Tbilisi

Tbilisi (formerly called 'Tiflis' after its Russian name) lies in the centre of eastern Georgia, in the foothills of the Trialeti mountain range. According to Georgian legends, it was founded in the 5th century by King Vakhtang Gorgasali who, while hunting, shot a pheasant which fell into a warm spring and was either boiled or healed. Either way, the king was inspired to found a city on the site, and the name of the city derives from the Georgian word tbili meaning "warm". Although the city has been destroyed and rebuilt 29 times, the layout of the Old Town is largely intact with narrow alleys and big crooked houses built around courtyards.

Climate:

Tbilisi experiences relatively cold winters and hot summers. Because the city is bounded on most sides by mountain ranges, the close proximity to large bodies of water (Black and Caspian Seas) and the fact that the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range (further to the north) blocks the intrusion of cold air masses from Russia, Tbilisi has a relatively mild micro-climate compared to other cities that possess a similar continental climate along the same latitudes. The average annual temperature in Tbilisi is 12.7 °C (54.9 °F). January is the coldest month with an average temperature of 0.9 °C (33.6 °F). July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 24.4 °C (75.9 °F). The absolute minimum recorded temperature is −24 °C (−11 °F) and the absolute maximum is 40 °C (104 °F). Average annual precipitation is 568 mm (22.4 in). May and June are the wettest months (averaging 84 mm (3.3 in) of precipitation each) while January is the driest (averaging 20 mm (0.8 in) of precipitation). Snow falls on average 15–25 days per year. The surrounding mountains often trap the clouds within and around the city, mainly during the Spring and Autumn months, resulting in prolonged rainy and/or cloudy weather. Northwesterly winds dominate in most parts of Tbilisi throughout the year. Southeasterly winds are common as well.

Visitor information:

By plane:

1 Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport (TBS IATA, Georgian: თბილისის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტი, Tbilisis saertasoriso aeroporti), Airport St (17 km east of city centre), ☏ +995 32 310 265, fax: +995 32 310 322, info.tbs@tav.aero. Small but reasonably modern terminal. Seven food and drink outlets, four duty free shops. There is an ATM and a branch of Liberty Bank (☏ +995 322 555500). Several bureau de change operate 24/7. The three main mobile phone companies sell SIM cards in the arrivals area. (updated Oct 2018)

See this section for the very limited domestic flights to the city.

International flights go to Tbilisi regularly from Aktau, Almaty, Amsterdam, Antalya, Athens, Baku, Belgrade, Doha, Donetsk, Dnipro, Dubai, Delhi IGI, Istanbul IST & SAW, Kazan, Kharkiv, Kyiv KBP, London LGW, Minsk, Moscow DME & ZIA, Munich, Novosibirsk, Odesa, Paris CDG, Prague, Riga, Rome, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Tel Aviv, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw, Yekaterinburg and Yerevan. There are summer seasonal flights to the Med and Red Sea resorts.

You may also want to consider arriving in the Kutaisi Airport. Flight prices from Asia and Europe can be as low as €20-30. The low fare routes are (as of May 2021) from Vienna, Larnaca, Prague, Tallin, Berlin, Dortmund, Memmingen, Athens, Thessaloniki, Budapest, Milan, Rome, Riga, Vilnius, Gdansk, Katowice, Kraków, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw and Abu Dhabi. From Kutaisi to Tbilisi you go 4 hours in a marshrutka for ₾20. Or you can take the train.

Getting there and away: