Georgia
Georgia is the Caucasus country that invented wine 8,000 years ago and still treats hospitality as a national sport.
Tbilisi is one of Europe's most charming and underrated capitals — sulfur baths in Abanotubani's old town, café culture that runs late, and the natural wine movement that started at Azarpesha and now extends across every neighborhood.
Beyond Tbilisi: Kakheti's wine country (Schuchmann, Pheasant's Tears, hundreds of family qvevri operations), Kazbegi for the Caucasus mountains, Svaneti for the medieval defensive towers.
Our Georgia coverage focuses on Tbilisi's neighborhoods, the Adjara Group hotels (Rooms, Stamba) that defined the city's hospitality renaissance, and the food culture worth flying for.
Hilltop fortress, sulfur baths, Old Town, café culture, vibrant nightlife
High Caucasus village in Svaneti — medieval defensive towers, hiking trails
Mountain town below the iconic Gergeti Trinity Church
Black Sea coast city — palm-lined boardwalk, modernist skyline, casino district
The 14th-century stone church sitting at 2,170 meters on a ridge above Stepantsminda village, with Mount Kazbek (5,047 m) rising directly behind it. Georgia's most photographed image, and one of the Caucasus's most dramatic. Hike up in 90 minutes or 4WD if the road's open.
3 hours by road from Tbilisi (the Georgian Military Highway is the journey). Best May-October.
128 hectares carved into a river canyon directly beneath Narikala Fortress — the Tsavkisistskali waterfall hides inside, paths run along Persian-era irrigation channels. Easy walk from old town; reach it via the cable car for the views over old Tbilisi.
Open daily. Cable car from Rike Park.
Sprawdzone w Michelin, u źródła lub w Google.
Tbilisi's most beloved family-style Georgian — chef Meriko Gubeladze's house in Vera district, the courtyard fills with locals on warm evenings. Khachapuri, mtsvadi, the wine list almost entirely natural Georgian qvevri.
Recipes from a 19th-century cookbook by Princess Barbare Eristavi-Jorjadze — pre-Soviet Georgian cooking the country largely forgot. The Lacobian family runs it; reservations essential.
The natural wine bar that started Tbilisi's qvevri-wine revival — the small kitchen serves seasonal Georgian small plates designed to drink with amber wines.
Chef Tekuna Gachechiladze's modern Georgian — the cookbook author who taught Georgia to take its own cuisine seriously. Open kitchen, tasting menus that thread through 12 wine regions.
The Adjara Group's flagship — a Soviet-era publishing house converted to a 125-room boutique. Library bar, the city's best Sunday brunch, the rooftop pool overlooking Vera.
Same Adjara Group, same building, the higher-end sister. Towering atrium with vintage printing presses, Pullman bar, indoor pool inside what used to be a printing hall.
Mountain hotel below Gergeti Trinity Church — the panoramic infinity pool faces Mount Kazbek directly. Same Adjara Group design language; 156 rooms with mountain views from each.
Sololaki neighborhood aparthotel in a restored Tbilisi merchant's house — kitchens in every room, the courtyard with original 19th-century woodwork, walking distance to old town.
The 1.8-million-year-old Dmanisi hominid skulls — earliest humans found outside Africa — plus the Soviet Occupation Museum upstairs.
The Adjara Group's former Soviet publishing house, now a hotel with rotating contemporary art exhibitions, Stamba Cafe, and the photography museum on the ground floor.
Traditional Georgian dwellings from across the country reassembled on a hillside above Turtle Lake. Saperavi vines, smoke-blackened svan towers, the wooden church from Racha.
A few additions for the Georgia traveler heading beyond Tbilisi:
Tbilisi's birthday festival — wine, music, traditional food across the Old Town for a weekend
Wine harvest season in Kakheti — traditional grape-stomping, qvevri filling, multi-day supras
Religious feast at Alaverdi Cathedral in Kakheti — wine consecration, traditional Georgian Christianity
Georgia has one of the world's most generous visa policies.
