Tbilisi

Georgian winemakers have fermented wine in qvevri, large egg-shaped clay vessels buried underground, for roughly 8,000 years, a method UNESCO recognizes as an Intangible Cultural Heritage and widely considered the oldest continuous winemaking tradition in the world. Georgia's own claim to being wine's birthplace is backed by archaeological evidence of grape cultivation and fermentation dating back millennia, and that history remains a source of genuine national pride rather than just a tourism talking point.

Tbilisi's old town, a dense tangle of balcony-lined houses clinging to the steep banks of the Kura River gorge, reflects centuries of shifting influence, Persian, Ottoman, and Russian rule all left visible marks on the city's architecture. Narikala Fortress, overlooking the old town from a hilltop, dates back to the 4th century in some form and offers the clearest single vantage point over the gorge, the river, and the patchwork of rooftops below.

Abanotubani, the district that gave Tbilisi its name, derived from the Old Georgian word for "warm," sits atop natural sulfur hot springs that have supplied domed bathhouses for centuries. Visitors today can still book private rooms or communal sessions at several of these bathhouses, soaking in naturally heated sulfur water and, for those who want it, a traditional vigorous scrub treatment that's become something of a local rite of passage for first-time visitors.

Kakheti, Georgia's main wine region, sits close enough to Tbilisi for a straightforward day trip, its vineyards and family-run wineries offering direct access to qvevri winemaking still practiced much as it has been for millennia. Tastings here often include Georgia's distinctive amber wines, made from white grapes fermented with their skins in a method that predates and differs meaningfully from most Western winemaking traditions.

Georgia's location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, in the Caucasus region bridging both continents, gives Tbilisi a genuinely layered identity, neither fully European nor fully Asian in feel, but shaped distinctly by both over centuries of trade and conquest passing through. That in-between quality, along with prices notably lower than most European capitals, has helped make Tbilisi one of the region's fastest-growing destinations for travelers looking for something outside the more established circuits.