Tbilisi in Spring: Weather, Blossom and What to Do in April and May

Spring in Tbilisi is blossom on the hills, Easter bread in every bakery and the first new wine of the year, all squeezed between a moody March and a showery May. Here's what you need to know about the weather month by month, where and when the trees flower, the holiday and festival dates for 2027, the day trips that work in spring and what to pack.

Is spring a good time to visit Tbilisi?

Yes. Spring is one of the two best seasons in Tbilisi, together with autumn, and it's the one I'd choose if I wanted the city green, cheap and uncrowded at the same time. The old town is built on steep hills, and from April you can walk them all day without the heat that makes July and August hard work.

The catch is the weather's mood swings. March can bring snow one morning and 15 C the next afternoon, and May has more showers than any month before it. None of it lasts long, so the trick is to plan mornings outside and keep an indoor option for the afternoon.

If I could pick only one stretch, it would be the second half of April. The blossom is out, the evenings are long enough for a drink outside, and tourist numbers are about a third of what May brings. Mid-May runs a close second: it's warmer and greener, the wine festivals are on, and you pay more for the privilege. The best time to visit Tbilisi overall is a two-way tie between this window and the first half of October.

Tbilisi spring weather by month

Here are the average daily lows and highs for Tbilisi, the same for Kazbegi in the mountains for anyone heading north, and how each month feels on the ground.

Those are averages. Warm spells push April afternoons into the mid-20s, and a cold snap in early April can feel like March again. Rain comes as short bursts and afternoon thunderstorms rather than grey days, and it rarely rains all day.

Tbilisi in March

March is the start of spring on paper and the least reliable month of the three. Locals call it "crazy March", and it earns the name: a light snowfall in the first days is common and usually melts within a day, and the next afternoon can be warm enough for a coffee outside. A 15 C forecast still feels chilly in the morning and once the sun goes down.

It's also when the first trees flower. Almond, cherry, plum and magnolia come out through the month, and the parks turn white and pink before the hills have gone green. Two public holidays fall early on, Mother's Day on 3 March and International Women's Day on 8 March, when the flower sellers are out on every corner and shops cut prices by 30 to 50%.

I'd go in March for a quiet city break built around the sulfur baths, museums and long lunches, with the blossom as a bonus. Bring a warm layer and waterproof shoes.

Tbilisi in April

April is my favorite spring month. Highs climb from the low teens to around 18 C, the first week can still be cool, and by the second half the city is warm enough for long walks in a light jacket. You'll want sunscreen already: the sun is strong in April, even on a cool day.

The flowers peak. Sakura opens in the Botanical Garden's Japanese corner at the start of the month, wisteria spills over old houses across the center, and the lilac collection flowers from mid-April. On the slopes of Mtatsminda, pink Judas trees bloom in the last week.

April also has the lowest prices of the good-weather months. Tourist numbers run about 3 times lower than in May, there are no queues at the popular restaurants and rooms cost 30 to 40% less. On 9 April, the Day of National Unity, Georgians remember the night in 1989 when Soviet troops broke up a demonstration on Rustaveli Avenue, and flowers pile up on the steps in front of Parliament. It's a public holiday and a quiet, respectful day.

Tbilisi in May

May is the month many visitors love most. Highs reach 23 C, the evenings are long and green, and cafes and wine bars move their tables outside. It's also the wettest month of the spring, so expect a shower most days, usually short and usually in the afternoon.

It's the busiest month on the spring calendar. Easter falls in early May in 2027, the wine festivals cluster in the first two weeks, and Independence Day on 26 May closes Rustaveli Avenue to cars for stalls, music and ceremonies. Roses come out in early May and peonies follow.

Prices jump to high season, so book your room 2 to 3 weeks ahead, more for the Easter weekend. Late May is also the start of the outdoor music season, with open-air concerts in the Botanical Garden through May and June, and the warm, festival-heavy summer follows straight on.

Spring holidays and festivals in Tbilisi

These are the dates that shape a spring trip in 2027. Public holidays close banks, government offices and the national museums; restaurants, cafes and shops mostly stay open.

Easter is the big one. Easter in Georgia runs on the Orthodox calendar, so it moves between early April and early May; the night service on Holy Saturday at Sameba cathedral draws huge crowds, families dye eggs red on Good Friday, and every bakery sells paska, the tall sweet Easter bread. Chakapuli, a lamb stew with tarragon and sour plums, is the dish of the season.

The New Wine Festival is the other date I'd plan around. Winemakers from every region bring last autumn's wine up to Mtatsminda Park and pour it for free, usually on the second Saturday of May. The smaller natural wine fairs fall in the days before it, and the wine festivals in Tbilisi together make early May the best week of the year to taste.

Where to see spring blossom in Tbilisi

The city flowers in waves from early March to late May. This is where I'd look, and when:

The Botanical Garden in spring

If you only see one spring garden, make it this one. The National Botanical Garden fills the gorge behind Narikala, a short walk from the sulfur baths, and almost every bloom on the list above flowers here at some point between March and May. A ticket costs 4 GEL and the gates open at 09:00.

My spring route starts at the top: ride the cable car up to Narikala Fortress, walk along the ridge and take the stairs down into the garden. You pass the Japanese garden for the sakura in early April, the lilacs in the middle of the month, and the rose garden, with more than 100 varieties, in May.

Parks and gardens around the city

For almonds in March, I'd head to Mziuri Park in Vake, a leafy park with a cafe in the middle.

