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Voykit pocket guide · Georgia

Tbilisi

თბილისი

Tbilisi is a slope city: do the old town and the fortress in the morning, take the afternoon on Rustaveli's flat streets, and eat khinkali at midday — and keep the airport transfer booked, because most flights land in the small hours.

Tbilisi's sights sit along one river valley, and the old town climbs steeply up to the Narikala fortress. The failures are practical: a 04:00 landing with no room ready, a suitcase on the cobbles of Sololaki, and a church door you can't enter in shorts. Four clusters cover a first visit on foot, with a short taxi ride between them for a few lari.

Old Tbilisi (Abanotuban…Sololaki & Freedom Squa…Rustaveli Avenue & Kash…Avlabari & Sameba Cathe…Rustaveli (central, f…Sololaki (old-town ed…500 mpins: sleep areas · dots: places
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
Georgia
Local name
თბილისი
Best months
Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Sep · Oct · Nov
Time zone
Asia/Tbilisi
Stay
2 days: Old town + Narikala, Freedom Square and Rustaveli

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
GEL
Money
Keep ₾50 in small notes; use ATMs at banks and decline the machine's own exchange rate (pay in lari).
Daily spend
Budget ₾70–120 excl. bed · Mid ₾120–250 excl. bed · High ₾250+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
Magti, Silknet (Geocell) and Cellfie sell SIMs with a passport; cheap data.
Emergency
Emergency (police 112
Plugs
Types C, F · 220 V · 50 Hz · European plugs fit.
Tipping
Restaurants: Check the bill for a service charge; otherwise 10%.; Drivers and guides: GEL 10–30 a day.
Water
Tap water is widely drunk in Tbilisi and mountain towns (check locally); bottled is cheap.
Toilets
Free in cafés for customers; small fees at stations.

Get in

By air

Tbilisi International Airport (TBS)
TBS to the old town: one ride-hail or taxi car, 30–55 minutes — the trap is a 03:00 landing and a hotel that has not held your room.

Get around

Walk inside a cluster; taxi or ride-hailing car between clusters; the metro for the long axis.

Passes
No pass needed: a Metromoney card pays for itself after a few rides; ride-hailing is cheap for short hops.
Late at night
The metro stops around midnight; ride-hailing runs all night.

See and do

  1. 01Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba)წმინდა სამება

    Go at opening or after 16:00: the largest cathedral in the Caucasus; 40 minutes, with strict dress rules and no interior photos during services.

  2. 02Narikala Fortressნარიყალა

    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.

Hours and prices are desk estimates (checked 2026-09); anything marked (check) is not confirmed. Coordinates open in any map app.

Eat

A khinkali house near Freedom Square (pick on the day)
Walk-in khinkali (dumplings), eaten by hand; go before 13:00 or after 15:00; order by the piece and ask the price first.

Sleep

Rustaveli (central, flat)
Flatter, better for luggage and older travellers; bigger hotels with lifts and a door the car can reach; old town is a 15-minute walk down.
Sololaki (old-town edge)
First-timers: Freedom Square and the old town are minutes away on foot; pick a hotel with a night desk and a street the car can reach — not a guesthouse behind a stair.

Language

Georgian is a Kartvelian language, unrelated to its neighbours, with its own 33-letter alphabet. Russian is understood by most people over 40; English is common among young people in cities and tourism. Armenian and Azerbaijani are spoken in border regions; Svan and Mingrelian in the west.

  • Gamarjoba (hello), madloba (thank you), ra ghirs? (how much?).

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Handshake; cheek kiss among friends; avoid: Refusing hospitality outright
  • Church: Cover up; do not turn your back to the altar; avoid: Shorts, bare shoulders, loud talk
  • Supra: Follow the tamada; drink on toasts; avoid: Toasting with beer; leaving early without thanks
  • History: Listen; avoid: Calling Georgia part of Russia or the region 'post-Soviet' casually

Red lines

  • Orthodox churches: heads and shoulders covered for women, no shorts for men, no photos during services.
  • Do not walk out of Georgian-controlled land toward Abkhazia or South Ossetia.
  • Do not accept a driver's unpriced airport ride; use the app or agree the fare first.

Scams (Georgia page)

  • Bar and club bill scams: Do not follow strangers to a bar they choose; check prices; pay as you go.
  • Airport taxi overcharging: Use Bolt or the airport bus; agree the fare first.
  • Currency exchange with poor rates: Change a little at most; use city exchange offices.
  • Fake wine and cellar tours: Buy from wineries or known shops.

One and two days

1 day

The first day of the timed plan.

Day 1 — Narikala at opening, Sioni, a 13:00 lunch table

  1. 08:30Narikala Fortress
  2. sioni cathedral (optional)
  3. 13:00Lunch table 13:00 (old town)
  4. Hotel or an AC café 14:00–17:00; the sulphur baths in the evening if you like.

2 days

The first two days of the timed plan.

Day 1 — Narikala at opening, Sioni, a 13:00 lunch table

  1. 08:30Narikala Fortress
  2. sioni cathedral (optional)
  3. 13:00Lunch table 13:00 (old town)
  4. Hotel or an AC café 14:00–17:00; the sulphur baths in the evening if you like.

Day 2 — Freedom Square, Rustaveli, khinkali

  1. 09:00freedom square
  2. rustaveli avenue
  3. kashveti church (optional)
  4. A khinkali house near Freedom Square (pick on the day)
  5. Evening: wine bars and the old-town balconies from 18:00.

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Tbilisiთბილისი

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

Take me to

  • წმინდა სამებაHoly Trinity Cathedral (Sameba)
  • ნარიყალაNarikala Fortress
  • Emergency (police112

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/tbilisi). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.