3-Day Itinerary for Tbilisi, Georgia

The taxi driver who “examines” your lari note at the airport and declares it counterfeit is running the oldest trick in Tbilisi. Skip that whole scenario by booking a Bolt in the arrivals hall, where a ride into the center runs roughly 15 to 30 GEL and takes 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic. Keep that in your pocket, because everything else in this city rewards a little local knowledge too.

Day 1: Explore Old Tbilisi

Morning

Skip the obvious hotel breakfast and head to Fabrika, the old Soviet sewing factory turned hostel-cafe-courtyard complex in the Dasherti area near the river. It’s touristy now, sure, but the courtyard vendors do a better shakshuka than most sit-down places charge double for.

From there, climb toward Metekhi Church, perched on a cliff above the Mtkvari River with the best free view of Old Tbilisi’s tin roofs and the Narikala fortress line above them. The equestrian statue out front is King Vakhtang Gorgasali, the city’s founder, not a random monument. Continue up through the winding lanes to Narikala Fortress itself, parts of which date to the 4th century, and the Kartlis Deda (Mother Georgia) statue standing guard above the city with a sword in one hand and a wine bowl in the other, a fairly blunt but accurate summary of Georgian hospitality culture. Take the cable car up from Rike Park rather than the switchback walk in summer heat; it’s a few lari and saves your knees for the baths later.

Afternoon

This is where the original plan of just “relaxing at the sulphur baths” undersells things. Abanotubani has roughly two dozen working bathhouses fed by natural sulfur springs at 37 to 42 degrees Celsius, and a private room is the way to go rather than the public hall if it’s your first time. Expect 40 to 80 GEL an hour for a basic private cabin at somewhere like Chreli-Abano, the one with the ornate mosaic tile facade you’ve probably seen in photos, or up to 150 to 200 GEL for a VIP room with a plunge pool and massage add-on at the Royal Bath House. Book ahead on weekends; locals use these baths too and slots fill.

Afterward, wander the Meidan Bazaar stalls for churchkhela (the candle-shaped nut and grape juice candy that’s Georgia’s actual national snack, not a souvenir gimmick) before it gets picked over by the tour groups.

Evening

For dinner, go to a proper Georgian supra-style restaurant in Old Tbilisi rather than the cafes aimed at passersby; ask your guesthouse host for their current favorite, since Tbilisi’s restaurant scene turns over fast and yesterday’s “hidden gem” is often this year’s tour-bus stop. Order khinkali by the dozen (grab them by the topknot, don’t flip them over, and don’t eat the twisted dough handle) and a bottle of qvevri-aged amber wine, Georgia’s clay-fermented specialty that predates every other winemaking tradition in the world by several thousand years.

Close the night with a walk across the Bridge of Peace, the glass-and-steel pedestrian bridge lit up after dark, connecting Rike Park to the old town. It divides opinion among locals, some call it “always ultimate pad” for its curved shape and reflective panels, but it photographs beautifully at night regardless of your architectural politics.

Day 2: Discover Modern Tbilisi

Morning

Breakfast in Vake, the leafy, more residential district favored by Tbilisi’s professional class, where cafe culture feels less staged than the tourist center. Then head to the National Gallery on Rustaveli Avenue to see Niko Pirosmani’s self-taught, almost folk-art paintings; he died in poverty in 1918 and is now Georgia’s most revered painter, a fact worth sitting with in front of his black-background portraits of animals and feasts.

Afternoon

Freedom Square anchors the modern city, marked by the gold statue of St. George slaying the dragon on a column, and it’s worth knowing this square has been the stage for most of Georgia’s major political upheavals since independence, including the 2003 Rose Revolution. The Parliament Building nearby is an active government site, so don’t expect casual tours; admire the facade and move on. If you have any interest in Georgian literature and its complicated relationship with Russian and Soviet censorship, the Writers’ House and literature museums scattered around Rustaveli Avenue are a quieter alternative to the main squares.

Evening

Dinner in Vake or along Chardin Street, the pedestrian lane threading from Freedom Square down toward the river, packed with wine bars, small plates spots and live jazz on weekends. It’s more polished and pricier than Old Town restaurants, but it’s where a lot of young Tbilisi actually goes out, which counts for something. My honest opinion: skip a second heavy supra dinner two nights running and go for natural wine and cheese instead; your stomach will thank you before Mtskheta tomorrow.

Day 3: Day Trip to Mtskheta

Morning

Mtskheta is genuinely close, about 20 kilometers and well under an hour by marshrutka from Didube station, where minibuses run roughly every 30 minutes from 7am for about 2 GEL a person. A taxi or Bolt costs more but saves the walk to Didube and gets you there in 25 to 30 minutes flat. Either way, this is Georgia’s ancient capital and a genuine UNESCO World Heritage Site, not a stretch destination like some day trips get sold as.

Afternoon

Start at Jvari Monastery, the 6th-century church on the hilltop above town, framed by the dramatic confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers below, the same view immortalized in Georgia’s national poem “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin.” Then descend into Mtskheta itself for Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the spiritual heart of Georgian Orthodoxy, said to house Christ’s robe beneath the foundation. It’s an active cathedral, so dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered, headscarves for women are provided at the door if needed.

From there, walk to Samtavro Monastery, the 4th-century complex where Saint Nino, the woman credited with converting Georgia to Christianity, is said to have first taken shelter, and where King Mirian III, the ruler she converted, is buried. It’s a smaller, quieter site than Svetitskhoveli and often skipped, which is exactly why it’s worth the ten-minute walk.

Evening

Head back to Tbilisi by marshrutka or taxi; the last minibus from Mtskheta typically leaves in the early evening, so don’t linger past dusk if you’re relying on public transport. For a final dinner, pick a restaurant in Old Tbilisi you haven’t tried yet rather than repeating Day 1’s spot, and order a full range of Georgian classics you may have missed: badrijani nigvzit (walnut-stuffed eggplant rolls), lobio in a clay pot, and a last round of khachapuri, ideally the boat-shaped Adjarian version with a raw egg and butter melted into the cheese at the center.

Tips and Important Information

Currency is the Georgian Lari (GEL); cards are widely accepted in restaurants and hotels, but keep small bills for marshrutkas, bathhouse tips and market stalls. Use Bolt or Yandex Go for taxis rather than hailing on the street, both to avoid inflated tourist pricing and the classic “counterfeit note” swap scam that still catches travelers at the airport and in Old Town. If a stranger on the street offers to walk you to a “great local bar,” politely decline; it’s a well-documented setup for a wildly inflated bill with no visible prices on the menu.

English is common in tourist zones but thins out fast in Mtskheta and residential neighborhoods, so a handful of Georgian phrases go further than you’d expect. Georgian hospitality is real and not performative, but it also comes with a drinking culture built around toasts (the tamada, or toastmaster, controls the pace of a supra), so pace yourself if you’re invited to join one.

One practical note: book sulphur bath private rooms ahead for weekend afternoons, and don’t schedule Mtskheta for a Monday if a specific museum stop matters to you, since several smaller Georgian museums close for the week’s start.