Meet Sochi, the Next Olympics Host City

There's a 95 percent chance Senior Editor Christine Sarkis is thinking about travel right now. Follow her on Twitter @ChristineSarkis and Instagram @postcartography.

Sarkis joined SmarterTravel in 2003. She's always on the lookout for authentic local experiences and her next great meal. She loves discovering new destinations, predicting trends, and turning amazing travel experiences into inspiring stories.

Her stories have also appeared online at USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Yahoo! Travel, Huffington Post, Business Insider, and other publications. Her work has also been published in Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: The J Pillow Travel Pillow. It's a bit bulky and noticeably phallic, but it's the best inflight sleep aid I've ever found.

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Seeing the Aurora Borealis from the comfort of somewhere warm, like a glass igloo or hot spring.

Travel Motto: Curiosity is an amazing compass.

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: Aisle all the way.

Email Christine Sarkis at editor@smartertravel.com.

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World, meet Sochi. Sochi, meet world. Russia’s Black Sea holiday destination, located near Russia’s border with Georgia, is best known as a summer hot spot—the sort of place where you can take a leisurely swim and then indulge in regional favorites like beer and dried fish. But Sochi, which was one of Trip Advisor’s Travelers’ Choice 2012 destination winners, is expanding its reputation to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

As it prepares for its moment in the spotlight, the city is undergoing a major face-lift to yield a massive new sports complex, new hotels, and hundreds of miles of new roads and railways.

Venues: Sochi’s will be the most compact Winter Games in Olympic history. Two clusters of multisport event venues—one in the mountains for downhill events and one in the city for the opening and closing ceremonies, ice hockey, skating, and curling—will make it easy to get from one event to another.

Tickets: No word on ticket prices or dates yet, but you can sign up to receive news and updates.

Getting There: Russia is big, and Sochi is somewhat isolated. Since the train ride from Moscow takes upwards of 24 hours, it’s worth springing for an intracountry flight, which cuts the travel time down to about two hours.

Are you considering a trip to the Winter Olympics in Sochi?

Russia: Sochi, Olympic Stadium (Photo: Martynova Anna/Shutterstock.com)