The Best Viewpoints in Tbilisi: Where to Go for the View, the Sunset and the Photo

Tbilisi sits in a river valley with hills on every side, so it is known for its views: a fortress ridge above the Old Town, a mountain with a Ferris wheel on top, churches on cliffs over the river. Here's what you need to know about the 10 best viewpoints in the city, what each one costs, how to get up and where to stand when the sun goes down.

The best viewpoints in Tbilisi at a glance

Here are all 10 in one table, ranked the way I'd send a friend: the big two first, then the free spots along the river, then the detours. Every one of them is reachable from the center in under 45 minutes.

Narikala ridge and the Mother of Georgia

This is my favorite view in Tbilisi and the one I'd pick if you had a single evening. From the terraces below the fortress walls you look straight down on the brick domes of Abanotubani, across the Kura to Metekhi Church on its cliff, and up to the gold dome of Sameba on the hill behind. No other viewpoint puts the Old Town this close: you can pick out the lane you walked that morning and the bathhouse you booked for later.

The ridge is free and open around the clock. The upper walls and towers of Narikala Fortress have been fenced off for restoration since late 2023, but that changes very little here, because the view never depended on the towers. My spot is the terrace just below St Nicholas Church, where the church dome sits in the corner of your photo and the Old Town drops away beneath it.

Five minutes along the same ridge stands the Mother of Georgia statue, a 20 m aluminum figure first put up in 1958, with a bowl of wine in one hand and a sword in the other. The path past her looks the other way, over Sololaki and up to Mtatsminda, so walk out to her and you get two views for one climb.

The easy way up is the Rike Park cable car, about 2 minutes in the air over the river and the bath domes, paid by tapping a Metromoney card. It is the most scenic of the Tbilisi cable cars, and I'd ride it up and walk down: the paths on the river side drop you in Abanotubani in about 15 minutes, right beside the sulfur baths, which is the best way I know to end a sunset.

Mtatsminda Park and the TV tower

Mtatsminda is the mountain with the red and white TV tower on top, the highest point in the city and the landmark you'll use to find your bearings all week. The park on the summit has a Ferris wheel over 60 m tall, rides, restaurants and a long row of terraces that look east across the entire valley: the Old Town, the fortress walls, the river, Sameba and the newer districts running out toward the hills.

There are three ways up. The funicular from Daniel Chonkadze Street costs about 10 to 12 GEL one way, paid on a 2 GEL park card. The cable car from Rustaveli Avenue, behind the Academy of Sciences, has run since October 2024 and is the one to use when the funicular line is long. Bus 124 from Rustaveli metro costs 1 GEL and takes about 20 minutes. Park entry is free, and it stays open until about 23:00.

The TV tower itself is closed to visitors, so the views come from the park terraces and the Ferris wheel, which is the highest seat on the mountain. The funicular's halfway stop, at the Pantheon by Mama Daviti church, is a quieter terrace looking straight down on Sololaki.

My rule for the big two: Narikala for sunset, Mtatsminda for the lights. Narikala shows you the Old Town up close, while Mtatsminda Park pulls back and shows how the whole valley fits together, and that works best once the avenues and bridges are lit.

Metekhi Church and the Rike embankment

Metekhi Church stands on a rock cliff above the Kura on the Avlabari side, with the bronze statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali on his horse beside it. The terrace in front of the church looks straight across the river at the bath domes, the minaret of the old mosque and the fortress walls above them. It is free, it is a short walk across Metekhi Bridge from Meidan Square, and it is the view of Narikala most people take home.

For a photo of Metekhi itself, go down to the embankment at river level, at the Rike Park end. At blue hour the church and the king's statue light up gold against the sky, the cliff falls into the water, and the road along the far bank turns into ribbons of light. It's one of the few Tbilisi churches that looks better from below than from its own doorstep.

Queen Darejan Palace balcony

Just upstream of Metekhi, a round wooden balcony sits on top of the old wall above Rike Park. It belongs to the palace built for Queen Darejan, wife of King Erekle II, and it's my favorite small viewpoint in the city: a high, side-on look across the river to the Old Town roofs and the walls of Narikala, with none of the crowd of the ridge.

Access depends on the gate to the palace grounds being open, so I'd pair it with Metekhi rather than make a special trip. The two sit in the same corner of Avlabari, a few minutes apart, and together they give you the river view from both ends.

Sameba Cathedral grounds

The gold dome of Sameba shows up in nearly every photo you'll take from the other viewpoints, and the cathedral's own grounds turn the view around. From the terraces on Elia Hill you look back over the rooftops of Avlabari, across the river to the Old Town and up to the fortress ridge. Holy Trinity Cathedral was built between 1995 and 2004, entry is free, and it opens daily from 07:00.

Early morning is when I'd go. The grounds are close to empty, the light comes from behind you and falls on the Old Town, and on Sundays the morning service fills the cathedral with singing. A visit to Holy Trinity Cathedral is a short walk up from Avlabari metro, so it slots in before breakfast on any day.

