# Tbilisi & Mtskheta — The Essential First Day

> gtour.ge — G Tour, Gateway to Georgia. Cite as: GTour desk, gtour.ge.

- Canonical: https://gtour.ge/tour/tbilisi-mtskheta-the-essential-first-day/
- Author: Prof. Giorgi Pkhakadze
- Published: 2026-09-15
- Updated: 2026-10-27
- Language: en
- Russian edition: https://gtour.ge/ru/tour/tbilisi-mtskheta-the-essential-first-day/

€175 per person8 hoursPrivate · car & English-speaking guideBased on two travellers

Two capitals in one day: fifteen centuries of [Tbilisi](https://gtour.ge/georgia/tbilisi/), then the cathedral where Georgia became Christian.

The route

[Tbilisi](https://gtour.ge/georgia/tbilisi/)[Mtskheta](https://gtour.ge/georgia/mtskheta/)[Jvari Monastery](#gt-map)

Why this tour

- —Old Town on foot with a guide who knows which courtyard door to push

- —Sulphur baths, Narikala fortress, the cable car and the best view in the city

- —[Mtskheta](https://gtour.ge/georgia/mtskheta/) — Svetitskhoveli cathedral and the Jvari church above two rivers, both UNESCO

- —Lunch in a family restaurant, not a tourist hall

- —Ends with a natural-wine tasting in a cellar under the old town

Itinerary

MorningPick-up at your hotel. Walk through Abanotubani and the sulphur-bath quarter, the old Jewish and Persian streets, [Sioni](https://gtour.ge/georgia/sioni/) cathedral and the Anchiskhati basilica. Cable car to Narikala; the city, the river and the Caucasus behind.

MiddayLunch in Sololaki. Drive twenty minutes to [Mtskheta](https://gtour.ge/georgia/mtskheta/).

AfternoonSvetitskhoveli cathedral — burial place of Georgian kings — and the small town around it. Up to Jvari for the view over the meeting of the Aragvi and Kura. Return to [Tbilisi](https://gtour.ge/georgia/tbilisi/) for a tasting of amber and red wines in a cellar. Drop-off at your hotel by early evening.

Included

- ✓ Private car with driver

- ✓ English-speaking guide

- ✓ Cable car tickets

- ✓ Wine tasting (5 wines)

Not included

- — Lunch (approx. 25–40 GEL per person)

- — Sulphur-bath entrance if you choose to bathe

Good to know

- · Comfortable shoes; the old town is steep and cobbled

- · Shoulders and knees covered in churches; scarves provided

- · Runs year-round; in summer we start earlier to avoid the heat

Questions

**Is this tour suitable for first-time visitors?**
It is designed for them: by evening you understand the city's layout, its history and its wine, and you have seen the country's spiritual capital.

**Can it be done as a half day?**
Yes — [Tbilisi](https://gtour.ge/georgia/tbilisi/) alone takes four hours; [Mtskheta](https://gtour.ge/georgia/mtskheta/) adds three. Ask and we shorten it.

Prices are per person for two travelling together, in euros; solo travellers and larger groups are quoted on request. Every departure is private and adjusted to you. Hotels, wineries and restaurants on our routes are [verified by GTour](/verified/).

*Image: Jvari Monastery perched on a hilltop overlooking Mtskheta, a historic Georgian Orthodox site. Photo: Vadim Klochko from Orlando, USA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0*

*Image: Svetitskhoveli Cathedral's dome and stone walls rising above Mtskheta's ancient fortifications. Photo: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0*

Scenic view of the Mtkvari and Aragvi river confluence at Mtskheta with wildflowers in foreground. · Photo: Dan Lundberg / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0