8 Great Reasons To Visit Tbilisi

Have you considered visiting Georgia’s capital Tbilisi? Or maybe you haven’t and need more convincing to do so. Tbilisi is a bustling city full of attractions, historical sights, and tasty food. There are lots of reasons why you should plan your next vacation here, but we came up with the most important ones.

Budget-friendly destination

Whether you are a budget or luxury traveler, you’ll find that Tbilisi, and generally the whole country, is a very budget-friendly destination. Accommodation, transportation, food, and even attractions are relatively inexpensive. More importantly, most of the historic sights are free of charge.

In terms of places to stay, Tbilisi is home to various international hotel chains like Sheraton, Marriott, Radisson, and Ibis to name a few, but if you are more of an Airbnb person, renting an entire apartment can cost you around $30 per night. Solo travelers can find cheap and nice hostels to stay at.

Georgia’s capital is one of the oldest cities in Europe, therefore it boasts lots of historical sights for you to explore. Ruled by various Middle-Eastern power of the middle centuries, and later on by the Russian Empire, the city still hides traces of those epochs in its backstreets.

The city hides beautiful examples of Art Nouveau

In the 19th century, Tbilisi starts to develop into a European city. Moorish and Gothic motifs emerged with Art Nouveau and stylized Medieval Georgian architectural decoration. The unity of diverse styles and traditions creates a unique appearance for the city. One of the most impressive sights of this period is the painted entrance hallways, most featured on houses that used to belong to merchants and nobleman. Today, they are residential houses and some are enlisted as cultural heritage sights.

Diverse architecture

You can find architectural examples of each period of the country’s existence – starting from the ancient city wall, the ruins of the first town, Soviet architecture, and modern glass buildings. Tbilisi perfectly blends those architectural styles within its territory, making the city a unique places to travel to.

Markets are everywhere

When walking down the streets of the city, you will notice small and big markets, stalls pretty much in every corner. Vegetables, fruits, souvenirs, and household stuff are all sold by farmers or second-hand dealers. Mostly, the items sold in markets are relatively cheap compared to supermarkets and other shops.

However, if you’re not a big grocery market lover, you might want to check out the Dry Bridge flea market, where you can find unique souvenirs to take back home.

Tbilisi hosts several music festivals throughout the year

For those of you who love attending music festivals, Tbilisi should be on your radar. There are several festivals held throughout the year, but most of them are scheduled during spring, summer, and autumn. And to choose which one suits you best, check out our article about 16 Georgian festivals

The capital of diverse food

Even though the majority of the restaurants here focus on Georgian food, there still others which serve cuisine from different countries. But it’s more likely that you’ll want to try all the local meals as much as you can. Therefore, make sure to try Khinkali, the meat dumplings, Khachapuri, a cheese pie, Georgian kebab, and vegetables in walnut sauce.

Museums here are cheap

Museum lovers will enjoy their vacation here because there are dozens of museums to visit here. And, more importantly, the ticket for those museums start at GEL$3 (US$1.25). You can visit history, Soviet occupation, archeological treasury, various art galleries, and folk instrument museums to name a few.

Street Art is booming here

Mural art in Tbilisi is still in a developing phase, with new artists emerging every day. The graffiti you’ll see here might not be as professional as in other parts of the world, but there are several street artists who do a gorgeous job at decorating gray facades of various buildings all across the city. And if you’d like to know where to find those pieces, check out our guide.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.