carousel of Fairy Tales”, “The Little Humpbacked Horse”.
The Ferris Wheel, air-conditioned and heated in cold weather, is available all year round. From above, from a height of 60 meters, the Olympic Park and the surrounding area are clearly visible.
In addition to the attractions, you can take part in shows, attend concerts and theatrical performances.
Don't forget to visit the Dolphinarium. Children love the performances of these amazing, intelligent animals. A short half-hour rest (that’s how long the show lasts) will just help you regain your strength for visiting the remaining attractions.
The Sovarium mini-zoo with rare bird species and the Experimentarium museum are objects that deserve the attention of visitors with small children. You can get to the territory of the latter from Sochi Park or from the Olympic Park.
Oceanarium "Sochi Discovery World"
One cannot ignore another attraction of the Adler resort town - Sochi Discovery World. The composition presented in this aquarium has no analogues in Russia and the CIS. Tourists from Russia and foreign countries come to see more than 4,000 representatives of the underwater world, which are housed in 30 aquariums.
Getting to know the inhabitants of marine and freshwater bodies of all continents will be especially interesting for children. Here you can see piranhas, Japanese Koi carps, discus fish and tropical fish of unusually bright colors. Undoubtedly, visitors will be impressed by the 40-meter underwater glass tunnel. Walking along it, you can get a close-up look at the world, which in ordinary life is hidden from us by the thickness of the water.
Southern Cultures Park
This is the oldest park in the city. In 1910, General Drachevsky laid out a private dendrological park on the banks of the Mzymta with landscape design characteristic of the early twentieth century. Alleys with southern trees are interspersed with numerous staircases, decorative ponds, elegant bridges, lawns, and green flowering terraces descending to the water. A great place to hide from the heat.
The park is located near the airport. Bus stop - "Southern Cultures". Paid entrance.
Bestuzhev Park
The cozy city park of Bestuzhev-Marlinsky is located in the center of Adler. In a green picturesque corner with hundred-year-old plane trees and palm trees, it is good to relax under the crowns of old trees. In the park there is a monument to Bestuzhev, who died in the battle for Cape Adler with the highlanders, and an ancient cannon that was found during excavations in the vicinity of the city.
Not far from the square there is the Central City Market, the Museum of the History of the City, and the Cathedral of St. Sarkis. Public transport stop - shopping center "New Century".
When is the best time to go?
The most logical time to relax at a seaside resort is, of course, summer. The season in Adler opens at the end of May, closes at the beginning of October, and the largest number of tourists arrive in July-August. It makes sense to travel with a child in the second half of summer in order to experience a truly warm sea. However, you need to book accommodation in advance and put up with crowded beaches.
Ask those who don’t need to return to work and school in the fall when is the best time to go to Adler. In September, they will answer you when the heat goes away and blissful calm comes. It’s just too early to hope for a reduction in prices - they will go down only at the end of September.
The low season in Adler is usually devoted to sanatorium treatment. The resort's sanatoriums specialize in diseases of the cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system, and ENT organs.
Open-air water park "Amphibius"
The water park is located 2.5 km from the Adler railway station. Stop – “Sanatorium Izvestia”. Open from June to September every day.
There are many entertainments and attractions in Adler. Some excursions can be organized independently without the participation of guides and agencies, by creating your own program to suit your rhythm and schedule. Interesting offers can be found on the websites Tripster.ru or Sputnik. If you are not ready to travel on your own, look for tours online. In my travels, I most often use the following services: Onlinetours, Travelata and Level.Travel. Convenient, profitable, proven.
Vacation with children
Adler is not one of those resorts where you can enjoy solitude and peace. From the end of May to mid-September life is in full swing here. Why, despite this, is it worth coming to Adler with children? There are several reasons.
1. This is a place for a healthy summer holiday. A vacation on the seashore is a real gift after the hardships of everyday life. And if your little ones don’t go to school yet, the time period for sunbathing increases. Holidays with an infant and preschooler can be planned for May-June, before the peak of the holiday season. In September, with a preschool child, you will get a full range of beach pleasures and a half-empty beach to boot.
2. Adler has a powerful sanatorium and resort base thanks to the local silt mud and Matsesta mineral waters.
Some sanatoriums, for example, Yuzhnoe Vzmorye, offer special health programs for children.
You can plan a sanatorium holiday in Adler with a child in the off-season. In spring and autumn, people come to the resort to treat various chronic diseases, including diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Walking along the seashore is useful even during a storm - then the air is saturated with microelements important for health.
3. Family holidays in Adler are good even in winter. At this time, the most interesting things are happening on the slopes of the Krasnaya Polyana ski resort. Traveling by Lastochka train to the winter entertainment center takes only 40 minutes.
4. Adler for children is an experience that you cannot get at other resorts. All your child’s friends will hear stories about the excursion to the Olympic venues, supported by photographs.
5. Sochi airport is located closest to Adler. Perhaps, within half an hour after arrival you will be relaxing with your child on the shores of the warm Black Sea.
