Once you’ve been charmed by the fabulous sites in Old Tbilisi, don’t forget to explore the rest of the city. We found a wide range of things to see outside the historic centre, in Tbilisi’s Uptown districts.
After surviving a tumultuous history, the people of Tbilisi, and all of Georgia, have a lot of pride in both their country and its capital. This can easily be seen in many of its monuments including those inherited from other rulers. Next time you’re in Tbilisi don’t forget to visit some of these more modern sites.
Liberty Square
Just outside Old Tbilisi is the busy intersection called Liberty Square (also referred to as Freedom Square). It is a traffic circle as opposed to what we think of as a public square. Shaping its borders are stately buildings, so despite being busy, it’s quite picturesque.
At its centre is the Monument of St. George, a granite column topped with the city’s patron saint. The golden statue of St. George was erected to celebrate Georgia’s independence, which is represented by the saint on horseback, slaying a dragon.
Walking around Liberty Square is easy thanks to underground walkways that cross under the busy streets. Most have small shops selling everything from mobile phones to shoes.
Rustaveli Avenue
One of the streets leading to Liberty Square is Rustaveli Avenue, named after the Georgian medieval poet. Before the Russians arrived, this part of the city was undeveloped. The Russians felt they needed elaborate buildings to bring the capital up to their standards. To do so, they built the avenue and lined it with grandiose theatres, museums, government and university buildings.
The Parliament of Georgia, located on Rustaveli Avenue, is a favoured spot for protests. When we were there, demonstrators were showing their opposition to the current pro-Russian, anti-EU government. In late 2024 and early 2025, the protests became violent, and travel to Tbilisi was discouraged. Today, people still congregate on the parliament grounds in the evenings. They put up signs and some parade around, but it is generally quiet, and we had no safety concerns. There is a strong police presence, which may be why there is no longer violence.
Our favourite finds along Rustaveli Avenue were the many little bronze statues. Crafted by Artist Levan Bujiashvili in 2008, this public art represents characters from the works of the famous Georgian painter Niko Pirosmani.
There are a few other streets on the edge of the historic centre that have grand Russian buildings. We walked along many of them during our stay and found a few gems.
Tip – Online sources will tell you that when in Tbilisi, you should visit Kalantarov House, Seilanov Brothers’ House and Hotel London for their overly decorated interiors. It appears that these Russian-built properties are no longer open to the public. Another recommended spot is Gallery 27. The famous staircase in the gallery’s shop is located in the private area of the building. They no longer allow visitors to see the staircase.
Mother of Georgia
At the other end of Sololaki Ridge from the fortress, you’ll find the 20 m (65 ft) tall, metallic statue called Mother of Georgia (Kartlis Deda). Her position above the city allows everyone to see her from many vantage points. Holding a bowl of wine in one hand and a sword in the other, Mother of Georgia is ready to welcome friends and fight off enemies; the perfect hostess.
The wooden statue was erected in the 1950s to commemorate the city’s 1,500th anniversary and was intended to be a temporary installation. The people of Tbilisi and in fact, all of Georgia, loved it so much that it was left in place. In the 1960s, it was covered in protective aluminum, but the statue began to show signs of wear. In the 1990s, the wooden statue was replaced with an exact replica, built of aluminum.
We saw it many times from below but wanted to get a closer look so we walked up to the top of the ridge. Once you’re beside her though, it’s difficult to take a good picture because she’s so tall.
A pathway at the top has several food kisoks on one side and views of the city in the other. After climbing all the way up to the ridge, you will probably want to grab an ice cream or juice and stay for a while to enjoy the view.
How to Visit Mother of Georgia
There are a few ways to climb to the top of the ridge. We walked up from the back through the Botanical Gardens. Another option is the stairs located on Betlemi Street. The most popular way is to take the téléphérique, called Ropeway, from Rike Park. Note that in 2025, the pathway between the Ropeway Top Station and Narikala Fortress is closed. The Ropeway has a fee, but entrance to the Mother of Georgia is free.
National Botanical Gardens
Located on the back side of Sololaki Ridge are the National Botanical Gardens. They were originally Royal Gardens, enclosed within the fortress complex. The large space has Japanese gardens, an orangery, ponds and two waterfalls, but mostly, it is a big forest.
It’s nice to have a serene park so close to the city, but don’t visit expecting to see a variety of flower beds. The gardens were under construction when we visited, so many areas were closed. Maybe in the future there will be more flowers.
From the gardens we could see the back of Narikala Fortress and Mother of Georgia.
How to get to the National Botaniacal Gardens
One entrance is located at the base of Narikila Fortress. You can easily reach it on foot after visiting the fortress, but it is an uphill walk from Abanotubani. The main entrance on Botanikuri St. requires a car or taxi and would be best for those who aren’t able to do much uphill walking. You can also enter the Gardens from behind the Mother of Georgia, this would mean you walk downhill into the gardens.
Entrance is 4 GEL (1.30 EUR). The gardens are open 7 days a week, 9am-5:30pm.
Mtkvari River
One thing that we really enjoyed in Tbilisi was its wonderful riverside promenade. It allows you to soak in the vibrant atmosphere of this city as you take a stroll. From the river’s edge, you are treated to the iconic view of Metekhi Church standing on its prominence.
Peace Bridge
The river walk takes you to the modern Peace Bridge. Built in 2010, you will undoubtedly see and walk across this bridge several times on your visit to Tbilisi. Not only does it look interesting during the day, but at night, it is lit up and is one of the main features in the city’s skyline.
Not far from Peace Bridge is Rike Park where you can find the Ropeway Bottom Station that takes you to the Mother of Georgia. As well, one of the piers used by the many river tour operators is beside the park.
