The Olympic venues in Sochi are the Sochi Olympic Park (Adler) on the Black Sea coast and the Sochi Krasnaya Polyana facilities in the mountains.
The Sochi Olympic venues are located in two clusters – Coastal (near the Black Sea) and Mountain. The coastal cluster contains the Olympic Park and the Main Olympic Village in the Imereti Lowland near the Black Sea coast.
The mountain cluster includes several zones: Alpine skiing, as well as the “Rosa Plateau” and “Rosa Valley” zones located below; Olympic objects "Sledge" at "Alpico-Service"; "Russian Coaster" springboard at the "Mountain Carousel"; media village "Gorki-Gorod"; stadium "Laura" and an additional mountain Olympic village of the resort of OJSC "Gazprom".
The distance between the two clusters is 48 km. The Imereti Lowland is located on the southern outskirts of Adler. Krasnaya Polyana is a mountain village located 40 km east of Adler airport and 6 km from the Rosa Khutor ski resort. These points on the map of the Krasnodar Territory belong to Greater Sochi.
The Olympic sports venues of the Sochi Mountain Cluster are concentrated on the Aibga and Psekhako ridges. , the Russian Coaster jumps and the Rosa Khutor Olympic venues are equipped on the slopes of the Aibga ridge. The Olympic sports facilities of Sochi on the slopes of the Psekhako ridge are a system of ski slopes and two separate stadiums of the Laura ski and biathlon complex, a mountain Olympic village near the complex, an extensive network of cable cars and ski slopes with evening illumination of the Gazprom resort.
Coastal cluster
Olympic venues
The Olympic Park was built for the 2014 Winter Olympics; construction lasted for 5 years. It was necessary to build not only sports facilities, but also housing for athletes, parking, and a railway station. Despite the fact that the Olympics are long over, the park still often hosts various sporting events. The main Olympic venues include :
- Great Ice Palace
- Ice Arena "Shaiba"
- Adler Arena
- Sports Palace Sochi
- Fisht Stadium
In general, all the objects are spread over 200 hectares of land; this picture looks especially cool from the air, for example from an airplane window.
Fisht, by the way, is located almost near the sea, across the road from the Imeretinskaya embankment, and looks very impressive from there. This is the largest building where all the ceremonies took place. The stadium's capacity is more than forty thousand people. It also hosted FIFA World Cup games later in 2022.
The large ice palace was built for hockey matches and successfully completed its task. It is already much more modest in size and is designed for only twelve thousand fans. The puck is a small ice palace, designed for 7 thousand and really resembles a hockey puck in shape.
The Iceberg Sports Palace really stands out in appearance and resembles a block of ice. Blue glass panels reflect light and create the effect of movement (especially in the evening). Iceberg hosted not only figure skating competitions, but also short track speed skating.
What else is there in Olympic park: a museum, a curling center, karting, rental of all kinds of sports equipment and even a singing fountain! But more on that a little later.
So, the opening hours are from 8 am to midnight, entry to the territory is free. What can you do there?
"Rollercoaster"
The Russian Hills springboard complex is the center for ski jumping competitions for Olympic athletes. Here, at the junction of two ridges, athletes are protected from side winds, and the jumps blend harmoniously into the surrounding mountain landscape. The new Esto-Sadok railway station made it possible to quickly reach the venues of the Olympic competitions. The Russian Hills complex is designed for 10 thousand spectators. The main and training jumps are located here. Next to the ski jumps, the Gorki Gorod facility and the media village center dominates.
Springboard "Russian roller coaster"
Entertainment in the park
The most basic entertainment for tourists and everyone else is to ride around the territory on something. for rent here! Hoverboards, electric scooters, electric cars, electric bikes, just bicycles, ATVs, children's cars, etc. There are single, double and family transport. In short, I have never seen such a variety of transport equipment in one place in my life. The average price is 500 rubles per half hour, but depends on the vehicle. Regular bicycles are cheaper, of course.
