Tours in Tbilisi

Start on the balconies. Walk through the old streets of Tbilisi and look up, because the carved wooden balconies hang over the lanes at odd angles, some leaning, some freshly painted, all of them with laundry or a cat. Below them the Mtkvari runs through a narrow gorge, and the city climbs both sides of it. Narikala fortress watches from the ridge, and the Mother of Georgia statue stands on the hill above the river with a cup in one hand and a sword in the other.

Come down into the sulphur bath district and you will smell it before you see the domed roofs. Then cross the Peace Bridge, wander Rustaveli Avenue, and find a table in a courtyard where somebody is bringing out khachapuri and khinkali with a jug of wine. Sit longer than you planned. The evenings here run slowly, and the Georgian table is a way of spending time, not just a meal.

The best day trips start from the city. North of Tbilisi lies Mtskheta, where Svetitskhoveli Cathedral fills the little old town and Samtavro sits a short stroll away. Jvari looks down on the meeting of two rivers from its hilltop. Georgians treat this as the spiritual heart of the country, and a local guide can explain the details you would miss alone, such as why people lower their voices before they cross the threshold.

The other direction takes you up the Georgian Military Road toward the mountains. You pass the Zhinvali reservoir, the stone walls of Ananuri beside the water, and the Friendship Arch with its wide view over the valley. Then the road ends at Juta, where the air thins and the Chaukhi ridge fills the horizon. Walkers can follow the valley trail from the village. If you want a monastery, a wine cellar or a museum that we do not list yet, ask, and a local guide can arrange it.