Queen Darejan Palace
King Erekle II built a palace for his wife, Queen Darejan, in 1776. Built on top of the ruins of an old Arabic castle, you can still see some of its old walls from below. The palace grounds are home to an active monastery, so most of the area is closed. Visitors are welcome to walk out onto Queen’s Balcony and visit the Church of St. Irakli and St. Daria.
Its location on a ridge across the river from Narikala Fortress means that from the balcony, you are treated to a view of Sololaki Ridge and Old Tbilisi across the river.
Holy Trinity Cathedral
Standing high on a hill opposite Mother of Georgia is Holy Trinity Cathedral (Tsminda Sameba), the largest Orthodox Church in Georgia. The post-Soviet era church was built to commemorate the Georgian Orthodox Church’s 1,500 years of independence. Inside, the large building is sparsely decorated. Only a few framed photos of saints and biblical scenes adorn each pillar.
Tabor Monastery of The Transformation
On a different hill above the city is Tabor Monastery of The Transformation. This functioning monastery was built in 2012. The Georgian Orthodox monastery is nothing spectacular on its own, but it offers sweeping views of the city, far below. These views are why we recommend a visit.
Stalin Underground Printing Press Museum
It’s difficult to call this a museum, but inside you’ll find an interesting piece from Georgia’s history. Ruthless dictator Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia, but spent quite a lot of time in Tbilisi. The capital city therefore, played an important role in the early days of the Georgian Communist Party.
In 1903, young Stalin was a tyrannical leader in the making and he joined a group of like-minded communist revolutionaries in Tbilisi.
To spread their ideology, the group wrote and printed propaganda newspapers. They owned two printing presses and kept them hidden in the basement of a Tbilisi house. Their printshop remained undetected for 3 years due to its elaborate access. Two adjacent buildings were a part of the disguise. One was a shop that had a strategically placed cabinet over a deep shaft. Stalin and his gang climbed down the shaft and then crawled through a tunnel that led to a room under the neighbouring house where they kept the presses.
These two buildings are now the site of the Stalin Underground Printing Press Museum.
From this hidden spot they printed propaganda leaflets and newspapers in Georgian, Russian and Armenian between 1903 and 1906. Only one of the very rusted printing presses survived and is still kept in a muddy basement of the same house. You don’t have to scale down a shaft though, access today is via a wobbly spiral staircase.
They soon attracted the attention of Lenin who had them use these printing presses to spread propaganda across Russia and other parts of Europe. This basement printing shop printed the 1st edition of the propaganda newspaper Pravda. We found it interesting that Pravda translates to Truth. Does that title sound familiar?
Stalin went on to be the dictator of the Soviet Union and is responsible for the murder and starvation of at least 6.5 million people, the 3rd worst mass murderer in the world. He was never prosecuted for these atrocities, and in some circles, he is regarded as a hero.
This is not a pleasant part of Georgian history, but it is an important thing to see and understand so these strongmen don’t continue to dominate our countries. Entrance is by donation. Operating hours are 10am-5pm, Monday to Friday.
We’ll talk more about Stalin in a few days when we take you to Gori.
Bank of Georgia
You may wonder how Stalin acquired enough money for this elaborate, clandestine operation. Before being a dictator, he was a bank robber. He and his cohorts robbed a bank stage coach as it delivered cash between Bank of Georgia’s Main Branch and the Post Office. The robbery occurred in what is now Liberty Square. They stole 250,000 Rubles.
Mtatsminda Park
Another place that is popular, especially for families is the amusement park on the top of Mt. Mtatsminda. The easiest way to reach the park is by funicular. The Tbilisi Funicular Lower Station is not far from Liberty Square and Rusatveli Avenue.
Getting to Tblisi
Tbilisi International Airport receives flights from across Europe as well as Central Asia and the Middle East. If you’re already in Georgia, the city can easily be reached by marshrutka. There are four marshrutka stations in Tbilisi, so make sure you know which one yours will use. You can also reach Tbilisi by land from Yerevan and Gyumri in Armenia; or Sheki and Ganja in Azerbaijan. See our post from Ganja to read about the Azerbaijan to Georgia border crossing.
You can find Tbilisi in the lower middle of the map below. Click on the image to be directed to an interactive map.
Where to eat in Tbilisi
There are many choices for eating and drinking in Old Town. Expect prices to be higher in the centre than outside of downtown, but not by much. We had excellent meals at a few different restaurants. Here are a few locations where you can find a selection of restaurants:
Shardeni and Ekele Il Street are short pedestrian streets with a selection of restaurants, most with patios. Some are good, but others have poor reviews so you’ll probably want to research online before going. Another option nearby is Cotton Street with an interesting curve to the buildings. You will also find quite a few restaurants in the Abanotubani district. A little further away, in opposite directions, are G. Antonella Pedestrian Street and Galaktion Tabibze Street. Both are quieter than Shardeni and Ekele II Streets and have a few restaurants to chose from.
Where to stay in Tbilisi
Without a doubt, we think you should stay in Old Tbilisi. It is actually quite a large neighbourhood with many options for inexpensive guesthouses, to more luxurious hotels. We stayed in 34 Silver Rooms, and highly recommend it for its comfortable rooms, delicious breakfast and great location. You can find it online. We did not receive compensation for this recommendation.
Tip – Most coffee shops and restaurants in Georgia don’t open until mid morning. If you want breakfast, you should either book a hotel that offers it, or an apartment with a kitchen to prepare your own.
Click on the link to read our Travel Tips For Georgia.
To read more of our adventures in Georgia, click here.
Coming Next – Visiting Gori and Uplistsikhe Cave City
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