Last updated August 7, 2026 · Editorial policy
Things to Do in Tbilisi: 12 Experiences You Can’t Miss: What Is Actually Worth Your Time
Quick answer: This is an honest look at what is genuinely worth your time in Tbilisi: 12 Experiences You Can’t Miss, including the spot most visitors never reach.
The most overrated booking in Tbilisi is a private room at Chreli-Abano, the blue-tiled Orbeliani bathhouse everyone photographs in Abanotubani. It is the most touristic and most expensive of the sulfur baths, with private rooms climbing into the hundreds of lari. Walk two minutes to Bathhouse No. 5 instead, where a private room runs around 70 to 110 GEL and the same sulfur water comes without the markup; the public side is around 6 to 10 GEL if you do not mind sharing.
The pick most visitors miss is Dezerter Bazaar, the working produce market north of the river. It is no polished food hall, but it is where Tbilisi actually shops for churchkhela, cheese and pickled jonjoli. Go early; it opens around 7am and the crowd thins by midday.
Two practical moves worth knowing:
- Take the Mtatsminda funicular for the city panorama rather than the Narikala ridge; expect a small rechargeable card fee around 2 GEL plus roughly 10 GEL for the ride, and it runs late into the evening.
- Buy a Metromoney card (about 2 GEL, refundable) for the metro and buses. Every ride is a flat 1 GEL, and transfers inside 90 minutes are free, so a card pays for itself by your second trip.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.