Rentals are in demand, since driving over such a large area makes much more sense than walking. There are no cars there , so driving is a pleasure. We chose a two-seater electric car and set off to explore the area. First, I advise you to take a ride around the center. In the center there is a fountain stella, you can ride around and take a photo with the Olympic venues in the background. Most often they are photographed with the Olympic rings .
After this, I recommend leaving the center and heading towards Rainbow Hills. This is a bridge made of several multi-colored paths. It’s much more interesting to ride there, you can race. A bonus will be a view of the Sochi Amusement Park. Even screams from particularly extreme ones can be heard.
What else to do? You can go ice skating - next to the Iceberg there is a training skating rink "Ledinka". But the most expensive entertainment here is karting and the Formula 1 track , where you can drive a car that costs twenty thousand rubles per hour! No, of course there are cheaper cars, or you can simply ride with an experienced driver as a passenger, the cost of such entertainment is around 3 thousand.
If you are too lazy to come up with something, you can just take a tour of the park in an electric car. They will take you on a ride and tell you a lot of interesting facts about the Olympics and its facilities.
What to see
Olympic Village is a cozy neighborhood consisting of cute cottages with red tiled roofs.
Attractions are located nearby and can be easily reached on foot.
And the residential area itself is perfect for leisurely walks, contemplating the sea coast and enjoying the fresh breeze.
In the morning, you can leisurely drink coffee on the balcony and go for a short jog along the embankment, where world champions recently trained.
In the evening, it’s nice to taste local cuisine and admire the magical southern sunset.
You won’t have to look long for attractions in the vicinity of the Olympic Village in Sochi.
Here are just a few of them:
- Fisht Stadium , where the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics took place.
- Fountain "Olympic Flame Bowl". In the evenings, there are light and sound shows with multi-colored jets of water thrown to a height of up to 60 meters.
- Sochi Park with a huge variety of attractions. Entrance cost – 1,250 rubles. for adults and 1,000 for children, there are also benefits.
- Sochi Autodrom , which served as a track during Formula 1 racing.
If you still can’t see these unique objects in person, look on the Internet. Thanks to the web cameras installed in the Olympic village, live broadcasts are broadcast from here from morning to evening.
View of the sights in the vicinity of the Olympic Village.
Singing fountain
If there are not many people in the park during the day, then in the evening people become more active. From 18:30 to 19:30 there is a singing fountain located in the center, on Medal Plaza. If you are planning to go specifically for it, it is better to go to the official website and check the operating schedule of the singing fountain because... it changes depending on the season and different events.
What is the fountain singing about? The fountain has a very original shape, which has been compared to a swan, an Olympic torch, and so on. Who has enough imagination for anything? According to the official version, this is the figure of a firebird. As musical accompaniment you will hear Russian classics: Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian. Excerpts from such famous works as the ballet Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, etc. will be performed.
The show lasts one hour and is accompanied by light and music. Worth a look, very beautiful and spectacular.
Park museums
other museums you can visit in the park :
- Sochi Automuseum
- Tesla Museum (electrical museum)
- Leonardo Museum (mechanical museum)
- USSR Museum (rare items + history)
In the Tesla and Leonardo museums they put on shows, show experiments, the program is built interactively, so you won’t be bored. I highly recommend visiting these museums with children . Entrance 250-350 rubles.
There is also a planetarium , it is located next to the Fisht stadium. In terms of dome size, it ranks fifth in the world and second in Europe (not bad, right?). A ticket to the planetarium costs 550 rubles.
Before your trip, look at the poster for your dates, as this place often hosts concerts and sporting events; sometimes they bring exhibitions and even a zoo. In general, the Olympic Park is a great place for a family holiday.
"Sanki" - luge center
The modern “Sleigh and Bobsleigh Complex” (there are no more than 20 of them in the world) for 9 thousand spectators will host competitions in luge, skeleton and bobsleigh. The track is certified and listed for international competitions. It is the longest and safest in the world. Two kilometers of the track take athletes 130 meters down. The Luge and Bobsleigh Complex is a training center for Russian luge athletes with five starting zones at different heights. It has an unusual "timber ribs" architecture and is built on a permanent basis.
