Western Georgia
This Unesco World Heritage–listed monastery complex, on a wooded hillside 8km northeast of Kutaisi, is an outstanding example of Golden Age architecture…
Western Georgia
This Unesco World Heritage–listed monastery complex, on a wooded hillside 8km northeast of Kutaisi, is an outstanding example of Golden Age architecture…
Davit Gareja
Less of a monastery than a series of cave-hewn chapels, Udabno runs along a steep escarpment looking down to grassy plains in Azerbaijan. While many caves…
Vardzia
The remarkable cave city of Vardzia is both a cultural symbol and a spectacular natural phenomenon with a special place in Georgian hearts. King Giorgi…
Stepantsminda
This 14th-century church 2200m above Stepantsminda has become almost a symbol of Georgia for its incomparably photogenic hilltop setting with mighty Mt…
Southern Georgia
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…
Great Caucasus
This magnificent agglomeration of koshkebi (defensive watchtowers) and atmospheric slate houses packed tightly together on a steep hillside to create one…
Gori
This once enormous cave city sits 10km east of Gori above the north side of the Mtkvari River. Between the 6th century BC and 1st century AD, Uplistsikhe…
Gori
This impressively designed museum makes no serious attempt to present a balanced account of Stalin's career or deeds. It remains, much as when it opened…
Kakheti
Prince Alexander Chavchavadze (1786–1846) was one of the most colourful and influential characters in Georgian history, and the palace and gardens he…
Tbilisi
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…
Kakheti
At the beginning of the 11th century, when Georgia was entering its cultural and political golden age, King Kvirike of Kakheti had this majestic cathedral…
Tbilisi
For most visitors the highlight here is the hall of wonderful canvases by Georgia’s best-known painter Pirosmani (Niko Pirosmanashvili, 1862–1918),…
Tbilisi
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…
Batumi
Everyone soon finds themselves strolling along Batumis bulvari, the park strip fronting the main beach, originally laid out in 1884 and now stretching 7km…
Southern Georgia
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…
Tbilisi
The major highlight of the impressive national museum is the basement Archaeological Treasury, displaying a wealth of pre-Christian gold, silver and…
Tbilisi
The landmark Metekhi Church, and the 1960s equestrian statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali beside it, occupy the strategic rocky outcrop above the Metekhi…
Svaneti History & Ethnography Museum
Mestia
Mestia’s excellent main museum is one of Georgia's best, with fascinating displays of church treasures, manuscripts, weaponry, jewellery, coins and…
Tbilisi
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,…
Tusheti
Dartlo, 12km northwest of Omalo in the Pirikiti Alazani valley, is an extraordinarily picturesque village crowned by an impressive tower grouping,…
Tbilisi
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…
Telavi
Batonistsikhe was the residence of the Kakhetian kings in the 17th and 18th centuries and remains today a superbly preserved old castle right in the…
Sighnaghi
This well-displayed, modern museum has good exhibits on Kakheti archaeology and history downstairs, and a room of 13 paintings by Kakheti-born artist Niko…
Tbilisi
This 20m-tall aluminium symbol of Tbilisi holds a sword in one hand and a cup of wine in the other – a classic metaphor for the Georgian character, warmly…
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
Borjomi
The ranges of the Lesser Caucasus in southern Georgia are less well known and much lower than the Great Caucasus, but they still contain some very…
Tbilisi
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,…
Tbilisi
The brick domes rising here are the roofs of subterranean bathhouses, the Abanotubani. Alexanders Dumas and Pushkin both bathed in these sulphurous waters…
Kutaisi
Kutaisi's cathedral was built in 1003 by Bagrat III, with a tall drum and pointed dome resting on four freestanding pillars. In 1692 a Turkish explosion…
Great Caucasus
This fortress 66km north of Tbilisi is a classic example of Georgian architecture, enhanced by its superb location overlooking the Zhinvali Reservoir. The…
Great Caucasus
The beautiful Truso valley, source of the Tergi River, heads west off the Georgian Military Hwy 17km south of Stepantsminda. It's dotted with ancient…
Southern Georgia
Rabati Castle has been comprehensively renovated from the perilous, semi-ruined state it was left in a decade ago, and while it was a much-needed…
Gori
This impressively ancient church has a beautiful setting above a bend of the pretty, grapevine-strewn Tana valley, 12km south of Gori. Ateni Sioni was…
Western Georgia
An exciting 700m-long walkway projects from the edge of this 100m-deep canyon and culminates in a viewing platform that hangs right out over the middle…
Tbilisi
The impressive high-arched Parliament building has seen many momentous events, including the deaths of 19 Georgian hunger strikers at the hands of Soviet…
Open-Air Museum of Ethnography
Tbilisi
This collection of traditional, mostly wooden houses, from all around Georgia, is spread over a wooded hillside with good views, and makes for an…
Western Georgia
Nokalakevi is an ancient Colchian fortress built on the banks of the Tekhuri River. It's been mooted as one of the (many) places to have housed the Golden…
Omalo
Constructed during the Mongol invasions during the 1230s, these five towers form a protective fortress on the hilltop above Zemo Omalo where locals would…
Western Georgia
The castle-like palace of the Dadiani family (old lords of Samegrelo) is now a museum set in beautifully maintained grounds. As well as interesting 19th…
Southern Georgia
Sapara has a dramatic position clinging to a cliff edge about 12km southeast of Akhaltsikhe, and rivals Vardzia as one of the most important sights in the…
Western Georgia
The attractive Martvili Canyon has been comprehensively adapted to the needs of tourists and now contains multiple walkways and bridges giving lovely…