The former Marina, now a shopping and amusement centre, was built in the mid-20th century to the design of Karo Alabian and Leonid Karlik. With its majestic colonnade, open terraces, broad stairways and arches, and its 70-metre tower with a steeple, it is quite reminiscent of St. Petersburg’s Admiralty. The central tower is adorned with a sculptural composition: the female statues represent seasons of the year, the male statues stand for the cardinal points, and the dolphins symbolize the opulence of the Black Sea coast. Following a massive rebuilding and the addition of some new buildings on the northern pier, Sochi’s passenger port is now the largest in the Black Sea region. It remains open for supersize ships all year round. Global cruise expos and regattas take place here on a regular basis.

There are two noteworthy monuments next to the port. The one in the park across from the rotunda commemorates Peter I, the emperor who expanded Russia so that it gained access to the three seas: Baltic, Azov and Black. He did not, however, build any navy on the Black Sea, like he did on the Baltic Sea. The second monument, standing in the shade of some sycamores by the southern pier, depicts the seeing-off of the main characters of Soviet cult comedy Diamond Arm on their overseas cruise. That scene was actually filmed at the Sochi port.