Batumi is Georgia's Black Sea city — a subtropical port that mixes Soviet-era boulevard architecture with a recent wave of boldly designed towers and squares. It sits 350km from Tbilisi, close to the Turkish border, in the Adjara region, where the climate is warmer and wetter than the Georgian interior: palms, bamboo, eucalyptus, and magnolia line the streets.
The city's heart is the Seaside Boulevard, a seven-kilometre promenade of pine trees and fountains along the shore that has been the gathering place for locals and visitors for over a century. The old quarter, with its ornate balconied houses and narrow lanes, is compact and easily walked. For a more dramatic experience, the Botanical Garden 9km north of town is extraordinary — an immense subtropical collection on a cape above the sea. Day trips reach into the mountain valleys of Adjara and the Roman-era fortress of Gonio just south of the city.
Batumi has developed fast since the early 2000s and the new parts of the city are somewhat generic. But the beach, the boulevard, the botanical garden, and the access to the Adjaran countryside make it a worthwhile stop, and a natural base for exploring the Black Sea coast.