Dedaena Park by the river is the other almond spot, and you can pair it with the Dry Bridge Market on the same morning.

The Open Air Museum of Ethnography near Turtle Lake has almond trees among its old wooden houses, and far fewer visitors.

Magnolias are easiest to find in Rike Park, the riverside park at the foot of the Narikala cable car.

The other magnolia spot is Leonidze Park, a shady garden with a statue of the poet Giorgi Leonidze, a short walk from Freedom Square.

In April, wisteria is the one you don't have to look for. It hangs over doorways, wooden balconies and church walls all over the center, from Sioni Cathedral in the Old Town to the streets of Sololaki, which I'd walk just to see it.

Things to do in Tbilisi in spring

Hike from Mtatsminda Park to Turtle Lake

This is my favorite spring walk in the city. Take the funicular up to Mtatsminda Park, about 10 to 12 GEL one way on a 2 GEL park card, then follow the forest trail along the hill. In late April the slopes are pink with Judas trees, and the whole city sits below you.

The trail ends at Turtle Lake, the small lake on the hill above Vake, and from there the ropeway down to Vake costs 1 GEL.

For something longer, the walk from Kojori Fortress down to Asureti is one of the best day hikes near Tbilisi, and the hills are at their greenest in May.

Taste the new wine

Spring is when the wine made last autumn is ready to drink. Beyond the festivals, any wine bar will pour you a glass of the new vintage, and the best wine bars in Tbilisi are the easiest way to taste several side by side on a wet evening.

Eat what's in season

Spring changes the menus. Chakapuli, lamb stewed with tarragon and sour plums, appears in April and May. Green, unripe tkemali plums are sold by the bag at the markets to eat with salt, and the first strawberries arrive in May.

Dezerter Bazaar is where I'd see all of it at once. Most dishes on a list of Georgian food to try taste better with spring herbs piled next to them.

Save the baths and museums for rain

A May shower is the best excuse for the sulfur baths in Abanotubani, where a private room starts at about 100 GEL.

The other rainy-day plan is a museum: the Georgian National Museum costs 7 GEL, and the best museums in Tbilisi are all within a short walk or taxi ride of Rustaveli Avenue.

Cafes and wine bars for spring afternoons

When the sun comes out, Tbilisi moves outside. These are three places I'd pair with the spring walks above.

Cafe Mziuri

Cafe Mziuri sits inside Mziuri Park in Vake, which makes it my stop for the almond blossom in March and a sunny table on any spring afternoon. The seating is outdoors under the trees, next to the park pavilion, and Mziuri is a family park, so expect strollers and children around the tables.

The food is simple: sandwiches, salads, coffee and cake. Come for the setting and a slow hour in the park rather than for a meal, and pair it with the Turtle Lake ropeway, a short taxi ride up the hill.

Shavi Coffee Roasters

Shavi Coffee Roasters is a specialty roaster, and its original cafe is in Sololaki, the neighborhood just below the Narikala ridge. It's small, with a shelf of its own roasted beans along one wall, and it's where I'd stop after a morning on the ridge.

On a warm spring day I'd order a coffee to go and carry it round the wisteria-covered streets nearby. They also sell cakes, and a slice of the berry pie makes a decent second breakfast.

8000 Vintages

8000 Vintages is a wine bar and shop with branches in the Old Town and Vake, its walls lined floor to ceiling with Georgian bottles. It's the place I'd send anyone who misses the New Wine Festival: a shop-sized range of wine to choose from and a tasting flight to work through it.

Order the four-wine tasting flight with a board of cheese and cured meat, then buy the bottle you liked best from the shelves on the way out. It's my rainy-evening plan in May.

Spring day trips from Tbilisi

Spring is the best season for the lowland day trips, before the summer heat. The high mountains are a different story: snow lingers into May, and some roads stay closed.

For wine, a Kakheti wine tour is at its prettiest in April and May, with vines just coming into leaf and highs around 18 C, far from the summer heat. The marshrutka to Sighnaghi costs 8 GEL from Samgori and takes about 2 hours.

The semi-desert monasteries of David Gareja are a spring trip above all, since the hills around them are green for only a few weeks and the summer sun is brutal. Combine them with the striped hills of the Rainbow Mountains near Udabno.

The closest and easiest is a half-day in Mtskheta, 30 minutes away, with Jvari Monastery above the river junction and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in town. It works in any weather, and in March it's the trip I'd pick first.

A day trip to Kazbegi in spring is the trade-off. The marshrutka from Didube costs 15 GEL and takes about 3 hours, the valleys turn green in May and the peaks keep their snow, but in April the walk up to Gergeti Trinity Church can still be muddy or snowbound. The high valleys of Tusheti stay cut off until summer.

What to pack for Tbilisi in spring

Spring packing is layers. A packing list for Georgia changes more with the month than with the trip, and in spring it covers sun, rain and a cold evening in the same day:

• Layers: T-shirts, a long-sleeved top and a cardigan or fleece, and a light coat for March and early April.
• Rain: a packable rain jacket or a small umbrella, especially for May.
• Shoes: comfortable walking shoes with grip for wet cobblestones and steep lanes; sandals only from late May.
• Sun: sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat, even in April.
• Church cover: a scarf or shawl for women, and something that covers shoulders and knees.
• For the day trips: a warm jacket for Kazbegi and a refillable water bottle, since the tap water in Tbilisi is safe to drink.