Tbilisi

The capital of Georgia (Sakartvelo) and where almost every trip starts: IndiGo flies here non-stop from Delhi. The old town of wooden balconies climbs from the domed sulphur baths of Abanotubani to Narikala fortress; across the Mtkvari are the 19th-century avenues of Rustaveli and Agmashenebeli, the Dry Bridge flea market and Fabrika. Uplistsikhe's cave town and Gori are an easy day trip west, Davit Gareja one south-east. Vegetarians eat well (lobio, badrijani, pkhali, khachapuri), and the city has several Indian restaurants.

Highlights

• Old town balconies and Abanotubani sulphur baths
• Cable car to Narikala Fortress
• Mother of Georgia statue
• Holy Trinity (Sameba) Cathedral
• Bridge of Peace and Rike Park
• Dry Bridge flea market
• Georgian National Museum gold
• Fabrika and the Marjanishvili cafés
• Supra feast with khinkali and Saperavi
• Day trip to the Uplistsikhe cave town and Gori

Things to do

• Old Tbilisi walk: Metekhi, the baths and the Leghvtakhevi waterfallMorning · 3h
• Cable car to Narikala Fortress and the Mother of GeorgiaAfternoon · 2h
• Private room at a sulphur bath in AbanotubaniEvening · 1h 30m
• Georgian supper with polyphonic singingEvening · 2h 30m
• Georgian National Museum treasuryMorning · 2h
• Day trip to Uplistsikhe cave town and GoriMorning · 6h
• Dry Bridge market and Rustaveli AvenueAfternoon · 2h
• Holy Trinity (Sameba) Cathedral and the Avlabari quarterMorning · 1h 30m
• Open Air Museum of Ethnography above Turtle LakeAfternoon · 2h
• Chronicle of Georgia monument above the Tbilisi SeaAfternoon · 1h 30m
• Funicular to Mtatsminda Park for the city at nightEvening · 2h
• Fabrika courtyard and the Marjanishvili cafésEvening · 2h

Tours & tickets

When to go

Best time: April – June, September – October

• Tbilisoba — The city's harvest festival, over a weekend in October: food and wine stalls from every region, folk dancing and concerts in the old town and on Rustaveli. Free; old-town streets close to traffic and hotels fill.
• Orthodox Christmas and Alilo — Georgian Orthodox Christmas falls on 7 January. In Tbilisi the Alilo procession of people in costume, collecting gifts for the needy, walks down Rustaveli Avenue to Sameba Cathedral; services the night before. Shops and offices close for the holiday.
• Orthodox Easter (Aghdgoma) — Easter follows the Orthodox calendar, so it moves between April and May. Midnight services at Sameba and Svetitskhoveli are packed; the Monday after is a holiday, and families visit graves with red eggs and paska bread.
• New Wine Festival — A day in May when dozens of small winemakers pour the previous harvest's wines in Tbilisi, usually at the open-air Ethnographic Museum. A ticket buys a glass and tastings; the easiest way to meet Georgian natural-wine makers in one place.