Georgia’s presidential palace, which is not open to visitors, was a Saakashvili-era prestige project that opened in 2009. Its ultraclassical portico is surmounted by a large, egg-shaped, glass dome, and the overall impression is one of architectural poverty. Georgia's current president, Salome Zurabishvili, lives elsewhere, however, and the palace is used just for ceremonies.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
11.14 MILES
This extraordinary (and for its time, enormous) building dates from the 11th century, early in the golden age of Georgian church architecture. It has an…
0.54 MILES
Dominating the Old Town skyline, Narikala dates right back to the 4th century, when it was a Persian citadel. Most of the walls were built in the 8th…
0.65 MILES
For most visitors the highlight here is the hall of wonderful canvases by Georgia’s best-known painter Pirosmani (Niko Pirosmanashvili, 1862–1918),…
0.33 MILES
Tbilisi's most exhilarating ride is its massively popular cable car, which swings from the south end of Rike Park high over the Mtkvari River and the Old…
10.64 MILES
Visible for kilometres around on its hilltop overlooking Mtskheta from the east, Jvari is, to many Georgians, the holiest of holies. It stands where King…
0.58 MILES
The major highlight of the impressive national museum is the basement Archaeological Treasury, displaying a wealth of pre-Christian gold, silver and…
0.38 MILES
The landmark Metekhi Church, and the 1960s equestrian statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali beside it, occupy the strategic rocky outcrop above the Metekhi…
0.99 MILES
The ride up Mt Mtatsminda on the city's funicular is spectacular, as are the views from the top – and there are a couple of great places to eat or drink,…
Nearby Tbilisi attractions
1. Concert Hall & Exhibition Centre
0.11 MILES
The two large tubular metallic structures at the north end of Rike Park were commissioned from Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas during the…
0.18 MILES
This green expanse along the eastern riverbank, with its winding paths, pools and fountains, is joined to the west side of the Mtkvari by the Bridge of…
0.23 MILES
Tbilisi’s oldest surviving church is perhaps its loveliest. Built by King Gorgasali’s son Dachi in the 6th century, it's a three-nave basilica whose…
0.23 MILES
The Bridge of Peace, a rather incongruously modern glass-and-steel footbridge over the Mtkvari with a totally unnecessary roof, was designed by Italian…
0.24 MILES
One of old Tbilisi's most emblematic structures is also one of its newest, a higgledy-piggledy clock tower, built by puppet master Rezo Gabriadze during a…
6. Residence of the Catholicos-Patriarch
0.25 MILES
Opposite the small and leafy park Erekle II moedani, high walls hide the residence of the Catholicos-Patriarch, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
0.3 MILES
The biggest symbol of the Georgian Orthodox Church's post-Soviet revival towers on Elia Hill above Avlabari. Tsminda Sameba, unmissable by night and day,…
0.31 MILES
Nicknamed the Umbrellas, this building by Italian Massimiliano Fuksas is the biggest of a dozen Public Service Halls opened in new, contemporary buildings…