Arrival and first taste of the Old Town
Arrive at Tbilisi International Airport
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 →
Check in around Sololaki or the Old Town
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 →
Orientation walk: Freedom Square to the Bridge of Peace
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.
Natural wine at Vino Underground
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.
Dinner at OtsY
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.
Sulphur baths, Old Town food and a wine tasting
Morning soak at Chreli Abano
Abanotubani, the bath district, is where Tbilisi got its name (tbili means warm). Chreli Abano, the one with the Persian-style blue mosaic facade, is the prettiest. A private room runs from around 130 GEL an hour, more for the larger rooms; book ahead and add a kisa scrub (about 30 GEL) if you want the full ritual. It is the ideal slow start.
Wander Abanotubani and the Meidan lanes
Walk off the heat through the bath quarter's cobbled lanes, past the little Legvtakhevi waterfall tucked in the gorge, up to Meidan square and Sioni Cathedral. This is the most photogenic corner of the city and it is all within a few hundred metres.
Lunch at Culinarium Khasheria
Chef Tekuna Gachechiladze's Khasheria reopened in June 2026 on Samghebro Street, back in its home neighbourhood of Abanotubani. Expect bright, seasonal Georgian cooking: the namesake khashi tripe soup, sharp salads and vegetable dishes. Hand-folded khinkali are served Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only, so time your visit if those are the goal.
Cable car up to Kartlis Deda for the view
Ride the cable car from Rike Park up the ridge (around 2.5 GEL, paid with a Metromoney card). At the top the 20-metre Kartlis Deda, the Mother of Georgia holding a sword and a cup of wine, looks out over the whole Old Town. Note that the Narikala fortress walls beside her are closed for renovation in 2026, but the viewpoint and the walk down are open.
Guided tasting at 8000 Vintages
Back on the Old Town side, 8000 Vintages on Tabukashvili Street holds the city's deepest cellar of Georgian labels, each chosen by blind tasting. A sommelier-led flight of four wines with a charcuterie board runs around 45 GEL per person and is the clearest hour you will spend on Georgian wine regions and grapes. The formal tastings run on weekdays (roughly 1pm to 7pm) and need booking a day or two ahead, so at the weekend swap in another Old Town wine bar.
Dinner at Barbarestan
A short taxi or 25-minute walk across the river on Agmashenebeli Avenue, Barbarestan cooks from the cookbook of 19th-century duchess Barbare Jorjadze, reviving old Georgian recipes in a candlelit former butcher's cellar hung with the original meat hooks. It is one of the city's best dinners and the wine list is excellent, so reserve ahead.
A day in Kakheti wine country
Guided day trip to Kakheti wine country
Kakheti, an hour and a half to two hours east, is the heart of Georgian winemaking and easily done as a day from Tbilisi while keeping your Old Town base. A guided tour takes the driving and the winery bookings off your hands (most family maranis need to be arranged in advance) and typically runs nine to ten hours. Search wine tour in Kakheti on GetYourGuide →
Bodbe Monastery and the Alazani Valley
The convent of St Nino at Bodbe sits among cypress trees on a hillside just outside Sighnaghi, with an observation deck that opens onto a huge view across the Alazani Valley to the Greater Caucasus. Dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered) as it is a working nunnery.
Lunch and a wander in Sighnaghi
The walled hill town of Sighnaghi, all red roofs and long valley views, is made for a slow lunch. Pause over a supra of local dishes before the afternoon cellar visit; most tours build in time here.
Qvevri tasting at a family winery
The afternoon highlight is a small family cellar, where wine is still fermented underground in clay qvevri buried in the marani floor. A tasting of a few estate wines usually runs 15 to 50 GEL per person; the winemakers pour and explain themselves, which is the whole point of coming out here.
Back in Tbilisi for a light supper
You will roll back into the city in the evening, comfortably fed and watered. Keep dinner light, a plate of cheese and greens near your accommodation and an early night before the last day.
Market morning on the north bank, then home
Dezerter Bazaar
Cross to the north bank for Dezerter Bazaar, the city's main produce market near the central station. It is a loud, brilliant sprawl of spices, pickles, cheeses, churchkhela (grape-must and walnut candies) and mountains of fruit and veg. If you would rather have a guide translate and lead the tastings, a food tour is the easy way in. Search food tour in Tbilisi on GetYourGuide →
Stroll Agmashenebeli Avenue
Walk the restored, pedestrian stretch of Agmashenebeli Avenue, the north bank's grand boulevard, lined with 19th-century facades, cafes and small wine shops. It is an easy, unhurried hour and a good spot to pick up bottles to take home.
Lunch and last glass at Fabrika
Fabrika, a Soviet sewing factory turned courtyard hangout, is the creative heart of the north bank. The in-house FARM wine bar pours low-intervention Georgian and European wines alongside seasonal, ingredient-led plates, a relaxed final lunch before you head off.
Depart for the airport
Allow around 30 to 45 minutes back to the airport by taxi, a little more in traffic. Leave time to clear security, and consider carrying any wine bottles in checked luggage. Book flights →