Georgia
Tbilisi
A balconied old capital built on hot springs, with the wine, the feasts and the mountains close behind.
Georgia's capital sits in a gorge of the Mtkvari river, and its Old Town stacks carved wooden balconies, church domes and crumbling courtyards up the slopes beneath Narikala fortress. At the foot of the fortress lie the domed brick sulphur baths of Abanotubani, which gave the city its name. Around them you get one of the great food and wine cultures of the region, a creative scene grown out of old Soviet buildings, and some of the Caucasus's best day trips.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
Georgian
Currency
GEL
Timezone
UTC+4
Why you'll love Tbilisi
The Old Town leaning houses with carved balconies, hidden courtyards and churches, best walked slowly between the baths and the fortress
The table khinkali, cheese-filled khachapuri, walnut dishes and a toastmaster-led supra make eating here an event
The wine amber and red wines fermented in buried clay qvevri, a tradition thousands of years old, poured in cellars all over town
The baths sulphur water rises under the city, and a private room in a domed bathhouse is the classic Tbilisi evening
Best time to visit
Mar-Oct
14-32° days
41.694° N, 44.801° E
UTC+4 · Asia/Tbilisi
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Weather & when to go to Tbilisi
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Mar-Oct
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Tbilisi
No month to avoid. Spring and autumn are the easiest for walking the hills, and autumn adds the grape harvest in nearby Kakheti. High summer is hot in the city. Winter is cold and grey but quiet, and snow can close the pass on the road to Kazbegi.
Top things to do in Tbilisi
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Abanotubani - soak in the sulphur baths
wellness culture arts 👍 PopularBrick domes poke out of the ground in the old bath district, where hot sulphur springs feed public halls and private rooms booked by the hour. Chreli Abano, the bathhouse with the blue mosaic facade, is the most photographed. Follow with a walk up the gorge to the small Leghvtakhevi waterfall.
-
Narikala Fortress - ride the cable car to the ramparts
history scenic 👍 PopularThe cable car swings from Rike Park over the river to the ruined fortress walls, with the whole city laid out below. Walk the ramparts, then along the ridge to Kartlis Deda, the Mother of Georgia statue holding a sword and a bowl of wine.
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Old Town lanes - Sioni, Anchiskhati and the balconied streets
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedWander from Sioni Cathedral to Anchiskhati, the city's oldest surviving church, past the leaning clock tower of the Gabriadze puppet theatre and the glass curve of the Bridge of Peace. The joy is in the courtyards and staircases between them.
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Georgian National Museum - gold of Colchis on Rustaveli Avenue
history culture artsThe archaeological treasury holds intricate gold jewellery from ancient Colchis and Vani, and the building also covers the Soviet occupation period. Rustaveli Avenue outside, with the opera house and parliament, is the city's grand boulevard.
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Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba) - the modern giant over Avlabari
culture artsConsecrated in 2004, Sameba is one of the largest Orthodox cathedrals in the world, its gold-topped dome visible across the city. Go for a Sunday liturgy, when the chanting fills the vast interior.
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Khinkali, khachapuri and qvevri wine - eat and drink Georgian
food ⭐ Highly recommendedOrder khinkali by the dozen and eat them by the twisted top, try the boat-shaped Adjarian khachapuri with egg and butter, and taste amber wines in the natural-wine bars of Sololaki. Barbarestan is known for recipes from a 19th-century cookbook.
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Dry Bridge Market - Soviet relics and old paintings
shoppingVendors lay out medals, cameras, vinyl, enamelware and paintings along the bridge and in the park beside it. Best on a weekend, and good for browsing even if you buy nothing.
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Mtatsminda - funicular to the holy mountain
scenic 👍 PopularThe funicular climbs past the Pantheon, where writers and national figures are buried beside St David's church, to a hilltop park and the best evening view over the city lights.
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Fabrika and the techno scene - Tbilisi after dark
nightlife musicA former Soviet sewing factory in Chugureti is now a hostel and courtyard of bars, studios and street art. The city's techno clubs, Bassiani beneath the national stadium the best known, run until morning.
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Open Air Museum of Ethnography - Georgia's village houses
culture arts historyOn a wooded hillside above Vake, traditional houses, granaries and wine cellars from across the country's regions have been moved and rebuilt. A quiet half day and a quick primer on rural Georgia.
Best areas to stay in Tbilisi
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Old Town (Kala)
First-time visitors $$Balconies, baths and cobbled lanes
Explore hotels in Old Town (Kala) →
Sololaki
Food and wine lovers $$Faded art nouveau and wine bars
Explore hotels in Sololaki →
Vera
Longer stays $$Leafy, residential and cafe-lined
Explore hotels in Vera →
Vake
Comfort seekers $$$Upscale boulevards and park
Explore hotels in Vake →
Chugureti (Marjanishvili)
Budget and nightlife $Creative, restored and good value
Explore hotels in Chugureti (Marjanishvili) →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Tbilisi
Getting to & around Tbilisi
Getting there
Fly into Tbilisi International, about half an hour by taxi to the centre
Flight
Tbilisi International Airport (TBS)
The airport lies east of the city. Ride-hailing apps and taxis reach the Old Town in about 25-30 minutes, and a city bus runs to the centre and the railway station. Some low-cost flights land at Kutaisi instead, several hours west by coach.
