Weekend tours from Tbilisi

Tbilisi is one of the most beautiful and colorful cities in Europe, a city with a unique style, taste, legends and cuisine.

Walking along the streets of the old city you will not notice how you find yourself in a colorful, warm and hospitable Tiflis ... Narrow cobblestone streets, hinged lace balconies, patios, churches and squares ... Here you can stroll at any time of the year, discovering everything for yourself new and new places.

We will guide you through Tbilisi streets and alleys, tell the story of this amazing city, introduce you to the culture and traditions of the heart of Georgia.

The oldest urban area of Abanotubani (district of sulfur baths). From here Tiflis began, here this stunning city, unique in its energy, was born.

We dive into the architecture of the old city: the winding streets and lace balconies of Tiflis, the fig gorge and Narikala fortress, the Jewish quarter and a kaleidoscope balcony, a cathedral mosque and a cathedral, sulfur baths and a peace bridge.

Mtskheta is a holy and cult place for every Georgian. Such a number of holy and religious places, as in Mtskheta, located 20 km from Tbilisi, are no longer in all of Georgia. For this, the ancient city is called the “Second Jerusalem”. Here is one of the greatest relics of the Christian world is stored - the Chiton of the Lord.

In Mtskheta is located the main Georgian Cathedral Svetitskhoveli and several of the oldest monastery complexes, here each building is a cultural monument under the protection of UNESCO.

Jvari temple (“Temple of the Holy cross”), built in the 6th century, stands on a high mountain, offering a beautiful view of the confluence of two majestic rivers – Aragva and Kura. According to a legend, the cross of St. Nino was erected on this mountain. Jvari is the first world heritage site in Georgia.

Not far from Jvari there is another cult monument of Christian Georgia – one of the major Orthodox Georgian temples – Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.

Svetitskhoveli is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. This extraordinary building dates from the 11th century, early in the golden age of Georgian church architecture. It has an elongated cross plan and is adorned with beautiful stone carving outside and in. Christ’s robe is believed to lie beneath the central nave, under a square pillar decorated with colourful if faded frescoes of the conversion of Kartli.

 

Gori - the birthplace of Joseph Stalin

Gori is located on the confluence of the Kura and the Liakhi in the picturesque Kartlia valley. From the south and the west the city is surrounded by scenic mountains. Even though the city was first mentioned in the 6 th century, the city is best known as the birthplace of Joseph Dzhugashvili better known as "the Father of the peoples”, or “comrade Stalin” who ruled the Soviet Empire from 1925 to 1953. By the way, the countrymen of the great dictator esteem and respect him. Even the town's main street is named in his honor – Stalin Prospect. The major places of interest of this small town are Stalin's Museum built in the form of a marble sarcophagus and the huge bronze sculpture of Stalin, one of a few left in the entire world (the Gori central square). Although Gori citizens are so anxious in preserving the memories of Stalin, the dictator himself hated both remembering his childhood and visiting Gori.

What to See in Gori:

Stalin's Memorial Museum – the Life of the Famous Soviet Leader

In the center of the town stands a huge palace built in the original Gothic style. Stalin Museum is dedicated to all aspects of the well-known leader's life. It consists of three sections displaying rare exhibits: the originals of letters and notes, photos, military annals, maps, schemes of battles, Stalin's personal things - photos of his sons Jacob and Vasily, letters, the generalissimo's uniform, the death mask.

The special showpiece is Stalin's personal armored railroad carriage with splendid for that times interior, which displays Venetian glass mirrors, carved furniture.

The carriage has been recently placed next to the museum as transferred from North-Caucasian railway in 1985. Wagon remained practically in the same form as Stalin used during trips to the Yalta and the Tehran Conference. The car interior has been neither altered nor restored.

Everything is as it was during Stalin's lifetime an office with a table, phone and sofa, a bathroom and guardians coupe.