Tabori Monastery

Tabori is the small church on the hill across the gorge from Narikala, the Monastery of the Transfiguration, and it's the viewpoint I keep for a second visit to Tbilisi. From the top you see the fortress side-on, the walls running down toward the baths, the river bend and the Old Town beyond, and on most evenings you share it with a handful of locals.

It is free, and it takes about 45 minutes on foot from Chreli Abano, the blue-tiled bathhouse in Abanotubani. Follow Baazov Street to its end, take the spiral staircase, then the path up the hill. The last stretch is steep, so this one suits anyone happy to climb for a quieter view.

The Bridge of Peace and Rike Park

Not every view needs a climb. The Bridge of Peace, a 156 m glass and steel footbridge opened in 2010, crosses the Kura between the Old Town and Rike Park, and from its middle you get the fortress above you, the cable cabins sliding over the river and Metekhi on its cliff downstream. Its LED lights switch on about 90 minutes before sunset and run through the night.

I like it best after dark, as the last stop of an evening. Walk the Bridge of Peace toward Rike Park, then follow the left-bank embankment downstream: the floodlit walls of Narikala hang above the water the whole way, and it costs nothing.

More views worth the detour

These four take a bit more effort or sit further out. Each is good for a different reason, and none of them would be my first view in the city.

The National Botanical Garden

The Tbilisi Botanical Garden fills the gorge on the far side of the Narikala ridge. Entry is 4 GEL and it closes at about 17:30, so come in the afternoon. The view here is upward: the fortress walls on the cliff above you, the waterfall in the gorge and the paths climbing through the trees.

The Chronicles of Georgia

On a hill above the Tbilisi Sea reservoir on the northeast edge of the city stand 16 giant pillars cast with bronze scenes from Georgian history. Work on the Chronicles of Georgia began in 1985 and it has never been fully finished. It's free, and the view runs over the reservoir to the hills. You'll need a taxi, and ordering one of the Tbilisi taxis in an app fixes the fare before you get in.

Turtle Lake and the Ethnography Museum hill

A cable car climbs from Vake Park to Turtle Lake for 1 GEL, a small lake on the wooded hill above Vake.

The same hillside holds the Open Air Museum of Ethnography, with old wooden houses from across Georgia and a view down over the west of the city. Go on a warm afternoon with time to spare; it's the most relaxed view on this list.

Rooftop bars with a view

If you'd rather sit down with a drink, the city's rooftop terraces give you a view with a chair. Point Terrasse, a hotel rooftop open to non-guests, has a wide view over the city, and Tiflis Veranda is the other name I hear most. Expect to pay bar prices for the seat: of all the views in this guide, Tbilisi's rooftop bars are the only ones where a drink comes with it.

Best sunset spots in Tbilisi

My top three for sunset are the Narikala ridge, Mtatsminda and Tabori. On Narikala the light comes in low over Sololaki and turns the river gold; on Mtatsminda you face away from the sun and watch the valley change color; on Tabori you watch it with the whole fortress in front of you and almost nobody beside you. The Bridge of Peace is the pick if you want the sunset without the climb.

Georgia keeps one time zone all year with no clock change, so sunset moves a long way between seasons:

Spring and autumn are the best time to visit Tbilisi for views as well as walking: clear air, mild evenings, and terraces you can stand on without the July heat, when the unshaded ridge at Narikala can pass 35°C.

Best photo spots in Tbilisi

Some of the best photos in Tbilisi are taken from street level, looking up. These are the spots I'd walk to with a camera:

• The bath domes with Narikala above. Stand in Abanotubani with the brick domes in front of you and the walls on the ridge behind. Morning light is softest and the square is empty.
• Metekhi from the Rike embankment. The church, the king's statue and the cliff, best at blue hour as the floodlights come on.
• The Bridge of Peace at night. Shoot it from the Rike Park side with Narikala lit up behind the glass roof.

• The leaning clock tower. The Gabriadze clock tower in the Old Town looks like it was stacked by hand, and the little puppet show at 12:00 and 19:00 gives you a reason to wait for the shot.

• The Betlemi stairs. In Sololaki, 120 steps climb past old houses with carved wooden balconies to Betlemi Church, with the Old Town falling away behind you.

• Street art and courtyards. The murals around Fabrika and the old courtyards of the center make for the colorful shots, and Tbilisi's street art changes often enough that you'll find something new on a second visit.

Which viewpoint to pick

If you're short on time, match the view to the evening you have:

• One evening only: the Narikala ridge in the hour before sunset, then walk down to the baths.
• The city lights: Mtatsminda after dark, with a ride on the Ferris wheel.
• No money and almost no climbing: the Bridge of Peace, Rike Park and Metekhi Church, all free and all within a 15-minute walk of each other.
• With children: Mtatsminda for the rides, or the Turtle Lake cable car for a lake and a picnic.
• Away from the crowds: Tabori at sunset, or the Sameba grounds at 07:00.
• A drink with the view: a rooftop bar, for the price of a cocktail.

Nearly all of these cost nothing, which makes the views a big part of the free things to do in Tbilisi. For bigger panoramas from the hills around the city, the day hikes near Tbilisi start within an hour of the center.