Train
Tbilisi Central Station
Daytime trains from Batumi on the Black Sea coast, and an overnight train from Yerevan in Armenia
Coach
Didube and Ortachala bus stations
Marshrutka minibuses from Kazbegi, Kutaisi and the regions arrive at Didube; international coaches from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey mostly use Ortachala
Getting around
Walking
The Old Town, Sololaki and Rustaveli are all walkable, though the lanes are steep and the paving uneven
Free
Metro
Two lines, deep Soviet-era stations and long escalators; handy for Rustaveli, Marjanishvili, the railway station and Didube
TBC
Ride-hailing
Bolt and similar apps are cheap and avoid haggling with street taxis; the easiest way to reach Vake or the airport
TBC
Bus
City buses cover the whole city, with route numbers shown in apps and at stops
TBC
Cable car and funicular
The cable car links Rike Park to Narikala, and the funicular climbs Mtatsminda
TBC
Day trips from Tbilisi
Mtskheta
Half dayAncient royal capital
Georgia's former capital and spiritual heart, with Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in the town and Jvari Monastery on the hill above the meeting of two rivers. Both are UNESCO listed.
Getting there
bus | car | tour
About 30 min north by marshrutka, taxi or tour
Kazbegi (Stepantsminda)
1-2 daysHigh Caucasus mountains
The drive passes Ananuri fortress and the Jvari Pass, then Gergeti Trinity Church appears on its ridge beneath Mount Kazbek. Doable in a long day, better with a night.
Getting there
bus | car | tour
About 3 hr up the Georgian Military Highway by marshrutka, car or tour
Sighnaghi and Kakheti
Full dayWine region
A walled hill town looking across the Alazani valley to the Caucasus, with Bodbe Monastery nearby and family wineries making qvevri wine across the region.
Getting there
car | bus | tour
About 2 hr east by car, marshrutka or tour
David Gareja
Full dayDesert cave monastery
Monks still live at Lavra, cut into a semi-desert ridge, and a hillside trail leads up to Udabno's cave chapels and their medieval frescoes.
Getting there
car | tour
About 2-3 hr southeast by car or tour
Uplistsikhe and Gori
Full dayRock-cut cave town
An ancient town carved into a sandstone bluff above the Mtkvari, paired with Gori, Stalin's birthplace, and its museum to him.
Getting there
car | train | tour
About 1.5 hr west by car, train or tour
A little history of Tbilisi
Legend says King Vakhtang Gorgasali was hunting in the 5th century when his falcon, or pheasant, fell into a hot spring, and he ordered a city built there. The name comes from tbili, warm. His successors moved the capital here from Mtskheta, and for the next fifteen centuries Tbilisi sat on the crossroads of Persian, Arab, Byzantine, Mongol, Ottoman and Russian ambitions, captured and rebuilt again and again. David the Builder took it back from an Arab emirate in 1122, opening Georgia's golden age.
The city that stands today is largely 19th century, rebuilt after the Persian sack of 1795 and shaped by the Russian empire, which ran the Caucasus from here as Tiflis. That mix of Armenian merchants, Persian baths, European boulevards and Georgian churches is still visible street by street. A short independence from 1918 ended with the Red Army in 1921, and Georgia declared independence again in 1991.
King Vakhtang Gorgasali founds the city by the hot springs
The royal capital moves from Mtskheta to Tbilisi
David the Builder captures the city from the Arab emirate and makes it his capital
The Persian army of Agha Mohammad Khan sacks and burns the city after the Battle of Krtsanisi
The Russian empire annexes eastern Georgia; Tiflis becomes its seat of rule in the Caucasus
The Democratic Republic of Georgia declares independence
The Red Army takes Tbilisi and Georgia is absorbed into the Soviet Union
Soviet troops break up a pro-independence demonstration on Rustaveli Avenue on 9 April
Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union
Know before you go
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
English
Limited
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+995
FAQs about Tbilisi
▸ When is the best time to visit Tbilisi?
March to October is the season. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable for walking the city's hills, and September and October bring the grape harvest in Kakheti. High summer is hot in town. Winter is cold, grey and quiet, and the mountain road to Kazbegi can close after heavy snow.
▸ Is Tbilisi expensive?
No. By European standards eating out, local wine, transport and ride-hailing are all cheap, which is part of why the city draws long-stay travellers. Upscale hotels and restaurants in Vake and the Old Town cost more, but still less than in most European capitals.
▸ Is Tbilisi safe?
Generally yes, with low street crime by big-city standards. Demonstrations are held on Rustaveli Avenue near parliament and can close the street; give them a wide berth and check your own government's current advice. Uneven pavements and fast traffic are the more everyday hazards.
▸ How do the sulphur baths work?
Most visitors book a private room for an hour or so, with a hot sulphur pool, a cooler plunge and sometimes a steam room. You can add a kisi scrub and massage from an attendant. Public halls are cheaper and separated by sex. Book ahead on weekend evenings.
▸ Do people speak English in Tbilisi?
In the centre, especially among younger people and in hospitality, English is common. Russian is widely understood by older generations. Georgian has its own alphabet, so learning to recognise a few letters helps with signs and menus.
More in Georgia
Batumi
Georgia's subtropical seaside, where belle-epoque streets meet a neon skyline and the boat-shaped khachapuri was born.
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✓ best Apr, Jun-Oct