Batumi

Batumi occupies a narrow coastal plain backed by the forested slopes of the Meskheti Range, the Black Sea stretching west to the horizon. The city is Georgia's main port and second-largest urban centre, and its atmosphere is noticeably different from Tbilisi: the climate is subtropical and humid, palm trees line parts of the seafront, and the air carries the salt smell of the sea. The city has been ioched and fought over by Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, and Russians, and each occupation left its imprint on the architecture and the culture, so that Batumi feels simultaneously Caucasian, Mediterranean, and Ottoman.

The old town is compact and walkable, its centre built on a grid of streets laid out during the Russian imperial period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Batumi was the terminal point of the Baku-Batumi oil pipeline and one of the most prosperous cities in the Caucasus. The buildings from this era — ornate facades in eclectic European styles with elaborate wrought-iron balconies, decorative ceramic tiles, and arched windows — are the visual signature of the city and have been extensively restored in recent years. Walking through the old town's streets in the early morning, before the tourists and the heat, gives the best sense of what the city looked like in its commercial heyday.

The Piazza Square is one of the old town's focal points — a small open space flanked by a church, a theatre, and a café-restaurant with outdoor tables that fill in the evening. Nearby, the Europe Square is larger and more ceremonial, dominated by a fountain and a clock tower that is one of Batumi's most photographed landmarks. From Europe Square, the broad Komsomolskaya Street runs south toward the sea, lined with more belle époque buildings and ending at the ornamental gate that marks the old town's southern limit.

The seafront promenade runs north to south along Batumi's beachfront, separated from the road by a line of mature trees. In the evenings it fills with locals and visitors walking, cycling, and sitting on the many benches that face the sea. The promenade is flanked by hotels, casinos, and restaurants, and at its southern end near the Ali and Nino monument it opens into a large open space where the urban landscape gives way to the beach and the Black Sea horizon. The Ali and Nino sculpture — a rotating bronze work depicting two figures who move toward each other, merge, and pass through each other in an endless cycle — has become the symbol of Batumi's contemporary identity.

The Batumi Botanical Garden lies a few kilometres north of the city centre on a headland above the sea. Established in 1889, it covers 111 hectares and contains plants from more than 2,000 species organised by geographic origin: the Subtropical, Mediterranean, East Asian, and North American sections each occupy distinct areas of the garden. The garden's cliffs offer panoramic views of the Black Sea coast, and the walk through the different ecological zones is both educational and aesthetically engaging, particularly in late spring when many species are in bloom.

Batumi's contemporary transformation is most visible in its eastern quarter, where a forest of glass towers — hotels, apartments, and office buildings — has risen since the 2010s, giving the skyline a Dubai-like quality that stands in stark contrast to the low-rise old town. The government has invested heavily in making Batumi a year-round tourism and business destination, and the results are visible everywhere: new boulevards, renovated public spaces, and a constant hum of construction. For all this modernity, the city retains a fundamental Georgian character — the food is excellent and abundant, the wine is free-flowing, and the hospitality is genuine.

A unique combination of belle époque architecture, a vibrant Black Sea promenade, and a dramatically transformed contemporary skyline.

The Ali and Nino sculpture and the seafront promenade at sunset are iconic Batumi experiences.

The Batumi Botanical Garden offers a rich subtropical planting experience and panoramic Black Sea views.