Overflowing with interesting architecture, markets, viewpoints and parks, Tbilisi is a terrific city to explore on foot. This post brings together 11 of the very best walking tours in Tbilisi, including free tours, specialty tours and local-led tours.
Forget the hop-on-hop-off bus – walking tours are by far my favourite way to explore a new city. There are a large number of walking tours on offer in Tbilisi, many of them organised by independent companies and local entrepreneurs.
Whether you’re after a free introduction to Tbilisi’s top sights or you’re wanting to explore the secret corners of the city that most tourists miss, a walking tour is an excellent way to get to know Georgia‘s capital, its culture, food and heritage.
This curated list of 11 awesome paid and free Tbilisi walking tours has something for every travel budget and interest.
Related: The best walking streets and neighbourhoods in Tbilisi.
Please note: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase by clicking a link (at no extra cost to you). Learn more.
How to find & book Tbilisi walking tours
I love using Get Your Guide to find and book walking tours, day trips, and cultural experiences when I travel. This website and app brings together tours from thousands of different independent companies, allowing you to easily book and pay online.
It’s easy to compare tours using Get Your Guide, and you can see the name of the provider so you can vet them independently. If plans change, Get Your Guide has a very generous cancellation policy.
View all Tbilisi walking tours offered through Get Your Guide.
Another platform I regularly use is Airbnb Experiences. There are some really interesting walking-based tours of Tbilisi currently listed on the platform, all led by local guides.
View all Tbilisi Airbnb Experiences here.
Some of the walking tour companies on this list accept direct bookings online in advance through their own website. Others you can organise when you arrive in the city (although it’s a good idea to book ahead if you’re travelling in summer high season).
Many of the free tours in Tbilisi don’t require an advance booking (see the detailed breakdown below for more information).
Should you tip your guide?
Tipping is not mandatory or necessarily commonplace in Tbilisi or Georgia. However, it’s become more and more mainstream, especially among tourists.
It’s polite to tip staff in restaurants and taxi drivers in Tbilisi these days, provided you’re happy with the service. 10-15% is standard. When it comes to tours, apply the same logic – tipping a guide 10-20% is considered generous.
Free walking tours are a little different because guides do not receive a wage but rely solely on tips. How much you decide to tip a free walking tour guide is up to you. I always factor in a couple of variables, including time (was it a long tour or short tour?), group size, and of course the guide’s attentiveness.
For free walking tours in Tbilisi, I recommend tipping somewhere in the neighbourhood of 15-30 GEL per person.
11 best paid & free Tbilisi walking tours
Run by small independent companies and dedicated guides, these paid and free walking tours in Tbilisi are designed to show you all the best bits of Georgia’s capital.
1. Old Tbilisi Free Tour
- Cost: Free!
- Schedule: Every day at 12pm
- Duration: 2.5-3 hours
- Reservation required?: Yes
- Highlights: Freedom Square, Tbilisi courtyards, Peace Bridge, Rike Park, Narikala Fortress, Abanotubani sulfur baths
Hosted by Tbilisi Free Walking Tours, the Old Tbilisi Free Tour is the original and the best walking tour of the old town. It offers a great overview of Tbilisi and is therefore perfect for first-time visitors to the city and anyone who’s kicking off their Georgia itinerary in the capital.
It covers the central part of the city and all its major landmarks. I highly recommend doing this tour towards the start of your trip in order to get the lay of the land.
English language tours depart twice daily from Pushkin Park on Freedom Square – rain, hail or shine. I know a number of the Georgian guides who work for this company and the owner, Levan – they are known for their good humour, insider tips, and excellent knowledge of Georgian history.
More information & reservations here.
More Old Town Tbilisi tours
2. Hidden Tbilisi (free tour!)
- Cost: Free!
- Schedule: Every Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday at 5pm (summer) or 3pm (winter)
- Duration: 2-3 hours (approx. 4km of walking)
- Reservation required?: Yes
- Highlights: Apartment buildings, courtyards & hidden treasures
So you’ve seen Tbilisi’s main attractions and now you want to dig a little deeper? The Hidden Tbilisi itinerary focuses on some of Tbilisi’s coolest secret spots, most of which are just a few steps off the beaten track.
Also run by Tbilisi Free Walking Tours, the city’s original free walking tour outfit, this tour is tailor-made for architecture, design and street photography lovers. Explore beautiful 19th century buildings and courtyards, go inside apartment entryways, and chat with locals along the way. Every building has its own story to tell, and the highlight of this tour is hearing the history from your guide.
More information & reservations here.
More walking tours from Tbilisi Free Walking Tours:
- Tbilisi Free Walking Tour
- Tbilisi Photo Tour
- Georgian Wine Experience
- Tbilisi Food Tour
- Soviet Tour of Tbilisi (includes the Underground Printing House Museum)
3. Backstreets of Tbilisi (free tour!)
- Cost: Free!
- Schedule: Every Tuesday & Sunday at 12pm
- Duration: 2-3 hours
- Reservation required?: Yes
- Highlights: Street art, flea markets, Soviet architecture, Public Service Hall
Co-hosted by Tbilisi Free Walking Tours and Fabrika, this tour is designed for guests of the hostel but open for anyone to join. If you’re keen to get away from Tbilisi’s main tourist area for an afternoon, I highly recommend joining this tour.
