Like many Black Sea cities, Batumi has successively been Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and under Russian and then Soviet control until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Gonio Fortress, a few kilometres from the city, is testament to this rich history and was home to the different civilisations that occupied the region. Take a walk through Batumi’s old town centre to discover its most famous monuments: Piazza Square, Saint Nicholas Church, Europe Square, the Statue of Medea, the colonnades on the boulevard, the Alphabetic Tower and the Ali and Nino monument. Located on a promontory overlooking the Black Sea, the Batumi Botanical Garden, the second largest in the world, is well worth seeing.