Tbilisi
Overview
Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia. Despite having
been a Soviet city (you can clearly see it in the new town) it still has a
quite nice old town to wander around although in my opinión it is being ruined
by the establishment of modern fancy bars and restaurants all over it.
Besides that, it is a pleasant city to spend a couple of days in it, strolling around the old town, having a sulphur bath and climbing to the fortress by the funicular to have some nice views of the city. If you have some more time, pay a visit to the TV Antenna amusement park and ride the Ferris Wheel for impressive views of Tbilisi.
Besides that, it is a pleasant city to spend a couple of days in it, strolling around the old town, having a sulphur bath and climbing to the fortress by the funicular to have some nice views of the city. If you have some more time, pay a visit to the TV Antenna amusement park and ride the Ferris Wheel for impressive views of Tbilisi.
Sightseeing
The old town is the place to be if you are short of
time. It is big enough to keep you busy for a full day or two. It has nice
narrow streets where to get lost and plenty of bars where to have a beer or a
shisha, although they are expensive and in my opinion too many, so they spoil
the atmosphere of the beautiful streets where they are set.
Pay a visit to the clocktower, to the synagoge, the churches and climb to the fortress by the funicular to have amazing views of the city and visit one of the many wineshops around the old town for some wine tasting.
Outside the old town you can’t miss the Peace Bridge, a glass and futuristic bridge over the river and the Sameba Cathedral, which is a huge new Cathedral near the presidential palace. It is ok to visit but according to me, a total waste of money when you have people begging on the streets and you spend millions building this church. Anyway, you can go there on a Sunday morning and see it full of people praying. A walk through Freedom Square with its Saint George monument is also reccomendable.
If you happen to be in town on a Saturday morning, a highlight is to visit the Soviet market near the Dry Bridge. It is a typical Russian market selling everything from lamps to Soviet propaganda, from clothes to books…. You can find almost everything there, even real USSR Passports of people!
For a bit of fun you can take the cable car and climb to TV Antenna park. It is an amusement park whose main attractions are the rollercoaster (worth a ride) and the huge Ferris Wheel, really worth a ride to admire the whole Tbilisi.
If you are tired of walking and sightseeing, you can end your day at one of the famous sulphur baths, but avoid the most popular ones in the old town (they are worth a visit from the outside but totally overpriced to have a bath) and head to the one close to Green Stairs Hostel (in Kiev Street) for a real and cheap experience. For 10GEL you’ll get a room with a bath for yourself and you can stay there one hour. Really recomendable!
Pay a visit to the clocktower, to the synagoge, the churches and climb to the fortress by the funicular to have amazing views of the city and visit one of the many wineshops around the old town for some wine tasting.
Outside the old town you can’t miss the Peace Bridge, a glass and futuristic bridge over the river and the Sameba Cathedral, which is a huge new Cathedral near the presidential palace. It is ok to visit but according to me, a total waste of money when you have people begging on the streets and you spend millions building this church. Anyway, you can go there on a Sunday morning and see it full of people praying. A walk through Freedom Square with its Saint George monument is also reccomendable.
If you happen to be in town on a Saturday morning, a highlight is to visit the Soviet market near the Dry Bridge. It is a typical Russian market selling everything from lamps to Soviet propaganda, from clothes to books…. You can find almost everything there, even real USSR Passports of people!
For a bit of fun you can take the cable car and climb to TV Antenna park. It is an amusement park whose main attractions are the rollercoaster (worth a ride) and the huge Ferris Wheel, really worth a ride to admire the whole Tbilisi.
If you are tired of walking and sightseeing, you can end your day at one of the famous sulphur baths, but avoid the most popular ones in the old town (they are worth a visit from the outside but totally overpriced to have a bath) and head to the one close to Green Stairs Hostel (in Kiev Street) for a real and cheap experience. For 10GEL you’ll get a room with a bath for yourself and you can stay there one hour. Really recomendable!
Accomodation
Tbilisi has plenty of accomodation as any big city.
In this case we stayed at the Green Stairs Hostel, close to the sulphur baths
and a 15 minutes walk from the centre. Not reccomendable. It is cheap, yes, but
using the shared toilet is disgusting, so if possible choose any other place.
The only positive thing is the owner, who is very helpful and will give you
advices on anything, but that hostel needs some serious renovation, especially
the toilet.
Food & Drink
Georgian food is great. Don’t miss Kachapuri, a kind
of pizza with either an egg or butter in the middle and khinkali (a kind of
dumpling with different fillings) You will find plenty of Georgian restaurants
around the old town as well as food stalls on the Street selling cheap but
good food.
As for drinking, being in Georgia it is a must to go to a wine shop for some Georgian wine tasting. You’ll find them scattered around the old town, just get inside and they will explan you everything you want to know about Georgian wines. Most of the shops have a couple of tables where to have a glass of wine in calm.
As for drinking, being in Georgia it is a must to go to a wine shop for some Georgian wine tasting. You’ll find them scattered around the old town, just get inside and they will explan you everything you want to know about Georgian wines. Most of the shops have a couple of tables where to have a glass of wine in calm.
Transportation
We got to Tbilisi from Mestia, in Svaneti, by
marshrutka. It left around 7 in the morning and took around 6 hours.
Getting around is easy on foot, but you can always take the metro, cheap and fast.
To get out from Tbilisi we went to the Ortachala station (reachable by metro) to take a 6 hour marshrutka to Yerevan (Armenia).
Getting around is easy on foot, but you can always take the metro, cheap and fast.
To get out from Tbilisi we went to the Ortachala station (reachable by metro) to take a 6 hour marshrutka to Yerevan (Armenia).
Safety
The most dangerous issue in Tbilisi is crossing the street. The guy who designed the city was not very Smart and it is a nightmare
to cross them. There are some underground passages, but most of the time you’ll
be jumping fences and jaywalking hoping not to be killed by any car.
The same applies for walking on the Street. The sidewalks are literally full of cars parked, so most of the time you have to walk on the road, which is dangerous especially at night, as the city is not lit and you have to watch out for cars.
Other tan that, Tbilisi feels totally safe in terms of crime, but they really have an issue with cars.
The same applies for walking on the Street. The sidewalks are literally full of cars parked, so most of the time you have to walk on the road, which is dangerous especially at night, as the city is not lit and you have to watch out for cars.
Other tan that, Tbilisi feels totally safe in terms of crime, but they really have an issue with cars.
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