Places to discover

Best places to visit in Georgia

Georgia is a top-quality destination: it is at once personal and spared from mass tourism, at once incredibly beautiful and boasting extremely diverse scenery in a limited area. It is home to the Caucasus mountain peaks, valleys filled with vineyards, a subtropical coast by the Black Sea, high plateaus and half-deserts...

Georgia has the attraction of an ancient and original culture which has left behind a colossal heritage. Medieval churches perched in impossible locations, fortresses with a very Oriental aspect, thermal baths, authentic villages... Not to mention Tbilissi, the charming, lively capital, overflowing with art and history, boasting dozens of churches, mosques, museums, sulphur baths and beautiful houses, typically surrounded by large balconies which allow residents to appreciate the southern climate and to laze about, Georgia-style.

Any visitor to Georgia will without doubt feel themselves succumbing to the charming hospitality of the inhabitants, which is just as the myths would have it. Fans of wine, dancing and polyphonic chanting, and proud of their delicious cuisine, the Georgians know how to entertain. They know how to share their traditions in a friendly way, such as that of banqueting, where the host is considered holy.

On the country's roads, you can bathe yourself in the Black Sea at port Batoumi, stroll around the old town of Sighnaghi, with its Tuscan ambiance, or wonder at the treasures of the spiritual capital, Mtskhéta. You can enjoy horse riding on the shepherds' highlands at Tusheti, climb up to the defence towers of Ushguli, in the high mountains of Svaneti, wind your way through the remote villages of Khevsureti. You can hike in the verdant nature park of Bordjomi-Kharagaouli, take part in the wine harvests at Kakhéti or check out the steppe at Vachlovani. Or choose to marvel at the amazing cave sites of Vardzia , Uplistsikhe and David Garedja !

Kazbegi is a village to the far north of Georgia, about fifteen kilometres from the Russian border.
Situated on the Georgian and Azerbaijan border, the David Garedja Monastery is a sprawling and enchanting complex, set in magnificent surroundings.
Kakheti is the most easterly region of Georgia. It's also the principal wine making region and has some magnificent scenery.
In the heart of Tusheti's Pirikiti, Dartlo is an iconic Tusheti town. It has some stunning defensive towers and boasts lovely dry stone houses. Its mountainside location is equally impressive.
The little capital of Tusheti has many assets unique to the region. With businesses, social life, festivals, activities, it's its only 'lively' village. Old Omalo has one of the most beautiful collections of defensive towers with a museum.
A pretty Tusheti village made in dry stone, with the region's only old church, which dates from the 16th century.
The Pirikiti Valley is the prettiest of all of Tusheti's valleys, with its magnificent mountain landscape, its pastures, its traditional villages and the ruins of Caucasian defensive towers.
Mijnis Kure is one of the symbolic summits of the badlands of the arid Vashlovani National Park. With its arid formations and extreme erosion, this Georgian Colorado forms an incredible landscape.
Only Georgia holds the secret to this place, Gremi. This church-fortress built on a rocky promontory at the entrance to a gorge in the Dagestan Mountains is one of the country's tourism icons.
Mountainous, archaic, and remote, the embodiment of the "Wild Caucasus", Khevsureti still fascinates Georgians and foreigners. A vast region of high mountains that is sparsely populated, with amazing medieval tower village ruins.
A defensive village of the North Caucasus, with perfectly preserved mediaeval tower-houses in a wild and remote mountain site.
Djvari may be Georgia's most beautiful historical and natural site. It is Georgia's shrine to its conversion to Christianity and a major architectural achievement, and one of the country's must see monuments.
Black Mountain is one of the summits of the Vashlovani National Park, an amazing concentration of steppes and mountainous semi-deserts, formed by extremely tormented and wild sandstones. An adventurous destination south of Georgia
A mountain chain marking the border between Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, the Greater Caucasus contains some of the highest peaks in Europe and has some quite wonderful scenery to offer.
The valley of the Pirikitis Alazani, a powerful and fast flowing high mountain stream, is the most famous in the Tusheti region. With its pastoral landscapes and ancient villages, it offers the ideal environment for hiking and horse trekking.
Nekresi monastery is one of the most beautiful monastic sites in Georgia, and one of the oldest. It has magnificent medieval churches, perched on a hill, nestling at the foot of high mountains.
At its height, the ancient troglodyte village of Uplistsikhe had 20,000 inhabitants living in its underground passages.
A town carved into the rockface, Vardzia resembles a human warren albeit it in stone.
A small town located in the Greater Caucasus mountain range, Mestia is an ancient and historical place and well worth a visit.
Ushguli is one of the most beautiful places in Georgia. This ancient Svan village, with its houses each containing defensive towers, is the highest inhabited village in Europe - if it's even actually in Europe. It is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with all of Upper Svaneti.