Tbilisi
Georgia · 380 m
Description
Tbilisi (თბილისი) grew up around hot sulphur springs in a narrow bend of the Mtkvari, which is where the name comes from and why the old town still has a quarter of domed brick bathhouses you climb down into. The city was rebuilt after almost every invasion of the last fifteen hundred years, so a Persian bathhouse, an Art Nouveau apartment block, a Soviet funicular and a glass footbridge stand within one view of each other. Wooden balconies hang off the fronts of half the old houses, many of them propped up rather than repaired, and the wine bars underneath are the reason most visitors stay longer than they planned.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 3 to 6 days (optimal 4 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: April – June or September – October
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Abanotubani sulphur bathhouses
- Narikala fortress and its cable car
- Old town wooden balconies and its lanes
- Georgian wine bars and the qvevri tastings
- Rustaveli Avenue and the opera house
- Khinkali and khachapuri in the old town kitchens
- Bridge of Peace over the Mtkvari
- Holy Trinity Sameba Cathedral
- Dry Bridge flea market
- Georgian National Museum and its treasury
- Mother of Georgia statue and the ridge walk
- Fabrika and the Chugureti bar quarter
- Sioni Cathedral and Anchiskhati Basilica
- Chronicle of Georgia pillars
- Turtle Lake and the open-air ethnographic museum
- Botanical Garden below the fortress
- Supra feasting and the tamada toasting ritual
- Davit Gareja cave monastery(Day trip)
Getting there
- Airports:
- TBS
- Train stations:
- Tbilisi Central