Georgia

Tbilisi

An ancient city that lies in a long river valley, Tbilisi’s history lies around in layers. The center has some great old architecture with beautiful churches, houses and lanes, all stacked up and squashed together. It’s a fantastic place to stroll and take in the local life, and photographers can snap away all day. The central Maidan, Metekhi and Sololaki areas, and the area near the Botanical Gardens and the Mother Georgia statue overlooking the city are the best places to wander, though Freedom Square and Rustaveli, the main drag, are also a good area to look at.
There are good museums in Tbilisi, and it’s worth looking out for what’s going on at the theaters and opera too.
There are plenty of shops and internet cafes around now, and good places to eat quite inexpensively. A reasonably good meal for two, with wine, costs about ten to fifteen dollars.

Other Georgia Destinations

The eastern Kakheti region is what Georgians consider true grape country, and the best wine is made here. It’s a great area to visit in the autumn, when the grapes are harvested, or in spring. The Alazani valley is especially picturesque. It’s fairly flat in places, with more hills toward the border with Aerbaijan.

The road north from Tbilisi to Kazbegi, near the border with Russia, is known as the Georgian Military Highway (from when Russian armies came down here in 1800). The views of the Caucasus, as you climb up, are amazing, if the weather is right. Kazbegi is a great area to hike in, but be careful, as the border with Chechnya is not far away. The wildlife is another thing to consider – it’s possible to hear packs of wolves howling to each other not far away, and there are probably bears around too.

Similary, Svanetia is another incredibly beautiful, but wild area. You will need a four-wheel drive to get up there, and be prepared to be stuck for days if the rivers flood and cause landslides. The people can be a bit hillbilly too – “people with horns” was how one Tbilisi man described them.

The Black Sea coast has a slow, lax, resort feel to it. Batumi is a run-down seaside town with nice villages up the coast.

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