Updated 16 October 2026
Mtskheta: The Old Capital, Half an Hour from the New One
The town where Georgia became Christian, a cathedral holding the country's founding relic, and a sixth century church on a ridge above two rivers meeting.
History & culture
All our History & culture guides for Georgia, in one place.
12 guides: History & culture
Updated 15 October 2026
The Sulfur Baths of Tbilisi: The Reason the City Is Here
Brick domes rising out of a hillside above hot sulfur springs, private rooms by the hour, and a scrub that removes a layer of you.
Updated 30 September 2026
The Supra: How a Georgian Feast Actually Works
A long table, a toastmaster who runs the evening, and a sequence of toasts that is not small talk. What happens at a Georgian supra and how to take part.
Updated 13 September 2026
Uplistsikhe and Vardzia: Two Cities Cut Into Rock
A pagan settlement carved from stone and a monastery of hundreds of rooms in a cliff face: how Uplistsikhe and Vardzia differ and which to pick.
Updated 6 September 2026
Sighnaghi: The Wine Country Town on a Ridge
A restored hill town above the Alazani valley with a defensive wall you can walk, the Caucasus on the horizon, and wineries in every direction below it.
Updated 30 August 2026
Davit Gareja: A Monastery Carved Into a Desert Ridge
Cells cut into rock on a semi desert ridge two hours from Tbilisi, with painted caves above and a contested border along the top. What to know first.
Updated 23 August 2026
Kutaisi: The Budget Airline Gateway Worth Staying In
Most visitors land at Kutaisi and leave within the hour. The city has two of the finest monasteries in Georgia, a cave system nearby, and almost no crowds.
Updated 17 August 2026
Rtveli: Joining the Georgian Grape Harvest
For a few weeks in autumn the wine country stops being a tasting room and becomes work, and visitors who turn up at the right moment get handed a bucket.
Updated 17 August 2026
Reading Georgian: The Alphabet and the Words That Help
A script that looks like nothing else, a language related to nothing you know, and about six words that change how a fortnight goes.
Updated 17 August 2026
Jewish Heritage in Georgia
One of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, a record of coexistence Georgians are proud of, and synagogues in places you would not think to look.
Updated 17 May 2026
Off the Beaten Path in Georgia: Where to Go After the Obvious
Tusheti, Khevsureti, Racha and a semi desert on the Azerbaijani border. Four regions that take real effort and are the reason people come back.
Updated 11 May 2026
Vardzia: A City Carved Into a Cliff
Hundreds of chambers cut into a southern Georgian cliff in the twelfth century, with a frescoed church and an earthquake that took the front wall off.