Tbilisi Old Town Walking Tour & Aerial Tramway Ride

4.90

(138 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“You see that balcony?” our guide Lika asked, pointing up at this faded wooden lattice above Shardeni Street. “My grandmother used to live there.” I didn’t expect to start our Tbilisi walking tour with a family story, but it set the tone—suddenly every twist in these cobbled lanes felt personal. The air was thick with the smell of fresh bread from a tiny bakery (we stopped for khachapuri later, no regrets), and old men played backgammon right on the sidewalk. It was warmer than I thought for spring, and every so often you’d catch a breeze carrying sulfur from the famous bathhouses. Not exactly perfume, but somehow comforting.

We wandered past Anchiskhati Basilica—Lika paused so we could listen to the bells echo off stone walls—and then ducked into Freedom Square where kids chased pigeons under Soviet-era statues. There’s this odd mix here: Persian arches next to Russian balconies, modern glass curves like the Peace Bridge thrown in between. I kept trying to take photos but mostly just ended up staring at everything. The day trip through Tbilisi Old Town is less about ticking sights off a list and more about absorbing all these layers—sometimes literally, as my shoes picked up dust climbing toward Narikala Fortress.

The best part? Riding the Tbilisi Aerial Tramway up over rooftops to see Kartlis Deda—Mother Georgia—glinting in the sun. From up there you get why people call this city chaotic and beautiful in equal measure. Lika pointed out her favorite bakery (“They do churchkhela right,” she whispered) and told us about Sayat-Nova hiding in an old church during an invasion. It got quiet for a second; you could hear church bells mixing with street music down below. I still think about that view sometimes when I’m stuck on my commute back home.