Top Things to Do in Tbilisi: The Coolest City on Earth

Tbilisi wasted no time before she bowled us over to become one of our favourite cities in the world. And we are not alone: It seems as if everyone is either raving about Tbilisi or it’s on their bucket lists these days. And rightly so. With so many cool things to do in Tbilisi, it’s easy to see why the capital of Georgia is such a hot destination right now.

Georgia’s capital is not large as far as world capitals go, but her appeal is in her big heart and laid-back personality and she’s drop-dead gorgeous. No wonder she has recently kicked Berlin’s butt to become the coolest city on Earth. Here are our top ten things to do in Tbilisi.

Meet Mother Georgia at Narkikala Fortress

Right above the old town is a rocky outcrop with the Narikala fortress on top. You can either walk up or far better in our opinion, take the cable car.

The cable car station is located in Rike Park and the view as you ascend over the rooftops of the Abanotubani district and old town is incredible. While not as high as Mtatsminda Park, we think the view from here is much better as you are so much closer to the city.

Come here about an hour before sunset to see Tbilisi transform from day to night. It’s truly spectacular.

Mother Georgia guarding over her city is unmissable. Towering over the old town, she holds a cup of wine in one hand to welcome guests coming as friends. In the other hand, she holds a sword…just in case.

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Soak in the Sulphur Hot Springs of Tbilisi

One of the best things to do in Tbilisi is to go for a soak and scrub in one of the legendary sulphur bathhouses. The name Tbilisi comes from the Georgian word tbili, meaning warm. The warm therapeutic water springs from underneath the old town at around 40°-50°C.

As you near the Abanotubani district you’ll first get a whiff of the distinct sulfurous smell and then see the brick domes which cover these subterranean bathhouses.

Today there are a handful of bathhouses to choose from. We went window shopping to see what the different bathhouses have to offer. All of them will have brochures with pictures of the different rooms available and prices.

Public bathing is possible, but we think the best way to truly feel like a czar is to go all out and get a private room that is rented by the hour.

Chereli Abona Bath House

In the end, we decided to go with Chereli Abona which seemed the nicest to us. Looking at Chereli Abona’s spectacular blue-tiled facade you’ll be excused for assuming it’s an Iranian mosque. We got room #9 which is the cheapest option and suitable for one or two people. It consists of a hot sulfur pool, a shower, a toilet and free wifi. There is also a phone which you can use to call reception to get drinks or snacks to your room.

These smaller rooms go for 50 GEL per hour. The larger and more extravagant rooms with both hot and cold pools go for between 150-500 GEL per hour. We made a reservation earlier in the day and came back at night for our splash and scrub. You can look at the rooms which are available and make a reservation here.

We found Chereli Abona spotlessly clean and the staff speaks good English.

I decided to go for the whole experience and got a traditional peeling scrub.

Being manhandled by a large Georgian man only wearing shorts has never felt so good!

Your scrubber will foam you up in clouds of foam before getting to work. This is a very thorough scrub lasting about 15 minutes. In the end, he will throw buckets of water over you to get rid of all the foam and by this time you’ll feel like a brand-spanking new person.

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Feast on Georgian Cuisine

Like anywhere else in the Caucasus, the food in Tbilisi is fantastic. Food and wine play such a huge part in Georgian culture and visitors to Tbilisi won’t leave hungry. We ate what feels like a ton of bread, cheese and grilled meat during our time in Georgia – it was fantastic.

Breakfast & Brunch in Tbilisi

We prepared our own breakfasts at home with ingredients from the Dezerter Bazar and supermarkets around town. We bought a ton of cheese, cured meats, fruits and herbs – a breakfast of champions!

Entree: If not in the mood for a self-catering breakfast, Entree is an excellent choice. Just down the street from our Airbnb, Entree has a wide selection of pastries and cake, pre-made sandwiches, solid breakfast sets, good coffee and WINE!!! It gets very busy on the weekends. It is located right next to the synagogue on Betlemi Street.

Lunch in Tbilisi

Zakhar Zakharich: You will find Zakhar Zakharich under the Dry Bridge which makes a perfect lunch stop after shopping at the flea market. We were lured here by the smoky aroma of grilled mitsvadi (shashlik), but the waiter told us that they are actually famous for the best khinkali in town.

