A Guide to Tbilisi’s Historic Centre, Tbilisi, Georgia

Tbilisi’s historic centre boasts a wonderful assortment of buildings that give it a charming personality. Some have been lovingly restored, while others look to be falling apart. Other cities wouldn’t be able to pull off this look; they would feel old and worn. In Tbilisi, however, this mix draws you in, enticing you to explore its old streets. If you can’t already tell, we love Tbilisi.

Not only does Old Tbilisi have historic homes with wooden balconies and a clifftop fortress, you can also find traditional bathhouses and a large collection of heritage churches. There are many reasons to visit Tbilisi. Come with us as we take you to the sites in this eclectic city.

We’ll begin our exploration of this city in our favourite part, Old Tbilisi. When looking from above, it seems as though the historic centre has squeezed into one of the only flat areas on the banks of the Mtkvari River (called Kura River in Turkey). From the river basin, rugged cliffs steeply rise, giving the centre an even more picturesque setting. This district is sometimes referred to as Lower Tbilisi.

Even though there is evidence of people living in this area since the 1st century BCE, the first settlement was established in the 300s AD. By the 5th century, Tbilisi was the capital of the Kingdom of Iberia (referred to as Kartli by Georgians). Before Tbilisi, the capital was in Mtskheta, where we’ll take you in a few days. You can read about this in our post Georgia’s First Capital, Mtskheta and Jvari Monastery ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).