On a hill in the centre of Gori tower the enormous multilevel medieval Giristsikhe fortress built in the time of David the Builder. Historians assume that it was constructed on the place of an ancient stronghold. From there the entire Gori spreads in front of your eyes.

Gori fortress is very picturesque; besides it is well preserved. At the foot of the fortress hill there stands a big and beautiful cathedral.

 

10 km from Gori on the bank of the river Kura there stands one of the rarest monuments in the world – the ancient fortified city Uplistsikhe cut inside the volcanic rocks of the Kvernaki ridge. It was first mentioned in the annals of the 1st century BC and prospered in the 9th -10th centuries.

Even from afar this quaint rocky city looks bewitching. Looking like giant pores on the rocks gape the cave grottoes, which used to be full of life. Long time ago there were huge majestic halls, temples, dwellings connected by winding corridors of streets. It is hard to believe that this grandiose titanic creation of the whole city from stone was done by human hands.

In the 13 th century Uplistsikhe was destroyed as a result of devastating invasion of Genghis -khan hordes to Georgia.

In the 19 th century Uplistsikhe was lost under the layers of dirt and sand. Huge efforts of many experts in its excavation, cleaning, strengthening, restoration and studying of this outstanding historical monument in the history of Georgian culture revived Uplistsikhe which is listed among the historical monuments protected by UNESCO.

 

Borjomi is a resort town in south-central Georgia with a population of 10,546. It is one of the districts of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern part of the region in the picturesque Borjomi Gorge on the eastern edge of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park.

The town is famous for its mineral water industry (which is the number one export of Georgia), the Romanov summer palace in Likani, and the World Wide Fund for Nature-site Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park.

Borjomi mineral water is particularly well known in those countries which were part of the former Soviet Union; the bottling of mineral water is a major source of income for the area. Because of the supposed curative powers of the area’s mineral springs, it is a frequent destination for people with health problems.

Borjomi is also home to the most extensive ecologically-themed amusement park in the Caucasus.

We’ll have a walk in the Borjomi park, where you can taste the healing mineral water directly from the source.

On the cable car you can climb to the forest park, it is located at an altitude of 1,000 meters above sea level. There is an amusement park, a picturesque waterfall, but most importantly – dizzying views of the green Borjomi gorge.

There are over 200 historical monuments in the Borjomi Gorge: fortresses, churches, monasteries. A special place among historical monuments is occupied by the palace of the Russian Tsars Romanovs, built at the end of the 18th century.

 

The old stone Rabati fortress, the main sight of the Akhaltsikhe town, is standing on the small hill on the very shores of the Potskhovi river. Its name comes from Arabic meaning “fortified place”. It is located on the western suburbs and can be seen practically from anywhere in the city. This military building erected in the 13th century had witnessed a lot over the centuries. The fortress had been destroyed several times, was often in a siege, as a result of which had absorbed tracks of different cultures and religions. In 2012 there was held a large reconstruction after which Rabati fortress in Akhaltsikhe turned into a town within the town. It has become not only a historical monument, but a real cultural city centre. There is a church, mosque, synagogue, small park, History Museum, various shops, hotels and even civil registry office inside the fortress walls.

Today Rabati fortress is a genuine cultural and historical complex on the square of seven hectares. The territory of the fortress is divided into a lower modern part and upper historical one. The lower part has shops, cafes, restaurant and a hotel. The upper part comprises of Akhmediye mosque (18th century), an Orthodox church (19th century), Djakeli palace, and the History Museum. The museum exposition presents an ancient history of Southern Georgia: stone items of the Neolithic Age, bronze axes found in these lands, items related to the primitive society and other artifacts. It is prohibited to take pictures in the museum.

Apart from this, the Rabati fortress has excellent viewing sites: there are four towers above the walls, where you can go up the winding stairs. Each of them has a wonderful view of Akhaltsikhe and its surroundings, and one can imagine being a guard watching an upcoming enemy. But if this does seem not enough, then you can get to the citadel roof in the western part of the fortress where you get the best ever view.