Tbilisi Travel Notes

When the pandemic intervened, it felt strange to go abroad again after 2.5 years. During this overprotective period, neither of us even got on the plane. That’s why we bought our tickets immediately after Pegasus offered a direct flight from Izmir to Tbilisi. 

Frankly, having transfers over such short distances turns me off a bit from the trip. Because before, transfer and arrival, you spend almost a day traveling. Entering Tbilisi without a visa after 2 hours and 10 minutes is an easy escape.

 

Since I knew that Tbilisi was highly praised, I had already added it to my list of places to visit, but we were a little demoralized after our first half day in the city was poor. Fortunately, as we threw ourselves towards the Factory side and got lost in the side streets, we realized how enjoyable the city is to wander around.

However, as of the current state of our money, 1 Lari = 6 Lira, so even the Tbilisi trip that we thought would be economical was not very economical. We did not make any special effort to be economical, but the eating and drinking experience is almost the same as Izmir. I can even say that some options such as coffee and cake are even more expensive than us. 

Tbilisi made us very happy with its free events and parties in its parks, especially on weekends. One of the first things we noticed in the city was that there were so many stray animals like ours. There are especially many stray dogs and they are on the streets, vaccinated and tagged, just like us.

Tbilisi seems to be a city with a high population of young people and children. And so many people have dogs. The best thing is that they are always with their pets when socializing.

Tbilisi Houses

My favorite part of the city was the complete preservation of the old town known as Old Tbilisi . I have not seen any new buildings in the old city and they are currently undergoing serious restoration work. So be prepared to see some construction while visiting. Although if you live in Turkey, you are already used to this 😉 In short, Tbilisi is a beautiful city, but it will obviously become a much more beautiful city with these works in the coming days. 

When you look at the location, history and cosmopolitan structure of the city, you notice every detail that influences the architecture. In addition to the strong influences from the Russian occupation period and art nouveau buildings, oriental influences and magnificent wooden details also stand out. For example, you remember again how beautiful wrought iron can be. So you can get lost in the streets and courtyards of buildings for hours and gather inspiration. 

We saw Kalantarov House , one of the most famous houses in the city tours, when someone living here left the house. The building, inspired by the Tbilisi Opera House, is full of truly fascinating details. In the Sololaki region, you can see fascinating structures like this and travel back in time.

A Brand New Concept of Tourism: Co-working Space

And the most important thing for me is co -working spaces, which I feel is still a serious deficiency in Turkey .

Our country, which tries to understand Generation Z, also needs to try to understand the changing working conditions. The most positive effect of the pandemic was the forced understanding that people who can work remotely do not have to come to the office. That’s why I don’t know if you noticed, but companies had to take some digitalization steps very quickly and adapt to this new order. I have been doing content production, social media expertise and digital marketing for years. I always asked my employers why I had to come to the office. I got irrelevant answers like efficiency. The reason I say it is irrelevant is that I have not seen a company in our country that can measure efficiency. I can exclude global companies from this. In my last job, I started working by stating that I would only be in the office for 3 days, thanks to my experience. 

Anyway, there is a large community doing new generation digital work, and this community continues to work by traveling around the world. This mass has also created a new generation understanding of tourism. It is very important to meet the accommodation, workspace, socialization and food and beverage needs of digital travelers, whom we call Digital Nomads . One of the brands that has achieved this best is Factory Hostel, which is synonymous with Tbilisi . With a gorgeous open space and a very pleasant workspace, I’m sure it attracts many travelers to the city. It is even a matter of finding a place in a place that meets all your shopping, dining, accommodation, socializing and working needs in the most stylish way. The place, converted from an old factory, is very enjoyable and full of inspiration.

Another great example of this is Hotel Stamba . The adventure begins with one of the best lobbies I’ve ever seen and a retro-designed restaurant, allowing you to connect to it with endless gardens, courtyards, events and, of course, a tremendous internet connection. 

Can you give me the name of a single hostel or hotel in Turkey that exemplifies this? If I missed it, I would really like to know, but I am also sorry that we missed this train.

In the world where the new generation travels so actively, many topics such as places for young people, open-air parties, social and economic opportunities, transportation and health should be reviewed and evaluated according to this new understanding. 

Where were we?

Speaking of houses, of course, we stayed in a Tbilisi house with a courtyard in the old city . It was very enjoyable because the interior of our house was completely renovated. The inside of the building looked like it was very neglected and about to collapse:/

You can check out the house we rented via Airbnb from the link.

 

Featured Beauties

Antique Market

The Antique Market, held every day in Dry Bridge , is one of the most famous spots in Tbilisi. You can visit until 7 pm, browse the stalls and buy your souvenirs here. Don’t leave your shopping until the last minute and miss the time like me 🙁

Narikala Castle by cable car

You can reach the castle with a very short ride by cable car. A unique activity to see the city from above. You can go to the castle area, enjoy the view, take a closer look at Georgian Main Kartlis Deda and watch the botanical park from above. There is also a church inside the castle, but the best thing is to go down to the waterfall behind the castle, through the houses inside the castle.

