By Jed Chown
There are places in this world where time feels porous. Where the line between past and present thins, and the spectres of history pass by with colour in their cheeks. In these places, history isn’t confined to words on a page. It’s lived and felt, not sold as a tourist gimmick, but sensed in the quiet magic of a well-worn path.
Tbilisi, Georgia is one such place.
Continuously inhabited since the Bronze Age, Tbilisi has been shaped by the rule of Georgian kings, Persian shahs, Russian tsars, Mongol khans and everything in between. It is unmistakably European yet infused with the flavour of the East. Mediterranean in spirit, Soviet in memory and entirely its own, Tbilisi is a city steeped in history and an unmissable destination for those whose hearts lie in the dusty tomes of the past.
Old Tbilisi
Tucked between the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains, Tbilisi grew organically due to its strategic location, becoming the cultural heart of the Georgian principalities by the sixth century. Today, the area known as Old Tbilisi brings together the city’s most historic neighborhoods: the medieval core of Kala, the ancient Armenian district of Avlabari, the art nouveau charm of Sololaki and the iconic sulfur bathhouses of Abanotubani. Though much of the old city was destroyed during the Persian invasion of 1795, architectural traces of Georgia’s many foreign influences remain, from Byzantium to the Soviets.
As Tbilisi’s historic quarter, the old city offers more than winding streets. It’s home to a wealth of museums, including the archaeological treasures of the Georgian National Museum, the atmospheric Tbilisi Wine Museum and the unearthed stories of the Museum of the History of Georgian Jews. For those up for a hike, the open-air Giorgi Chitaia Museum of Ethnography awaits in the hills of Mtatsminda.
When it’s time to unwind, head to the iconic sulfur baths in the Abanotubani district. The baths are as old as the city itself, with legend claiming that King Vakhtang I Gorgasali founded his capital here after discovering the natural hot springs.
Mount Mtatsminda
Towering above the old city is Mount Mtatsminda, a 770-metre peak with as much history etched into its slopes as in the streets below.
The ascent begins at the Mtatsminda Pantheon, a necropolis established in the 1920s that serves both as the final resting place for many of Georgia’s most revered national figures and as the symbolic boundary between Old Tbilisi and the mountain.
From there, a moderately challenging 3.4-kilometre hike leads to the imposing Narikala Fortress. For a gentler journey, take the cable car from Rike Park, just across the Kura River. Along the way, you’ll pass Kartlis Deda—the ‘Mother Georgia’ monument—a Soviet-era statue that honours the strength and hospitality of the Georgian people.
According to legend, Narikala was founded by the same King Vakhtang I Gorgasali who established Tbilisi itself. Over the centuries, it’s been occupied, expanded and rebuilt by Arab Umayyads, the Georgian king David the Builder, Mongols and the Persian Safavids who ruled intermittently from the 15th to 18th centuries and left much of the existing structure. Narikala is an awe-inspiring site and one that remains remarkably accessible to explore.
Soviet Elegance in the Tbilisi Metro
Beyond fortresses and sulfur baths, Tbilisi’s history runs deep—literally. The city’s Soviet-era metro system stands as one of its most striking architectural legacies from the communist era. Opened in 1966 as the fourth metro system in the Soviet Union after Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Kyiv, it remains the backbone of Tbilisi’s public transit. The stations impress not only for their architectural beauty and staggering depth, but for the rich array of communist-era public art that still decorates many of the central platforms.
The Chronicle of Georgia
At first glance, the Chronicle of Georgia feels immense: ancient, monolithic and heavy with the weight of history. Towering high above Tbilisi, it seems carved from time itself, designed to humble the viewer and evoke a sense of reverence for the past. As a result, visitors are often surprised to learn that construction only began in 1985.
The Chronicle consists of sixteen towering pillars, each rising 30 to 35 metres high. Carved into their surfaces are symbolic representations of key figures from Georgian history—be it king, poet, saint or revolutionary—with biblical scenes unfolding at their feet. The atmosphere is as monumental as the structure itself and it is easy to lose track of time, drawn into the mystery and grandeur of a nation’s story told through a monument of mythic scale.
It is a modern work of near unparalleled majesty, and a perfect ending to a history buff’s tour of Tbilisi.