We ordered the pork shashlik and eggplant rolls which were great. The mushroom khinkali was indeed very good too.

Dinner in Tbilisi

Sakhli #11: Dinner at Sakhli #11 comes strongly recommended! It has a great atmosphere and the food was delicious. We had the grilled pork, lamb stew and Chvishdari (cornbread and cheese). Also, try the mint lemonade. We finished the meal on a high with a very good honey cake.

Sakhli is quite popular and you’ll definitely need a reservation on weekends.

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Drink Georgian Wine

Tbilisi, as elsewhere in Georgia, is a heaven for wine lovers and wannabe sommeliers. Georgia has been making wine for the last 8000 years (there’s an ongoing feud with neighbouring Armenia over who made it first), and you won’t even have to leave the city to get spirited away. Wine bars are to Tbilisi as Starbucks is to Seattle but on a much more intimate level.

We are used to getting things done over a cup of coffee, but In Georgia, it seems to be all about the wine.
Bump into a friend on the street? Hey, let’s go for wine!
Meeting a new business partner? Shall we seal the deal at the wine bar?
Want to go to dinner with colleagues? Let’s start at the wine bar.
Do you see a pattern developing here?

As a true South African De Wet has immense pride in South African wine and some might call him a wine snob he really loves the good stuff.

But the wine in Tbilisi has blown him away. We like how drinking wine is such a big part of the culture here. It’s unpretentious and without horse and pony shows- just like wine should be. If you want to experience more Georgian wine we also recommend visiting the stunning Kakheti wine region about 2 hours from Tbilisi by marshrutka.

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Shop for Soviet Souvenirs at the Dry Bridge Market

The sprawling Dry Bridge Market is one of those flea markets where you could find anything under the sun. The Georgian hipsters come here in search of that vinyl record still missing from their collection whereas locals come here to bargain for practical items.

Us tourists come, though, to get a little piece of the Soviet world to take back with us. Military medals and badges, flags, USSR coins, maps and propaganda posters are all up for grabs if that’s your thing. Perhaps a portrait of Stalin for the living room?

Not looking for fond Soviet memories? The market also has a ton of other stuff from the Caucasus and even farther afield. Carpets, crystal glasses, silver cutlery, books, clothes, posters, wheel hubcaps, cameras, paintings, electric tools, jewellery…the list goes on and on.

Jin picked up a small silver butter tray thing with a lid ( she now keeps her guppy food in it because our guppies deserve only the best) and I got a Russian world map from the ’70s.

Another quirky device we had to have was a dumpling maker. What looks like dentures, at first sight, is actually a handy little dumpling maker! Jin is still faster to shape dumplings by hand (thanks to Korean DNA and small nimble fingers) but De Wet with his sausage fingers loves this little device as all the dumplings are exactly the same shape and size.

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Ride the Funicular to Mtatsmida Park for a Stunning View

Sitting on the highest point in Tbilisi, this park offers an awesome panorama over the Georgian capital, especially toward the Holy Trinity Cathedral. There is also an amusement park with roller coasters and a ferris wheel.

The enormous TV tower looks like something straight from a Soviet moon landing project. The best way to reach Mtatsminda Park is by the funicular which runs from 9 am until after midnight. A single journey costs GEL 2

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Have a Drink at Fabrika

Hostel meets creative space meets public social area meets urban renewal project meets natural habitat of hipsters- that’s Fabrika for you in short. This sewing factory from the soviet-era has been transformed into one of the coolest places in the city of cool and is open to everybody.

The aged concrete and industrial elements of the architecture are so unique and ooze atmosphere. The colourful lounge at Fabrika is a great place to recharge and take a rest while observing hipsters in their natural habitat. Come here for a drink or two and bask in everything that’s hip. We really enjoyed our time at Fabrika and it was indeed a very unique urban space.

The courtyard has cafes, bars, pop-up stores, art studios and art exhibits. There’s also some great street art and graffiti, not only at Fabrika but also in the surrounding area.

Fabrika is also one of the most popular places to stay in Tbilisi. Guests can choose between mixed dorms, twin, or double rooms.

