Batumi Boulevard and Old Town

Batumi is the capital of Adjara and the main city on Georgia's Black Sea coast. Seeing it divides neatly into two parts that lie about ten minutes' walk apart.

The first is the Boulevard. Laid out in the 1880s, it now runs for more than seven kilometres: pebble beach on one side, avenues, cycle paths, fountains and sculptures on the other. Its most famous fixture is the moving sculpture Ali and Nino, whose two figures pass through each other every evening. Nearby stand the Alphabet Tower and the cluster of modern high-rises that has completely rewritten the city skyline over the past two decades.

The second is the old town. In the late nineteenth century Batumi was a port and a free-trade centre, and the architecture reflects that: two- and three-storey buildings with deep balconies, the Piazza square, an astronomical clock and narrow streets full of cafes.

One thing to know in advance: Adjara is the wettest region in Georgia. Batumi receives roughly two and a half thousand millimetres of rain a year, and downpours are entirely possible in July and August. A three-day visit is often interrupted by one wet day. This is not a guaranteed-sunshine resort, and it is better to plan around that than be surprised by it.