So, you like museums, art, theatre, and live music. Then you are in the right place if you are in Tbilisi. 🙂

I spent 10 days in Georgia’s capital this June before travelling deeper west into the country. Though I would venture out on some days to discover the country’s north, south, and east, coming back to Tbilisi always felt like I was returning home.

The city’s hills hugged both the Kura river and hot sulphur springs; its slopes dotted with medieval stone churches. Strains of music would waft through the air, an accompaniment to the fragrance of freshly baked cheesy pies. A patchy sky overhead seemed perpetually torn between sunshine and rain.

Popular legend credits King Vakhtang I Gorgasali as the city’s founder in 458 CE. An achievement reaffirmed by an equestrian statue of him perched on the riverbank. The story goes somewhat as follows: One day the king and his falcon went hunting. The falcon caught a pheasant, but both birds fell into a nearby hot sulphur spring. Chaffed at his discovery of these scalding hot waters miraculously emerging from the earth, the king decided to build a city at this spot. And so, Tbilisi—meaning the ‘warm place’—was born. Archaeological findings tend to dismiss this tale and place the city’s habitation further back in time to the Palaeolithic age.

Coveted by rulers from the 5th Century CE onward for its prime location and sulphur springs, the city was subsequently ruled by one or the other leading empire in the region. From the Arabs to the Byzantines and Seljuks, to Mongols, Persians, Ottomans, Russians, and Soviets, with periods of self-rule in-between.

Its greatest glory was reached during King Tamar’s rule [1184 – 1213] when it served as the political and cultural capital of the Kingdom of Georgia’s Golden Age. Under Imperial Russia, Tbilisi once more reclaimed its role as a favourite of the cultural elite. Independence in 1991 came with a price tag of poverty, crime, and political instability, which it has since been able to shirk off successfully.

The result is a city that is a patchwork of its mottled past. Persian fortresses, Ottoman homes and public baths, Imperial Russian-styled grand public buildings with a smattering of Soviet-era relics and post-independence steel and glass gargantuans set against alleys swathed in angry graffiti. But above all, a city that continues to pride itself for its affinity to the arts.

Here’s my personal favourite to-do-list for Tbilisi. Can I take you on a virtual tour?

1. Take a heritage walk to find your bearings in Tbilisi

Tbilisi can be overwhelming at first glance. A good way to get context: geographically, historically, and culturally is with a walking tour. Be warned, post the walk you may feel the city is a mix of mismatches. But by some miracle, they do fall into sync.

There are underground craft markets, a canyon lined by sulphur baths that ends at a waterfall, a string of historical churches with a synagogue in the middle, and a quirky clock tower straight from a fairy-tale. If that weren’t enough, there is also a medley of Ottoman, Imperial Russia and Soviet buildings, pockets of blissful green spaces, tantalising wall art, and a nice big chunk of the Berlin Wall. All of these line a sediment-heavy Kura river crisscrossed with bridges from across the centuries, including a brand-newish steel and glass Bridge of Peace.

Try and book a walking tour that includes a cable-car ride to the Mother of Georgia monument to get a bird’s eye view of the city. Some more context?

Travel tip: I did my walking tour with Gamarjoba; it was excellent.

2. Unravel Georgia’s rich past at the National Museum

Close on the heels of a walking tour, is a visit to the National Museum. Tbilisi’s wins on all counts. Whether it be its extensive collection, curation, or display. Which is no mean feat when one considers one is talking about a 1.8-million-year-old history.

Yes, the world’s five oldest skulls outside Africa [1.8 million years old] were found in Dmanisi, 85 kilometres southwest of Tbilisi, and they are on display here. Along with it are the exquisite Colchis jewels—a collection of pre-Christian gold jewellery [early-2nd Millennium BCE to 4th Century CE] which led to the legend of Jason and the Argonauts with Colchis as the ‘land of the golden fleece.’ Behind a thick vault door, adjacent to the Colchis collection and often missed by tourists, lies a treasure trove titled Medieval Christian Treasury. It comprises magnificent icons, altars, reliquaries, utensils, and processional crosses from the 5th to 19th Centuries CE.

There are also coins from the 6th Century BCE to 19th Century CE which substantiate Georgia’s pivotal role, pottery which proves the country as the birthplace of wine, traditional silver jewellery synonymous with various ethnic groups, and a Retrospective of Soviet Occupation. In a nutshell, the entire Georgian story under one roof.

Travel tips: 1) Take an extended guided tour. Though on the steep side [100 GEL when I visited in June 2026], it added so much value to my understanding of Georgian history. The tour covers most of the halls except the Medieval Christian Treasury. 2) For the Medieval Christian Treasury, download the audio guide from the GeoGuide app. 3) Photography is allowed in all halls except the Medieval Christian Treasury.

