The Guide to Sightseeing in the City of Kutaisi, Kutaisi, Georgia

The country of Georgia in the Caucasus is not especially well-known to travellers quite yet. That goes double though for the small city of Kutaisi in western Georgia. Nowhere near as popular as the capital Tbilisi or Batumi on the coast, sightseeing in Kutaisi quickly reveals just how much this destination has to offer. A quiet city, Kutaisi makes for a nice contrast to Tbilisi and the coast, letting you get in touch with the Georgian heartland a little. Hopefully with this Kutaisi guide, you’ll get a sense of this destination and maybe even add it your Georgia itinerary.

Kutaisi is best known for a select few sights, namely the Bagrati Cathedral and the Gelati Monastery. That’s understandable given that together these two places are recognised by UNESCO as world heritage sites. The thing is, there’s plenty more to see and do in the city. It may not be all that flashy, but Kutaisi has a low-key charm to it that shows you what life is like in modern Georgia. Kutaisi also acts as a great base for various day trips that explore this part of Georgia, but I’ll get to that in another post. For now, let’s get to all the main things to do in Kutaisi.

Before we delve into all the Kutaisi sightseeing opportunities, it may help to know a little about the city first. Georgia’s third largest city, Kutaisi is the capital city of the Imereti region and historically one of the country’s most important. In fact, throughout its long history Kutaisi has frequently been the capital city of whichever kingdom was in power. Proof that the debate between Tbilisi and Kutaisi rages on, the nation’s parliament was moved to Kutaisi in 2012 before being moved back after my trip in 2018. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).