Likani Villa (Romanov Palace)

The Romanov royal summer estate at the edge of Borjomi, now a presidential residence

Likani Villa, a few kilometres west of Borjomi at the village of Likani, is a late 19th-century imperial estate built for the Romanov family during their regular summer visits to the Borjomi gorge. The main house is an attractive yellow building set in mature gardens above the river, designed in a style mixing Russian and Georgian elements. Since Georgian independence the estate has served as the presidential summer residence and is not open to the public, but the grounds and exterior can be viewed from the road and the adjacent park.

The Likani area itself is worth a short visit — it is quieter than Borjomi proper, and the riverside walk from Likani back to Borjomi through the gorge takes about 45 minutes along a pleasant footpath.

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The palace was built for Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, the Tsar's youngest brother, in the 1880s. It became such a favoured retreat for the imperial family that Tsar Nicholas II spent several summers here with his wife and children — the last Romanovs to enjoy the Caucasus before the revolution ended everything. The estate is now the official summer residence of the President of Georgia.

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