3. Revel in Soviet and Post-Soviet Georgian Art

Right next to the National Museum, facing the Parliament building is the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts. Not to be confused with No. 5 on this list, it is one of the largest private collections in the world with 3,500 Soviet and post-Soviet Georgian artworks created by over 100 artists in the past 70 years.

It is a fabulous collection meant to be savoured at leisure starting in chronological order from the 5th floor and making its way down to the 4th and 3rd. Along the way, themes of Socialist Realism, Period of Iron Curtain and Cold War, Period of Warming, Collapse of the Soviet Regime, Civil War, and Independent Georgia unfurl through paintings, sculptures, and multimedia. There are even a few works by the iconic Armenian filmmaker Sergey Parajanov who used to call Georgia his home.

Travel tips: 1) Pick up a complimentary brochure from reception. It lists the collection’s most important artworks. 2) Scan the QR codes for detailed information.

4. Enjoy a quirky marionette show steeped in Georgian traditions

In the heart of Old Tbilisi is a clock tower, its square cubes placed higgledy-piggledy over each other, propped up by a pole. There’s a miniature clock embedded inside the bottom cube that’s covered in hand-painted tiles. Next to the tower is a café, and since it was plot no. 13, and 13 was often considered an unlucky number, the owner decided to write it a wee bit differently. As the square root of 169.

Welcome to the poetic fairy-tale world of Rezo Gabriadze, the world-renowned marionette playwright, director, and producer. Even quirkier than these outer trappings are his hauntingly beautiful puppet theatre shows which take place inside every evening, filled with Georgian traditions and music. May I recommend ‘The Autumn of My Springtime‘ based on his own personal memories? It’s a masterpiece.

Travel tips: 1) Tickets can be bought here. 2) Book seats 5th row or higher so you can watch the show and read the English subtitles without getting a crick in your neck. 3) Use of cell phones and photography is strictly prohibited during the 90-minute show.

5. Pay homage to Niko Pirosmani’s timeless Naïve Art

It is not possible to talk about Modern Georgian Art, and not talk about Niko Pirosmani. Yet, Georgia’s most famous and beloved artist who shaped Eastern European Avant Garde Art only received recognition posthumously. Born Nikolay Pirosmanashvili in 1862 to a peasant family, Niko was broke and homeless much of his adult life, selling his art for a meal or a glass of wine. For a brief spell the prevailing art world did endow him some fame, but soon pushed him back into anonymity again. He died in 1918 of illness and starvation.

Painting in a style termed ‘Naïve’, Niko was self-taught and a true prodigy, bereft of any exposure to other artists or art. His inspiration lay in the world around him—Georgia’s rural landscapes, Georgian Orthodox icons, and newspaper caricatures. His material? The cheapest available. Black oil cloth on which he applied brush strokes of dark colours mixed with white, giving his compositions a translucent quality. These masterpieces are now on display at the Art Museum of Georgia [2nd floor] along with works of other key Modern Georgian artists.

Travel tip: Watch this evocative movie on Niko Pirosmani’s life [1969] before visiting.

6. Marvel at exquisite Medieval Georgian stone carvings

Whilst at the Art Museum of Georgia, make your way to the ‘Medieval Georgian Relief Sculpture’ permanent exhibition on the ground floor where exquisite sandstone carvings pop out of sleek black walls, ceilings, and floors. These relief sculptures, dated from the 5th to 12th Centuries CE, once decorated the facades and interiors of Georgia’s medieval churches.

Look out for the ethereal figures of princes on relief slabs holding models of churches they had commissioned and rows of demure saints and angels on steles [both 9th Century CE]. Of special mention is the gallery’s centrepiece: an altar which was once part of the Satkhe Church in Kvemo Kartli, dated 1171.

Travel tips: 1) The museum is closed on Mondays. 2) Download the audio guide from the GeoGuide app for more details about each exhibit. 3) The official name of the museum is Shalva Amiranashvili State Museum of Arts. Its current version was launched in October 2024.

7. Peek into the sumptuous world of Georgian theatre and film

Lying outside the city centre, the Art Palace of Georgia – Museum of Cultural History is very much an Alice in Wonderland experience. Dedicated to an array of Georgian arts, the 1882 Islamic Gothic edifice comes with its own romantic novella. There was once a German prince who fell in love with a much-married Georgian queen in Kutaisi. They both eloped to Tbilisi to this wondrous extravagant palace our hero had had specially built for the love of his life, complete with a ‘secret room’ in the attic as they had to keep their affair under wraps for a while. Both royalty and the public had been aghast at what they’d done.