How to get to the Olympic Park
Getting to the Olympic Park is not difficult. From the center of Sochi you can take the train - this will be the easiest way. By bus you will travel longer, by taxi it will be quick, but not very affordable.
- By train: get on at any station and go to the final stop “Imereti Resort”. From there it's a 15-minute walk (at a walking pace). Travel time: about an hour. Ticket is about 170 rubles.
- The bus ride takes a long time, and it all depends on where you are initially, because... transfers are possible. Buses No. 124C and 125 go to the park.
- By taxi: from the center of Sochi the price of a trip will be at least 1000 rubles.
still wins , but please note that the train schedule may be inconvenient. Sometimes the last train leaves for the city just as the singing fountain show begins. By the way, the railway station here is large and luxurious, with a beautiful cascading fountain at the entrance.
Work schedule
The park is open from 8 to 24 hours.
The fountain operates depending on the onset of darkness at different times of the year:
- winter:
18 - 19 h - autumn-spring: 19-20 hours
- summer: 20:30-21:30 h
A visit to the Olympic Park can be combined with a visit to Sochi Park, which is located nearby. Or take a walk along the new Imeretinskaya embankment.
Life in Olimpic park is in full swing, despite the fact that the Olympics ended a long time ago. A variety of events are held here, and not just sports. The large ice palace hosts tours of the Cirque du Soleil, and often hosts concerts and various festivals. But naturally the most popular are sporting events. Every year there are football matches, figure skating, hockey, etc.
Olimpic village
A few words should be said about the Olympic Village. Now this is a prestigious microdistrict where you can rent housing. Cozy streets with identical cottages are perfect for walking. The area is divided into several blocks; during the Olympics, athletes and members of the International Olympic Committee lived here. The houses are located on the first line by the sea, these are two streets: Golubaya and Parusnaya.
Next to the Olympic Village is the Ornithological Park. It is interesting that earlier in these places of the Imereti Lowland there was a swampy area where migratory birds spent the winter. Now there are significantly fewer places for this; birds fly to the Ornithological Park. And after work to drain the swamps, soil shrinkage still continues.
Previously, no one could have imagined how this area would change, where there are now many hotels and rental apartments for tourists. Housing prices here are decent, but it's worth it. There are two parks nearby, a beautiful promenade and beaches, many restaurants and shops. Also nearby is a children's educational science park.
As for the beaches, in Imeretinka they are truly some of the best. At least we liked the sea here the most; impressions of the beaches can be read here: BEST BEACHES OF SOCHI.
Complex "Laura"
The Laura complex of OJSC Gazprom is a ski complex of international importance for competitions in biathlon, cross-country skiing and Nordic combined. It is located at an altitude of 1450-1600 meters above sea level on the ridges and slopes of Mount Psekhako next to Krasnaya Polyana.
The Laura complex includes two separate stadiums, a shooting range, training areas, two different trail systems for cross-country skiing and biathlon with separate start and finish areas. The stands of the biathlon complex are designed for 9,600 people.
Ski and biathlon complex "Laura" has its own additional Olympic village for 1100 people, almost Alpine, to provide athletes with accommodation at the same altitude with competition venues and the best conditions for adaptation.
An artificial lake, snow cannons and stationary snow guns are used, if necessary, to provide additional snow to the slopes so that the snow is “sporty”, fast and light. The Laura complex is a new ski resort in Russia in the Sochi mountain cluster. The “Laura” cable car of OJSC “Gazprom” with closed cabins will take you to the competition areas in 15 minutes.
Winter weather in the Russian resort city of Sochi is very changeable due to the mixture of alpine climate in the mountains and subtropical sea climate on the Black Sea coast, as well as the difficult terrain. 32 new weather stations have been installed in Sochi (20 of them on cell towers) and information on weather conditions is received every 10 minutes.
Skiers and biathletes compete in the mountains at an altitude of over 1,100 meters, and the ski slopes are located at around 2,000 meters above sea level.
