A Time For Tbilisi: Exploring The Old Quarters Of Georgia’s Capital

One of the reasons why Georgia is popular among Indian tourists is because it is just five hours away from Delhi. Take the non-stop evening flight, reach the Tbilisi International Airport in the early hours of the morning, catch a few hours of sleep and be up for a full day of touring.At least, that was my plan till Israel bombed Iran. It was the most unpleasant kind of déjà vu—my Abu Dhabi trip earlier this year had nearly got derailed because of the four-day India-Pakistan “war.” Clearly, 2025 was not the year to be exploring new horizons unless you were okay with a few missiles lighting up the skies.Iran closed its airspace and, suddenly, my much-awaited Georgia trip hinged on uncertainty. I was informed that my flight would be routed through Doha for refuelling, extending the flight time by at least six hours. Would Tbilisi be worth the extended airtime and the anxiety of flying through West Asia during an intense war? I decided to wing it, and after a back-breaking 12-hour journey, I was finally at the Shota Rustaveli Airport at the crack of dawn.Hello, Tbilisi!My first stop was the Wyndham Grand Tbilisi that was to be my home for the next three days. The international airport is about 20 km from the city centre. As we drove along the Kakheti Highway, the scenery gradually changed from auto garages, hardware shops, and billboards on the outskirts to charming residential neighbourhoods with ochre-roofed houses and narrow lanes lined with bakeries and grocery stores. The streets were mostly empty except a few early risers out for morning walks and errands.As we neared The Wyndham Grand Tbilisi, an impressive steel and glass building on Lado Gudiashvili Street, a stone’s throw away from Rustaveli Avenue in the downtown area, the landscape changed to modern architecture, government buildings, museums, and a few remnants of a Soviet past.A stunning light installation greeted me in the hotel's lobby area, its twinkling lights adding a touch of violet-hued whimsy to the hotel's modern interiors.I was ushered into my elegant Deluxe King room on the eight floor that looked out on a sweeping, almost cinematic, panorama of Tbilisi. Rustaveli Avenue, the city’s iconic boulevard, stretched out in the distance, buzzing with morning traffic. Tourists and locals were out and about making the most of a warm summer day, matrons sunned quilts and blankets on balconies, a couple of men smoked cigarettes under a tree, a mother fussed over a child in a perambulator, and the Georgian Orthodox Holy Trinity (Sameba) Cathedral stood tall in the distance, its golden dome glinting in the sunlight.A Jaunt in the Old TownI could have stared at this fascinating minutiae of everyday Georgian life all day, but the hotel had arranged for a walking tour of Tbilisi’s old quarters. My guide was Mariam Kiknadze from Travel Door, one of Georgia's leading travel agencies. Dressed stylishly in a white summer dress, a high bun and fashionable sandals, Mariam led me to Tbilisi’s Freedom Square, five minutes from the Wyndham Grand Tbilisi and the starting point of most Old Town walking tours.The square is dominated by the St. George Statue, also called the Freedom Monument, a tall granite and gold column with a statue of Georgia’s patron saint slaying a dragon at the top. Installed in 2006, it replaced a statue of Lenin, that was pulled down in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Created by the famous Georgian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli, the man behind the unfinished iconic Chronicle of Georgia sculpture near the Tbilisi Sea, the monument represents freedom from Georgia’s Russian and Soviet legacy.Kiknadze and I walked away from the square down the cobblestone lanes, past pastel-hued houses towards the Peace Bridge, a modern engineering marvel built over the beautiful Mtkvari River that flows serenely through Tbilisi. As we made our way through Rike Park on the other side of the bridge, to take the funicular up to the Narikala Fortress, Kiknadze told me a little about her life. How she balances the demands of her job and her wanderlust, how her mother cooks great Georgian food, how her parents own a home in her ancestral village where they go every summer, and that she has a pet dog who was due for a vaccination! The funicular ride up the Sololaki hill was quite spectacular and offered a birds-eye view of the tightly packed houses of the Old Town flanking the river. At the top is the 20-metre-tall statue of The Mother of Georgia (Kartlis Deda), who holds a sword in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. Designed by sculptor Elguja Amashukeli, it was erected in 1958, the year Tbilisi celebrated its 1500th anniversary. While such “Mother of the Nation” statues can be found in other former Soviet states like Armenia and Ukraine, for young Georgians like Kiknadze, Kartlis Deda represents freedom, strength, and the integrity of the Georgian national character. Associations with Russian imperialism and a troubled Soviet past are best forgotten.Sulphur Baths and MoreAt Tbilisi, you are never too far away from the city’s ancient past. After coming down by the cable car, we walked to the famous Sulphur Baths (Abanotubani) fed by natural hot springs. The pungent smell