Western Georgia
This Unesco World Heritage–listed monastery complex, on a wooded hillside 8km northeast of Kutaisi, is an outstanding example of Golden Age architecture…
Must-see attractions in Georgia
Davit Gareja
Less of a monastery than a series of cave-hewn chapels, Udabno runs along a steep escarpment looking down to grassy plains in Azerbaijan. While many caves…
Vardzia
The remarkable cave city of Vardzia is both a cultural symbol and a spectacular natural phenomenon with a special place in Georgian hearts. King Giorgi…
Stepantsminda
This 14th-century church 2200m above Stepantsminda has become almost a symbol of Georgia for its incomparably photogenic hilltop setting with mighty Mt…
-
Great Caucasus
This magnificent agglomeration of koshkebi (defensive watchtowers) and atmospheric slate houses packed tightly together on a steep hillside to create one…
Kakheti
Prince Alexander Chavchavadze (1786–1846) was one of the most colourful and influential characters in Georgian history, and the palace and gardens he…
Tbilisi
Dominating the Old Town skyline, Narikala dates right back to the 4th century, when it was a Persian citadel. Most of the walls were built in the 8th…
-
Kakheti
At the beginning of the 11th century, when Georgia was entering its cultural and political golden age, King Kvirike of Kakheti had this majestic cathedral…
Tbilisi
For most visitors the highlight here is the hall of wonderful canvases by Georgia’s best-known painter Pirosmani (Niko Pirosmanashvili, 1862–1918),…
Tbilisi
Tbilisi's most exhilarating ride is its massively popular cable car, which swings from the south end of Rike Park high over the Mtkvari River and the Old…
Batumi
Everyone soon finds themselves strolling along Batumis bulvari, the park strip fronting the main beach, originally laid out in 1884 and now stretching 7km…
-
Tbilisi
The major highlight of the impressive national museum is the basement Archaeological Treasury, displaying a wealth of pre-Christian gold, silver and…
-
Tbilisi
The landmark Metekhi Church, and the 1960s equestrian statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali beside it, occupy the strategic rocky outcrop above the Metekhi…
-
Tbilisi
The ride up Mt Mtatsminda on the city's funicular is spectacular, as are the views from the top – and there are a couple of great places to eat or drink,…
-
Tusheti
Dartlo, 12km northwest of Omalo in the Pirikiti Alazani valley, is an extraordinarily picturesque village crowned by an impressive tower grouping,…
-
Tbilisi
Tbilisi’s oldest surviving church is perhaps its loveliest. Built by King Gorgasali’s son Dachi in the 6th century, it's a three-nave basilica whose…
-
Telavi
Batonistsikhe was the residence of the Kakhetian kings in the 17th and 18th centuries and remains today a superbly preserved old castle right in the…
-
Sighnaghi
This well-displayed, modern museum has good exhibits on Kakheti archaeology and history downstairs, and a room of 13 paintings by Kakheti-born artist Niko…
-
Tbilisi
This 20m-tall aluminium symbol of Tbilisi holds a sword in one hand and a cup of wine in the other – a classic metaphor for the Georgian character, warmly…
-
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
Borjomi
The ranges of the Lesser Caucasus in southern Georgia are less well known and much lower than the Great Caucasus, but they still contain some very…
Tbilisi
The biggest symbol of the Georgian Orthodox Church's post-Soviet revival towers on Elia Hill above Avlabari. Tsminda Sameba, unmissable by night and day,…
Tbilisi
The brick domes rising here are the roofs of subterranean bathhouses, the Abanotubani. Alexanders Dumas and Pushkin both bathed in these sulphurous waters…
-
Kutaisi
Kutaisi's cathedral was built in 1003 by Bagrat III, with a tall drum and pointed dome resting on four freestanding pillars. In 1692 a Turkish explosion…
-
Great Caucasus
This fortress 66km north of Tbilisi is a classic example of Georgian architecture, enhanced by its superb location overlooking the Zhinvali Reservoir. The…
-
Great Caucasus
The beautiful Truso valley, source of the Tergi River, heads west off the Georgian Military Hwy 17km south of Stepantsminda. It's dotted with ancient…
-
Western Georgia
An exciting 700m-long walkway projects from the edge of this 100m-deep canyon and culminates in a viewing platform that hangs right out over the middle…
-
Tbilisi
The impressive high-arched Parliament building has seen many momentous events, including the deaths of 19 Georgian hunger strikers at the hands of Soviet…
-
Open-Air Museum of Ethnography
Tbilisi
This collection of traditional, mostly wooden houses, from all around Georgia, is spread over a wooded hillside with good views, and makes for an…
-
Western Georgia
Nokalakevi is an ancient Colchian fortress built on the banks of the Tekhuri River. It's been mooted as one of the (many) places to have housed the Golden…
-
Western Georgia
The castle-like palace of the Dadiani family (old lords of Samegrelo) is now a museum set in beautifully maintained grounds. As well as interesting 19th…
-
Western Georgia
The attractive Martvili Canyon has been comprehensively adapted to the needs of tourists and now contains multiple walkways and bridges giving lovely…
-
Tbilisi
This beautiful conversion of the former Tbilisi Cadet Corps building has been given over to displays of work by the museum's founder, Zurab Tsereteli, the…
-
Borjomi
Borjomi’s mineral water park, dating back to 1850, occupies a narrow wooded valley and includes the town's original mineral water source, Ekaterina Spring…
-
Batumi
Batumi’s Botanical Garden, 8km northeast of town, was founded in 1912 by Russian botanist Andrei Krasnov. With many subtropical and foreign species, it…
-
Batumi
This excellent museum showcases some of the many valuable archaeological discoveries made in Adjara, particularly at the Gonio Apsaros Fortress. The main…
-
Tbilisi
Sioni was originally built in the 6th and 7th centuries, but has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, and what you see today is mainly 13th century. It…
-
Adjara
Gonio's fortress, an impressive piece of Roman-Byzantine military architecture, covers 47,000 sq metres within a rectangle of high stone walls with 18…
-
Western Georgia
This impressive waterfall cascades 88m down the side of a huge limestone cliff, runs through a narrow gorge and then crashes down again to a pool below…
-
Sighnaghi
Most of Erekle II’s 4km defensive wall still stands, with 23 towers and each of its six gates named after a local village. Part of the wall runs along…
-
Kakheti
A very professional modern operation 7km southeast of central Telavi, producing 1.5 million bottles a year – 30% is qvevri wine (under the Vinoterra label…