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Take a Walking Tour of Old Tbilisi

Tbilisi is a great place to explore on foot and, as in all other cities, we think the best way to see it is to wander around aimlessly. Our wanders around town took us to grungy little side streets, wide tree-lined avenues, wine bars, magnificent orthodox churches, quaint little shops and so much more.

If you’re looking for an organised walking tour of Tbilisi, check out the following:

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Explore Tbilisi’s Architecture

Much of Tbilisi’s charm for us is its architecture. Crumbling pastel-coloured buildings are the norm here. As appealing as they are to look at from the outside these buildings are really something else once you go inside.

While many of the buildings will have an open door you simply need to push, others will be locked. But don’t despair. It’s perfectly acceptable to ring the buzzer and someone might open it for you.

At one building we wanted to see more of there was no buzzer. So we stood around deciding where to go next and within a few moments, a construction worker walked past and gave us the pin code to enter. We didn’t even ask.

Even though most buildings will be accessible, please be respectful of the people’s homes and keep the noise down. Don’t overstay your welcome as this will make it more difficult for others to experience the same in the future. After all, no one wants an Instagram photo shoot in front of their house every single day. Needless to say don’t kick down doors or climb over walls to get in.

The London Hotel

Address: 31 Atoneli Street, near the Dry Bridge market
Now an apartment building, the London Hotel is an outstanding piece of architecture. London Hotel opened its doors in 1875 and was considered the most luxurious place to stay in Tbilisi at the time. Guest who had stayed here include Tchaikovski and the Norwegian writer and Nobel Prize winner Knut Hamsun. It was also one of the first buildings in Tbilisi to have received electricity.

Today the London Hotel is crumbling in the most spectacular way. While the outside was getting fresh paint during our visit, the inside is in quite a poor, yet stunning, condition. The entrance hall with its unique metal staircase is extremely photogenic. Complete with frescoes peeling off the walls, this building is a window into an era gone past. We really hope it doesn’t fall victim to gentrification and gets turned into a boutique hotel.

17 Ivane Machabeli Street

Ivane Machabelli Street has some fantastic architecture, but the jewel in the crown is to be found at number 17. Built in 1908 the large wooden doors hide yet another wowzer of a hallway with Moorish and Oriental design elements.

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Shop for Fresh Produce & Meet the Locals at the Dezerter Bazar

This fresh produce market near the railway station at Station Square is a great place to kill a few hours between trains, or even as a little excursion from central Tbilisi. The Dezerter market is lively and colourful with a staggering amount of produce for sale and the vendors are as friendly as everywhere else in the Caucasus. There is a section for fruit and veg, cheese, and meat.

The market is open Tuesday to Sunday from 07:00-17:00, but it’s probably better to come in the mornings.

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How Many Days to Spend in Tbilisi?

Tbilisi has a lot to offer visitors and you could spend weeks here and not get bored. For those who don’t have the luxury of time, we recommend at least three full days in the city. While you could probably see all the sights in Tbilisi within 2 days, you’ll be doing yourself in by not staying longer.

We spent a total of 5 days in the city which gave us enough time to see the main sights without rushing, eat and drink a ton of bread, cheese and wine and soak up the atmosphere.

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Recommended Airbnb in Tbilisi

We stay at this very unique Airbnb halfway between the Old Town and Freedom Square in the Sololaky neighbourhood. True to its name the apartment is indeed AUTHENTIC!

The host Alexander, who also has a wine bar called Amphora a few blocks away, vacates his home to let guests stay in his one-bedroom apartment. This means that the apartment has absolutely everything that you might need and gives you a true peek into a local’s house and life.

Set in a courtyard with laundry hanging out to dry this apartment felt like home to us for a few days and we would love to go back there again one day. We bought lots of fruit, cheese and cured meats from the Dezerter Bazar which we had for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, we walked to some of the restaurants in the area.

The house is right under Mother Georgia and just a short walk away from both the old town and Freedom Square.

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Where to Go After Tbilisi?

Well, the world is your oyster. You could explore other parts of Georgia or head across the border to Armenia or Azerbaijan.

What to do in Sighnaghi?

Two days in Yerevan

Two days in Baku

Beautiful Sheki in Northwest Azerbaijan

How to travel from Baku to Yerevan (via Sheki, Sighnaghi and Tbilisi)

Planning a trip to Tbilisi? We are more than happy to answer any of your questions in the comments below.