Befitting its dramatic past, the palace, since 1927, has been filled with 300,000 items tracing the development of Georgian theatre, opera, ballet, music, folk art, and circus, and the artists who worked in these fields.

8. Attend a Georgian opera replete with song and dance

Go for the gorgeous building and a show that sparkles with vibrant colour, dance, and music. Don’t worry about any possible language barriers. English subtitles stream above the stage.

Housed in an 1896 neo-Moorish edifice with red bands and star-sprangled interiors, the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre is a favourite with Georgians. Shows are invariably packed and tickets sell out fast. The lineup keeps changing. When I was in the city, the 1919 Classic Keto and Kote, a comic opera about a pair of star-crossed lovers was running. The icing on the cake was a traditional performance mid-show in which women in white gowns and high hats floated over the stage whilst men in black manoeuvred acrobatics mid-air. The opera had a happy ending, and all 1,200 spectators were mighty happy about it.

Travel tip: For a current lineup and tickets click here.

9. Church hop through centuries within a square mile

Orthodox Christianity is a big part of the Georgian psyche, and it is hard to separate the two. Even in a multicultural modern city like Tbilisi. No surprises, seeing that Georgia was the third country to officially adopt Christianity, after Armenia and Ethiopia, in the early-4th Century CE and there has been extensive religious revivalism post the fall of the Soviet Union.

Every Sunday, a string of churches within walking distance of each other in Tbilisi burst into soulful polyphonic singing and elaborate rituals during Mass. It is an experience not to miss. At other times, they are quieter, allowing for a gentle perusal of colourful frescoes and gleaming icons.

Start off at the popular 13th Century Metekhi Church with its tomb of St. Shushanik, a 5th Century Armenian Christian martyr queen, followed by the 6th Century Anchiskhati Basilica and 6th/7th Century Sioni Cathedral. Sioni houses the original St. Nino’s grapevine cross inside a silver shrine. Next take a detour to a hidden gem, the 17th Century Annunciation Church in the Father of Cross Church grounds. Wrap up your exploration with the Holy Trinity Cathedral [2004], one of the largest places of worship in the world, with its fabulous views of Tbilisi.

10. Dig into a traditional Georgian meal

Georgian food has a formidable reputation with foodies swearing by it. Khinkali [soupy dumplings] and Khachapuri [cheesy pies] are the usual favourites. But there is one humble dish which caught my fancy and one I had multiple times during my travels. Especially since its specific recipe depended on which part of the country I was in, offering an insight into locally available ingredients.

I am talking about the Lobio—a red kidney bean stew cooked and served in a steaming-hot clay pot. Okay, maybe, because being a North Indian, where rajma chawal [red kidney bean stew served with basmati rice] is the ultimate soul food and the staple Sunday family lunch in all homes, it brought back many happy memories for me. Lobio is not rajma chawal, but a long-lost cousin for sure!

11. Listen to a world-class outdoor musical performance for free

There is always music playing at Tbilisi’s Bridge of Peace over the Kura river, connecting the old city with the new in a shimmering spread of over 10,000 built-in LED lights. 240 motion sensors trigger light patterns as pedestrians walk across, including a Morse code of the chemical elements which make up the human body. The lights are switched on 90 minutes before sunset and stay on till 90 minutes after sunrise.

The music rarely stops here. One busker seamlessly replaces another, after being done with their repertoire of international and Georgian hits for the day. Often there are multiple performances simultaneously taking place along the bow-shaped 150-metre-length. Best time to go? At dusk. It is pure magic when the bridge’s lights reflect in the slate blue river, surrounded with a twinkling city—and everything is bathed in music.

Travel tip: Please do tip the buskers.

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Ready to enjoy Tbilisi? I assure you, it is hard for a cultural buff to get bored in this city. ❤

Travel tips:

• Staying there: I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Tbilisi Avlabari. Avlabari is a historical Armenian neighbourhood in the city centre.
• Getting to Tbilisi, and back: I took bus 337 from the airport to the city centre and back. Payment can be made by tapping bank cards on the reader inside.
• Getting around: I walked to most sights, and took a Bolt taxi for the museums further out.

[I travelled solo and independently across Georgia for 17 days in June 2026. To read more posts in my Georgia series, please click here.]

Note: There are NO affiliate links in this post, or in any of my posts. Links are provided only to help you with your plans or to give extra info. Neither is any of the content in this post or any of my posts sponsored. The services mentioned in this post are what I used and I am simply sharing them with you.