of the sulphur fumes rising from the domed “hamams” hit my nostrils and I couldn’t get myself to take a treatment, medical benefits be damned.Legend has it that these baths were founded by King Vakhtang Gorgasali, the founder of Tbilisi, in the 5th century. In fact, the name Tbilisi, is derived from the Georgian word "tbili," meaning warm, a clear reference to these springs. The Abanotubani area has plenty of cafés and restaurants and we stopped for lunch at the Gorgasali Restaurant, named after the great king, for what would be the first on many memorable Georgian meals on this journey.Georgian cuisine, as I discovered, is incredibly delicious and diverse and makes the best use of all the Turkish, Persian, European and Asian influences that have shaped its over the centuries. We had to try the Khachapuri, a round flatbread stuffed with a mozzarella-like cheese, and the Lobani, which was similar but filled with a kidney bean paste instead of cheese. One of the best things that I had at the meal was Mtsvadi—barbecued and marinated fall-off-the-bone pork. Made with pieces that had a good balance of meat and fat, all it needed was a dash of Adjika, the spicy Georgian chilli paste, and a fresh Georgian cucumber-tomato salad with walnut dressing. I was quite stuffed at this point, but Georgians are like Indians when it comes to food. Mariam insisted that I must try the Shkmeruli—Georgian chicken in garlic milk sauce—clearly delighted that I was relishing her country’s cuisine so much. The fillets of chicken were flavourful, perfectly cooked and cloaked in a rich, creamy garlic sauce that I mopped up with some Georgian bread. After lunch, we walked down Erekle II Street, a cobbled road lined with cafés, wine bars, souvenir shops and stalls set up by local artisans. I picked up some souvenirs and a few strings of Churchkhela, Georgian walnut candy coated in grape jam. A pianist was playing outside a café, her melodies mixing with the laughter of tourists—the perfect background score to a bubble of summer happiness that seemed unreal and fragile in a world torn by war.A Prayer for GeorgiaOur last stop was the Sioni Cathedral, named after Mount Zion in Jerusalem, that was a short walk away from Erekle II Street. From the outside, this 6th century church looks unremarkable when compared to the modern grandeur of the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba), but it is one of the most important places of worship of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, most recently in the 13th century, the cathedral is revered as the resting place of the sacred relic of the grapevine cross of St. Nino, a woman from Cappadocia who is said to have brought Christianity to Georgia in the 4th Century. Georgians are a deeply religious people and this devotion was evident when I stepped inside the dim interiors lit only by candles and filled with the scent of myrrh and incense. The walls were covered with ancient frescoes and Christian iconography.There was a deep sense of spirituality pervading the space, and like the other devotees,both young and old, I too shut my eyes, if not in prayer, but in silent remembrance of the 14-year-old evangelist who fled Constantinople and a forced marriage to come to Iberia (Georgia) bearing her grapevine cross and deep faith.Historical Monuments of MtskhetaA 20 km drive from Tbilisi, Mtskheta is a UNESCO heritage site that is home to three remarkable historical monuments—Jvari Monastery, the Svetitstkhoveli Cathedral and the Samtavro Monastery. The headquarters of the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church, this is where Christianity was proclaimed as the official religion of Georgia in 337. The Holy Cross Monastery of Jvari (seen here) where St. Nino is said to have installed her cross, offers panoramic views of rolling hills and the confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari Rivers.The Information | Tbilisi, GeorgiaHow to get there: Indigo operates non-stop flights to Tbilisi from Delhi (daily) and Mumbai (thrice a week). You could also explore one-stop connections with gulf carriers like Qatar Airways (via DOH), Emirates / flydubai (via DXB), Air Arabia (via SHJ) and Turkish Airlines (via IST). Where to stay: The Wyndham Grand Tbilisi is a great place to drop anchor because of its wonderful location right in the heart of the city. Located on Lado Gudiashvili Street off the iconic Rustaveli Avenue, is just a 2-minute walk from Freedom Square. It’s the ideal location to take a walking tour of the Old Town, explore the 4th century Narikala Fortress and the magnificent gold artifacts at the Georgian National Museum. It’s also close to the shopping and night-out hubs of the city and just 16 km from the airport. There are a variety of rooms on offer but ask for the ones that come with panoramic views of Tbilisi. https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/wyndham-grand/tbilisi-georgia/wyndham-grand-tbilisi/overviewBest time to visit: Travel during the shoulder seasons of May-June and September-October. You’ll get good weather, fewer tourists and lower prices compared to the peak summer months from July to August. Looking for more such exciting and meaningful stories? Grab our latest issue on AmazonExploring Tskaltubo: Georgia’s Forgotten Spa Town And Its Healing Legacy