Audio walk · Tbilisi
Old Tbilisi (Abanotubani, Sioni & Narikala)
Put your phone in your pocket and walk. Your phone reads each stop aloud, then waits while you walk to the next one; tap “I've arrived” to carry on. Everything it says is written out below, so the walk works without sound too.
- 3 stops
- about 6 min of listening
- about 18 min between stops
- Cluster guide
3 stops · about 6 min listening · about 18 min between stops
Before you start
Voice and speed
The script is in English. On-device voices keep working with no signal once this page is open or saved.
Transcript
Everything the tour says, in order. Read it instead of listening if you prefer.
Before you start
Welcome to the Old Tbilisi (Abanotubani, Sioni & Narikala) audio walk in Tbilisi. 3 stops: Narikala Fortress, Sioni Cathedral and Abanotubani (sulphur bath district). Morning cluster: the sulphur-bath district, Sioni Cathedral and the climb to Narikala; steep, cobbled, best before the heat.
Abanotubani, Sioni Cathedral and the lower slope of the Narikala fortress hill. Underfoot: cobbles and steps; slope: steep; shade: medium.
Tbilisi sits in a narrow valley on the Mtkvari river, and almost everything that makes it what it is comes from that shape: hot springs that gave it a name, a fortress on the ridge, a river crossing on an old trade road between Europe and Asia, and a slope of balconied houses that empires kept capturing and Georgians kept rebuilding.
Before you start: Sulphur bath houses have their own hours and dress rules; cover up before and after. Keep your eyes on the street, and pause the audio before you cross a road.
1. Narikala Fortress
ნარიყალა
Look for
- Cable car ride
- Ramparts
- St Nicholas church
Stop 1 of 3: Narikala Fortress. Arrival point: Walk up from Abanotubani, or take the cable car from Rike Park.
Go early or at dusk: a steep 20-minute climb (or the cable car from Rike Park), 45 minutes on the ramparts, with the city at your feet.
Look for Cable car ride: Views over the river and the old town. Look for Ramparts: Walk the walls in both directions. Look for St Nicholas church: A small restored church inside the walls.
The old town sits on the right bank at the foot of Narikala fortress, and its streets run steeply uphill from the river. Rike Park, on the water, has the cable car up to Narikala and the glass Peace Bridge of 2010, a curving footbridge designed by an Italian architect and disliked by some residents as much as it is photographed by visitors. The Peace Bridge, Rike Park’s glass-and-steel arc, the cable car to Narikala and a cluster of modern hotels give a very different look to the river.
Steep, uneven steps with no handrails in places; not suitable for wheelchairs. Busy at sunset; quiet at opening and on weekday mornings. Fine everywhere.
Walk:Next, stop 2: Sioni Cathedral. It's about 12 minutes on foot, about 400 metres to the north. Route: Walk down the steps. The tour waits here. Tap I've arrived when you get there.
2. Sioni Cathedral
სიონის საკათედრო ტაძარი
Look for
- Nave and frescoes
- The cross of St Nino
- Courtyard
Stop 2 of 3: Sioni Cathedral. Arrival point: Walk down from Narikala or up from Abanotubani; the church stands on the old-town lane above the river.
A ten- to twenty-minute stop on the way down from Narikala: a small, dark, working church with frescoes; cover up and be quiet during services.
Look for Nave and frescoes: Dark interior; give your eyes a minute. Look for The cross of St Nino: A vine cross kept near the altar; display arrangements change. Look for Courtyard: Benches and shade; a good regroup spot before the baths.
Sioni Cathedral and the lanes above it lead to Sololaki, a hillside quarter of faded mansions, courtyards and stairways that starts around Freedom Square and climbs west. Start at the fortress, look at the medieval walls, go down the steps to Sioni Cathedral and the baths, cross to the balconied lanes of Sololaki and then walk out to Rustaveli. Sioni Cathedral is the best first example.
Cover shoulders and knees; women cover the head with a scarf or shawl. Quiet on weekday mornings; busy at Sunday services and feast days. Allowed in the courtyard; ask before shooting inside and never during a service.
Walk:Next, stop 3: Abanotubani (sulphur bath district). It's about 6 minutes on foot, about 450 metres to the south-east. Route: Walk down to the baths. The tour waits here. Tap I've arrived when you get there.
3. Abanotubani (sulphur bath district)
აბანოთუბანი
Look for
- Brick-domed roofs
- Bath square and cafés
- Private bath room
Stop 3 of 3: Abanotubani (sulphur bath district). Arrival point: Walk down from Sioni or Narikala, or a taxi to the bath square.
Walk the lane at 09:30, then book a private bath room for the evening: brick domes, a sulphur smell and rooms by the hour.
Look for Brick-domed roofs: Best seen from the lane and the bridge over the stream. Look for Bath square and cafés: Coffee and a seat before you book. Look for Private bath room: A pool, a steam bench and a rest area.
Abanotubani, the bath district, is at the bottom. Abanotubani, the bath district at the foot of the old town, is a cluster of brick-domed roofs that look like a village of low hills, with steam rising from small holes in the domes.
Book a private room, not a shared bath, unless you know the house. The lane is quietest before 10:00; the baths fill on weekend evenings and in winter. Fine in the lane; not inside the bath houses.
Abanotubani (sulphur bath district): hours, tickets and rules →
End of the walk
That's the end of the Old Tbilisi (Abanotubani, Sioni & Narikala) walk. To carry on, Sololaki & Freedom Square is about 12 minutes away (walk west uphill). To carry on, Avlabari & Sameba Cathedral is about 12 minutes away (car across the river).
Built from this site's place pages, walking times and city deep dive; nothing is added that isn't on those pages. Opening hours, prices and rules change: check each place page before you go. Walking times are typical (median) and assume a steady pace.