Castle District and Sulfur Baths

When you go down from the castle, you can go down to the waterfall through wonderful streets. This road extends towards the place where the famous baths are located. It’s a photographic place with magnificent houses. We don’t like Turkish baths at all, but of course there are alternatives for those who do.

Leghvtakhevi Waterfall

It is very enjoyable to have a waterfall that you can easily reach in the city. We didn’t enter and we didn’t see anyone, but it’s even fun to watch.

Rezo Gabriadze Puppet Theater

The region, where there is a puppet theater that will catch your eye as soon as you see it, is one of the most enjoyable places to visit. You can also see the puppet coming out of this clock tower at the beginning of the hour and watch a play in the puppet theatre. It’s also a great place to make new friends 😉

The Bridge of Peace

Tbilisi is a city divided into two by the Kura River. One of the most beautiful details that combines this city, whose historical texture has been preserved, with modern architecture is the Peace Bridge. You will see it many times from different angles, but it is beautiful both during the day and at night.

Tbilisi Churches, Monasteries and Cathedrals

While traveling around Tbilisi, you will see dozens of historical churches, monasteries and cathedrals. It is not possible to visit them all, but we visited a few that caught our attention along the way. And I will also share many historical churches and monasteries during our Caucasus trip, which I will talk about in the next article.

In general, women are required to cover their heads, arms and legs when entering churches like ours. Men also have to wear trousers. They are quite strict about this, but it is important to be respectful and follow the rules. It is easiest to travel abroad with a shawl with you at all times.

Tbilisi Museums

Although we spent 4 days, we did not have time for museums, but you should add the Opera and Ballet Hall to your list of places to visit, as well as the Fine Arts and Modern Arts museums in Tbilisi.

parks

There are many beautiful parks, large and small, in Tbilisi, and these parks are full of activity, especially on weekends. The parks, filled with food stands and DJ performances on Saturday, turn into areas where you can attend a free classical music concert on Sunday. In short, the city is very lively and the parks are lively.

Nightlife in Tbilisi

Tbilisi is a city full of different alternatives, from clubs to jazz bars. Weekend nights are very lively and seem very safe. If women can walk on their own at 3am, it’s safe for me. Especially on weekends, there were people having fun and food and drink stalls in almost all parks. We were happy enough to see people eating, drinking and hanging out with their children and dogs during the DJ performances. That’s why we couldn’t go from the streets to indoor spaces. By the way, the way the city was illuminated at night reminded us of Budapest . Riding the cable car at night can be very enjoyable.

Where Did We Ate and Drink?

You can also taste traditional Georgian dishes and hang out in concept venues in the city. You can go out to the terraces and discover brand new places. There are many places where you can feel the influence of the Antique Market, for example, which makes you feel like you are in a time warp. 

 

But most importantly, you can have a full holiday with Georgian wines . This is a city that offers you hundreds of wine options and wine tours. There are red and white wine options in many different price ranges. Even better, like in Italy, many restaurants have their own homemade wine. Again, as far as I can see, some opportunities that our country could not use were used well.

Coriander is used extensively in Georgian cuisine . If you don’t like it, you should specify it in your orders.

 

Chaduna

If you like such small, friendly and delicious places, you can visit Chaduna. We went for breakfast and loved it. The environment and food are amazing

Salobie Bia

Places with hidden entrances are very cool. Salobie is a very cool place in Bia. When you enter, you feel like you have entered an art gallery. Every detail is fascinating. It has a menu consisting of traditional Georgian dishes . The atmosphere is amazing, but I can’t say the same about the food. Still, chances can be given.

Veriko

We went to Wine Factory N1 and tasted wine at Veriko and ate an eggplant appetizer. Finally, we finished with ice cream. We came here in the evening, but I think the evening would be much more enjoyable. In general, the atmosphere and food are wonderful.

Puri Guliani

If you are going to Tbilisi, you will go to the flea market so you will see the huge complex overlooking the Dry Bridge . We tried cake, ice cream and coffee but all the services looked very good. Frankly, it attracted us with its rich menu from breakfast to dinner and its legendary view overlooking the Kura River.

Metis

Tbilisi is famous for its terraces as well as its wine. We stopped into Metis for a short stop and it was enjoyable. 

Café Stamba

When we entered Stamba Hotel, we changed all plans and decided to eat at the restaurant. We didn’t have traditional choices but the food remained average for the place. Cocktails were nice. But I think you should go there for the atmosphere, if not for the food.

Khinkali and Khachapuri

We ate the most famous duo of Georgian cuisine in different places, but to be honest, neither of them are incredible tastes for me. 

The most famous type of khinkali manti is the one with meat called Pasanuri. It’s a taste I wouldn’t change for our manti, but you have to try it there. 

Khachapuri is the Black Sea pita we know. I like the cheese version more because I like cheese very much. But it’s plain minced meat and egg pita. Sold everywhere and tossed in for a quick meal. We ate the same thing in Lviv . We are familiar with these tastes because they are flavors of the same geographies.

I will also describe our daily tour from Tbilisi center to the Caucasus Mountains in a new article. This article went a bit beyond its purpose 🙂