Tbilisi's airport sits about 17km south-east of the centre. A metered taxi to the Old Town takes 20 to 30 minutes; the number 337 bus (1 GEL, tap a bank card, runs to Freedom Square) is cheaper if you are travelling light. Spring through autumn is the loveliest window for terraces and the Kakheti countryside, but Tbilisi's wine and food scene runs year-round. Book flights →

Base yourself in Sololaki or the Old Town so most of this trip is on foot. These leafy, faded-grand streets put you a short walk from the sulphur baths, the wine bars and the river. Drop your bags and get your bearings. Search hotels →

Ease in with a slow loop: Freedom Square, down into the narrow lanes to Sioni Cathedral, then along the river to the glass-and-steel Bridge of Peace and Rike Park. It is the quickest way to understand how the old and new halves of the city fit together.

Georgia's first natural wine bar, in a cellar setting in Sololaki, is the right place to start learning the local grapes. Ask the staff to pour a few qvevri wines by the glass, amber (skin-contact white) included, with bread and cheese alongside. They know every small producer personally.

A short walk on in Old Tbilisi, OtsY does modern Georgian cooking with European technique, the kind of plates that show how far the cuisine reaches beyond khachapuri. Book ahead if you can; it is popular and the dining room is small.