Citizens of 98 countries — including the EU (all Nordic countries), United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Japan, and South Korea — can enter visa-free and stay for up to one year. Russian citizens also enter visa-free for up to 1 year.
Citizens of countries not on the visa-free list can apply for an e-Visa via the official portal at geoconsul.gov.ge — usually approved within 5 working days. Passport must be valid for at least 6 months from entry. A return ticket is not technically required but airlines may ask.
Always confirm current rules before flying — Georgia's policy is generous but reviewed periodically.
A balanced first trip: 3 nights in Tbilisi (Old Town, sulphur baths, Narikala Fortress, Mtatsminda Park, day trip to Mtskheta — Georgia's spiritual capital), 2 nights in Kazbegi (the iconic Gergeti Trinity Church with Mount Kazbek behind, ~3 hours' drive on the Georgian Military Highway, with stops at Ananuri and Jinvali Reservoir), and 2 nights in Kakheti wine country (Signagi for the hilltop town and 24-hour wedding palace, Telavi as base, visits to Schuchmann or Twins Wine House to taste qvevri-fermented wines).
With 10–14 days, swap or add Svaneti (Mestia and Ushguli — Georgia's most dramatic mountain region, reachable by an 8-hour marshrutka or a twice-weekly flight from Tbilisi) or Borjomi.
Kazbegi (officially Stepantsminda), about 3 hours by car or marshrutka north of Tbilisi along the spectacular Georgian Military Highway. The 14th-century stone church sits at 2,170m with Mount Kazbek's 5,047m peak behind it — the photo every Georgia article uses.
To reach the church itself: hike up from town (about 1.5 hours, moderate climb) or take a 4x4 taxi (around 50 GEL one way). The viewpoint just below the church is where the iconic shot is taken.
Stay at Rooms Hotel Kazbegi — the landmark property with a terrace view that justifies the price (book months ahead in summer), or budget guesthouses from $30/night. Kazbegi sits at 1,750m, so give yourself a day to adjust if you came straight from sea level.
Georgia is one of the world's oldest wine countries — 8,000 years of continuous winemaking, much of it still fermented in clay qvevri buried underground (a UNESCO-listed practice).
The Kakheti region is the heart of wine country; book a half-day at a working winery rather than just tastings. Saperavi (red) and Rkatsiteli (white) are the iconic native varieties.
For food: khachapuri (cheese-filled bread, with the Adjarian version — boat-shaped with egg on top — the most photographed), khinkali (juicy dumplings, eaten by hand, drink the broth first), mtsvadi (skewered grilled meat), lobio (bean stew), and the supra feast tradition with endless toasts.
A traditional toastmaster (tamada) runs a good supra. Tipping isn't expected but 10% is appreciated at restaurants.
Yes — Georgia ranks among the best-value travel destinations in the world for the quality of experience it delivers.
Realistic 2026 totals for 5 days per person: budget (hostel dorms, marshrutkas, local restaurants, group tours) $400–550; mid-range (boutique hotel, restaurants, private guide for a day, train + driver) $700–1,000; luxury (Stamba or Rooms Hotel Kazbegi, fine dining, private everything, wine purchases) $1,500–2,500+.
Tbilisi metro is 1 GEL per ride (~$0.35). Use Bolt (cheaper) or Yandex for taxis — never accept a street-hailed cab without the app or meter. A full bottle of decent Kakhetian wine in a restaurant runs $10–15; the same bottle in a village winery, $5.
Każdy przewodnik sprawdzamy w oficjalnych źródłach, ale miejsca się zmieniają. Napisz, co jest nieaktualne albo dokąd wysłałbyś przyjaciela.
Napisz do nasThe Caucasus country that invented wine 8,000 years ago and still treats hospitality as a national sport. Tbilisi is one of Europe's most charming and underrated capitals — sulfur baths, hilltop fortresses, café culture that runs late. The wine country in Kakheti rivals anywhere in Europe for value.
The High Caucasus mountains around Mestia and Kazbegi deliver Alpine scenery without the Alpine prices.
