The hook
A crossroads capital in the Caucasus where wooden-balconied houses lean over cobbled lanes, a fortress looks down from the hill, and you can lower yourself into a domed bathhouse fed by natural hot sulphur springs.
01Why it's worth it
Tbilisi has spent its whole history at the seam between Europe and Asia, on the old Silk Road, fought over and rebuilt again and again, and it wears that mix openly: Orthodox churches, a mosque, a synagogue, and an old caravanserai within a short walk, Persian, Russian, and Art Nouveau layers on the buildings, and a signature architecture of carved wooden balconies sagging photogenically over the streets. The city grew up around its hot sulphur springs, and the domed brick bathhouses of the Abanotubani quarter still steam; a soak is the classic Tbilisi ritual. Add a hilltop fortress reached by cable car, a booming natural-wine and food scene rooted in one of the world's oldest wine cultures, and prices that are still low, and it is one of the most rewarding cities in the region.
02How to experience it
Wander the old town's balconied lanes and take a private room in one of the sulphur bathhouses. Ride the cable car up to the Narikala fortress for the view, and eat and drink your way through the Georgian food and natural wine. Use it as a base for the Caucasus mountains and Kakheti wine country.