Tourist destinations in Tbilisi

The introduction

In this article I want to tell you about the places, which tourists mostly visit in Tbilisiand which you should definitely see while visiting the city. Though there are many places, that I would suggest, there are some of them, which are the first ones to visit.

Abanotubani

This place is something that almost every tourist knows about, because it is kind of a major place to visit. Perhaps it’s because of the location and the legend about it.

The legend says about the foundation process of the city of Tbilisi, which was in the 5th century during the reign of the King Vakhtang Gorgasali. It’s said, that he used to have  an eagle and he loved hunting pretty much, so that once when he was hunting with his servants they found a pheasant and wounded it with a strike, however, the pheasant could still fly a little bit and it flew in those places, where now Abanotubani is located. They followed the pheasant all the way and they found it fallen in one of the hot waters. These hot waters are all natural and they come from beneath the ground and that’s why it’s called Abanotubani. It’s a place of baths and “Abano” means “bath” in English. They say , that it’s why Tbilisi is called that name, because in Georgian “Tbili” means “warm” and since it was the hot waters there, where the King decided to build the city, he called the city “Tbilisi”.

There are lots of sulphur baths in Abanotubani, which you can visit and it’s like a tradition mostly for men to go there together and hang out while relaxing. The place is in old Tbilisi nearby the river Mtkvari and Bridge of Peace.

While visiting Abanotubani, you should walk inside there towards the bridges on Tsavkisistkali river and when you get to the end of it, you will see this beautiful waterfall, which they call it “Leghvtakhevi Waterfall” and tourists just love it.

Narikala fortress

Narikala Fortress is one of the most beautiful fortresses in Georgia, which is worth your visit. A picture of the Bridge of Peace with the background of lit Narikala Fortress and the statue “Kartlis Deda” (“Mother of Kartli”, which means “mother of Georgia”, because Kartli was the name of Georgia some centuries ago) has become a kind of a symbol of Tbilisi and Georgia itself.

You can get to Narikala Fortress by car or by the cable car, which goes there from Narikala square. However, if you are visiting Tbilisi now from April 16, you won’t be able to use that cable car, because the government said, that they are doing the routine checking of the cable car and it won’t be able to serve the people until the end of April.

The fortress in that place was built in the 4th century and since then it has become larger and larger defending Tbilisi from the enemies. It’s really beautiful to see it from the inside. It is built with stones and there’s St. Nikoloz church in the middle of the fortress. The fortress has many times been destroyed and that’s why it’s not built in the same way in every corner. You will find the 12th, 14th, 19th century buildings inside the fortress, which were made to restore the fortress. It was in 1795 when the King Erekle II lost the battle with Iranians in Narikala fortress.

Mtatsminda park

While in Tbilisi, you should definitely visit Mtatsminda park and have a look down to the city of Tbilisi from up there. It’s a place, which everyone loves and since it’s up on the hill, the air is fresh there and the landscapes are gorgeous.

There was built the Mtatsminda park on Mtatsminda hill some years ago, where you can find many entertaining and dining places.

There are many different carrousels for children and adults. There’s this small train going all around the park, which only costs 2 laris. There are also some trampolines set up in the free area with the view of Tbilisi and it’s a great thing to jump there while watching the city. One of the most popular and dangerous things there is the ox, where you should sit on and feel yourself a matador and people compete with each other who will remain sitting on the ox for the longest time. There’s also this large fairy wheel, which is really popular, too, because from there you can have some great views of the capital of Georgia, however, when it’s windy they stop the wheel and not allow people to be on it.

For all those things you need a Mtatsminda Park Card, which is sold in the entrance of the park and it costs 2 laris. Then you should top it with some money to use it on the carrousels.

There are also some binoculars located in the center of Mtatsminda Park and you can look from them to the city.

There are places, where you can have some lunch, especially Mtsvadi, which is a barbeque pork , which Georgians love so much.

You will see some painters sitting on the benches painting or drawing portraits and sketches of people, though it doesn’t cost cheap to have a painting of yours. It’s about 20 Laris to be painted in colours.

Mtatsminda park is a favourite place for newly weds , because there’s a place to have an officially signed document about the wedding and, besides, everyone loves taking pictures there and people especially go to Mtatsminda park for that.

There are some events held in Mtatsminda park and you might even be part of one of them accidentaly while visiting it. There are usually Tbilisi Flea Markets or Wine Festival and even Oktoberfest held in Mtatsminda Park.

There’s this great restaurant at the edge of Mtatsminda park, which has always been there, however, now it’s been renovated. You can see the old one in some of the Georgian films from the 20th century and there have always been many people in that restaurant because of its location. It’s a very fancy restaurant and the prices are a little bit expensive, however, it’s really worth it. And there’s a café on the first floor of that building with cheaper prices and you can just visit it and have some traditional dishes or snacks or drinks there while enjoying the view.

From that building you can get down to the city by cable car, which costs 3 laris and you can be somewhere nearby the old Parliament building close to the Rustaveli avenue in just some minutes.

I usually go to Mtatsminda park with a bus no.124, which has a stop on the Rustaveli street near the Rustaveli metro station in front of this place, which they call it “the Exhibition”. It costs 50 tetris, however, I pay 20 tetris, because I have a student discount. And it needs about half an hour to get all the way up to Mtatsminda Park.

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