Sochi: matching information

What is known about the early years of Sochi?

Why is Sochi an attractive place for year-round tourism?

What makes Sochi a good place to improve health?

What are the most popular natural attractions in Sochi?

Where is it better to stay in Sochi to improve health?

What sports and cultural events have been held in Sochi?

What conditions are created in the city for sports?

Sochi is Russia’s subtropical resort city that stretches along the beautiful coast of the Black Sea. With a permanent population of about 500,000 people, it holds the record of the largest resort city in Russia. Its numerous beaches make the city popular in summer. Skiing in the nearby mountains makes it an ideal place for winter holidays too. The city is set in the Krasnodar Krai, which stretches 145 km along the Black Sea, making it the second longest city after Mexico City.

The resort city of Sochi has a long history that dates back to Ancient Greek and Roman times. The first Russian settlement on the site was called Fort Alexander. It was founded in 1838 at the Sochi River’s mouth. In fact, Sochi is a relatively new name for the city, as the Russian settlement was first called so only in 1896. The name could be a variation of the term “sshatche” which was used by the local people to mean “place by the sea.”

From the very beginning, Sochi has served as a resort area. The discovery of the natural mineral springs there contributed greatly to its fast development as the most popular health resort in Russia. The local mineral springs have a healing effect. A legend says that a local girl bravely wandered into the underworld and brought back its healing waters to the surface as a gift from the spirits below. What is more, the air quality in Sochi is excellent.

Sochi is proud of its Caucasian State Nature Biosphere Reserve. It includes a lot of beautiful natural sights. The Agura and Orekhovskaya waterfalls are perhaps the most well-known places to visit. Sochi has a wonderful collection of parks, including a botanical garden with rare and exotic types of tropical and subtropical plants. There you can see amazing rhododendrons, evergreen magnolias with beautiful fragrant flowers, junipers, acacias and massive plane trees.

In addition to being famous as a resort city, Sochi is known for its sports facilities. For example, its tennis schools have trained many of the world-famous athletes. With so much local attention to health and exercise, Sochi was the obvious choice to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The recently constructed Coastal Cluster and the Mountain Cluster in Krasnaya Polyana are still widely used for indoor ice events and for downhill and skiing sports.

Sochi has long been enjoying the status of the most popular and fashionable spot in Russia. The Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix was held there for a number of years. In addition, Sochi was one of the host cities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. New Wave, an international contest for young performers of popular music, moved to Sochi in 2015 and has been regularly held there since that time. The largest and brightest summer and winter resort of Russia offers its visitors all kinds of events.