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Abanotubani
Any time of year is good for a traditional bath and massage experience at Tbilisi's famed sulphur baths, the Abanotubani. Alexanders Dumas and Pushkin both bathed here, the latter describing it as the best bath he'd ever had. Abano (Bath St) is full of subterranean bathhouses with beehive domes rising at ground level, most of them dating back to the 17th century.
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Anchiskhati Basilica
Shavteli was once the throbbing medieval hub of the Old Town. Here you'll find the Anchiskhati Basilica, the oldest surviving church in Tbilisi, built by King Gorgasali's son Dachi in the 6th century. The name comes from the icon of Anchi Cathedral in Klarjeti (now in Turkey), brought here in the 17th century and now in the Fine Arts Museum.
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Armenian Cathedral of St George
Just above Gorgasalis moedani is the large Armenian Cathedral of St George, founded in 1251 (although the current structure dates mainly from the 18th century). Its interior is surprisingly small interior but it has interesting frescoes. King Erekle II's Armenian court poet Sayat Nova was killed here during the Persian invasion of 1795 and his tomb is in front of the main door.
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Avlabari
Avlabari is the dramatically located slice of Tbilisi above the cliffs on the left (east) bank of the Mtkvari, across the Metekhi Bridge from the Old Town.
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Botanical Gardens
It's easy to wander for two or three enjoyable hours in these extensive, waterfall-dotted gardens, which were opened in 1845 on what had earlier been the royal gardens.
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Business Centre
The modernistic complex that looks like a space station is actually a new business centre built by the Georgian-Russian multi-billionaire Boris Ivanishvili. Beyond here the road loops down to the Sololaki neighbourhood.
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Echmiadzin Cathedral
Historically the Avlabari area housed Tbilisi's large Armenian population, one that has traditionally been focused around the Echmiadzin Cathedral, which is currently closed for restoration.
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Erekle II moedani
North of the Sioni Cathedral, Sionis qucha becomes Erekle II qucha, which leads to Erekle II moedani, site of the walled residence of the Catholicos-Patriarch (head of the Georgian church) and of a leafy little park. The large Church of the Archangels here was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. Later, three smaller churches were built from the ruins, one of which is the Karis Eklesia, at the north end of the park.
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Europark
For water-slide excitement, there's Europark, a modern aquapark opened in 2007 in Nadzaladevi district, offering 12 slides, four pools, palm trees and several cafés.
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Fine Arts Museum
Just off the northeast corner of Tavisuplebis moedani is the Fine Arts Museum, a comprehensive if underwhelmingly presented storehouse of Georgian art and artisanry from several centuries BC up to the late 20th century. Sections may be closed because of air-conditioning problems, and the museum was due for renovation which may put it out of action altogether for a while.
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Gorgasalis Moedani
A good place to get your initial bearings is Gorgasalis moedani, now a rather bland, traffic-infested junction but once the setting of Tbilisi's bustling bazaar. From here the Metekhi Bridge crosses the river to the Metekhi Church, busy Gorgasalis qucha heads off southeast along the riverbank, and Leselidze and Sharden dive into the maze of streets to the north.
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Jvaris Mama Church
There has been a church here since the 5th century. The current structure dates from the 16th century; its frescoes were recently restored in striking reds and blues, and the atmosphere is exquisitely pious and calm.
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Kashveti Church
Opposite School No 1 stands the Kashveti Church, on a spot where it is said pagan rituals used to take place. The first church here is supposed to have been built in the 6th century by Davit Gareja, one of the ascetic 'Syrian fathers' who returned from the Middle East to spread Christianity in Georgia.
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Kus Tba
A sporadically operating cable car sails up to woodland-surrounded Kus Tba, a popular summer spot for sunbathing, swimming, boating and strolling.
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Mamadaviti Church
At the halfway stop on the funicular up to Mount Mtatsminda is the Mamadaviti Church, an 1850s construction on the site of a hermitage of St Davit Gareja.
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Metekhi Church & Statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali
This is where Gorgasali built his palace, and the site's original church, when he made Tbilisi his capital in the 5th century. King David the Builder had his palace here too, and it was here that Queen Tamar married her second husband David Soslan. That palace and its accompanying church were destroyed by the Mongols in 1235. The palace too passed through several incarnations until its final destruction in the Persian sacking of 1795.
Read more about Metekhi Church & Statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali
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Mosque
A short distance uphill behind the Orbeliani Baths is the mosque, built in 1895 and the only mosque in Tbilisi that survived Lavrenty Beria's antireligious purges of the 1930s. Unusually, Shiite and Sunni Muslims pray together here. The interior is prettily frescoed and visitors are welcome to enter (after removing shoes).
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Mount Mtatsminda & Mtatsminda Park
Mtatsminda is the hill topped by the 210m-high TV mast looming over central Tbilisi from the west. You can get up there by a steep funicular railway from Chonkadze.
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Museum of Georgia
North along Rustaveli from Tavisuplebis Moedani, almost opposite Tavisuplebis Moedani metro station, is the Museum of Georgia. This is Georgia's top museum, though in 2007 the whole place was shut for renovations of unspecified duration.
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Museum of Money
Off the opposite corner of Tavisuplebis moedani is the well-presented Museum of Money, set up by the National Bank of Georgia next door. You can see Georgian money from the 6th century BC to the present day, including the Monopoly-style coupons used in 1993-94 before the lari was introduced.
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Narikala Fortress
Dominating the city skyline (until the TV tower came along, anyway), Narikala Fortress is an ancient symbol of Tbilisi's defensive brilliance. The most direct way up to it is to follow the street up beside the Armenian Cathedral of St George. The fortress walls date from various periods, the earliest from the 4th century, when it was a Persian citadel.
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National Pantheon
Just below the Mamadaviti Church, the National Pantheon contains graves of writers and public figures including Ilia Chavchavadze and Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
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Norasheni Church
Next door to the Jvaris Mama Church is the disused Armenian Norasheni Church, dating from 1793.
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Old Town
Tbilisi grew up below the walls of the Narikala Fortress which stands on the Sololaki ridge above the west side of the Mtkvari gorge. Today the twisting alleys of the Old Town, which is known locally as Kala, are still full of hidden courtyards and carved wooden balconies leaning at rakish angles. Though almost no buildings here survived the destruction by the Persians in 1795, many of those standing today date from soon after that and still have the Eurasian character of earlier times.
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Open-Air Museum of Ethnography
The Open-Air Museum of Ethnography is about 3km beyond, and uphill from, the park. This collection of nearly 70 traditional, mostly wooden houses from around Georgia is spread over a wooded hillside with good views, and makes an enjoyable visit. The most interesting exhibits are in the lower section of the museum (near the entrance), where the buildings are kitted out with fine traditional furnishings, rugs and utensils.
