Sochi Arboretum is the city's best green space, a hillside botanical park begun in 1890 and now filled with palms, pines, oaks, cypresses, and subtropical planting that would feel impossible in most of Russia.
The upper and lower parts are linked by paths and viewpoints, and the sea views help explain why Sochi became the Soviet answer to a warm-weather Riviera. Go early in summer before the heat builds.