The route starts at Fabrika and will introduce you to Marjanishvili, one of Tbilisi’s most interesting neighbourhoods. An old German settlement, Marjanishvili has a fascinating mix of old-world, Soviet and brutalist architecture, plus Soviet history and vibrant local markets.
The tour covers the backstreets plus a few well-known sights, including the futuristic Public Service Hall.
More information & reservations here.
4. Tbilisi Traditions
- Cost: From 45 USD per person
- Schedule: Daily
- Duration: 3 hours
- Reservation required?: Yes
- Highlights: Betlemi Street, Abanotubani, Metekhi bridge
Hosted by Urban Adventures and available through Airbnb Experiences, Tbilisi Traditions is a perfect walking tour for anyone who’s interested in culture and history. The aim of this itinerary is to give you a peek at what Tbilisi looked and felt like 150 years ago.
Starting from Freedom Square, the walk continues through Sololaki to historic Betlemi Street, one of the most beautiful and interesting pockets of Tbilisi. Showcasing the city’s beauty and decay in equal balance, you’ll come away with a renewed appreciation for the small details.
More information & reservations here.
5. Tbilisi’s Soviet Concrete Walking Tour
- Cost: From 35 EUR per person
- Schedule: On demand (tours run daily at 10am)
- Duration: 6 hours
- Reservation required?: Yes
- Highlights: Bank of Georgia, Chronicles of Georgia & other brutalist and Soviet structures
Tbilisi is one of the best places to visit in Georgia for Soviet history and Brutalist architecture. If you count these niche subjects among your interests, then local company Brutal Tours is for you.
Starting from Freedom Square and using a mix of public transport and pavement pounding, it includes some of the city’s most iconic buildings both within central Tbilisi and on the outskirts.
Over the course of a full day you’ll see some of incredible feats of concrete, including brutalist and modernist buildings, all brought to life by narrations from an expert guide.
This tour is perfect for urbexers and architecture buffs, and suitable for anyone who just wants to see Tbilisi from a different angle. Tours are available in English, German, Dutch and French.
More information & reservations here.
More walking tours from Brutal Tours:
• After Dark Brutal Tour
6. Food & Wine Walking Tour
- Cost: From 99 USD per person
- Schedule: Daily at 2pm or 6pm
- Duration: 3.5 hours
- Reservation required?: Yes
- Highlights: Monument of King in Metekhi, Narikala Fortress & Sololaki by night
Eating Georgian food is a highlight of any visit to Tbilisi. If you want to go deep and learn more about the national cuisine, a food-focused walking tour such as this one is a delicious way to learn more about Tbilisi’s heritage and food culture.
Focusing on historic Sololaki district, this itinerary will take you to some of Tbilisi’s best restaurants (including one of the city’s oldest) to sample a range of local delicacies. All meals and snacks are accompanied by a short history lesson about Tbilisi – and of course a glass or two of Georgian vino.
More information & reservations here.
7. Tbilisi Market Walk
- Cost: 95 USD per person (minimum 2 people)
- Schedule: On demand (at 10am Tuesday to Saturday only)
- Duration: 7 hours
- Reservation required?: Yes
- Highlights: The Dezerter Bazaar, food & wine sampling, dinner at a family run restaurant
The Dezerter Bazaar is Tbilisi’s largest open-air marketplace and plays a vital role in daily city life. Experience the chaos and colour of the market up close with this tour from Culinary Backstreets, one of the region’s leading food tour companies.
With a local guide and a small group (max 7 people), you’ll slow meander through the market, stopping to sample as much as possible. Chat with market vendors and learn about their produce and food preparation techniques (including how to make the legendary churchkhela).
The tour culminates with an off-menu dinner at a family owned restaurant.
More information & reservations here.
8. Night Walking Tour
- Cost: From 54 USD per person
- Schedule: Daily at 6.30pm
- Duration: 3.5 hours
- Reservation required?: Yes
- Highlights: Monument of King in Metekhi, Narikala Fortress & Sololaki by night
If you think Tbilisi is charming by day, you should see her after dark. This popular tour kicks off at 6pm, giving you a few hours of twilight in summer before showcasing the city in lights.
You’ll visit a range of viewpoints to catch Tbilisi from her best angles before exploring the city at street level, wandering the streets of one of the oldest and most charming neighbourhoods.
When the tour concludes, your guide will recommend the best dinner restaurants, bars and clubs to keep the night going.
More information & reservations here.
9. Tbilisi Instagram Tour
- Cost: From 69 USD per person
- Schedule: Daily between 9am and 4pm
- Duration: 3-6 hours
- Reservation required?: Yes
- Highlights: Tbilisi’s most photogenic locations & lookout points
Tbilisi is a very photogenic city – if you’re doing it for the ‘Gram, I don’t blame you! This walking tour is designed specially for photographers and posers who want to snag the best Instagram photos.
It’s recommended to do this tour in the early morning when the light is good and the streets are less crowded. As part of the itinerary, you’ll visit some of Tbilisi’s most beautiful spots, including magnificent churches, pretty facades and street art murals.
It’s not all about looks – you’ll get a bit of a history lesson along the way as you visit important cultural and religious sites. Guides are professional photographers who will also teach you tips for composition and framing as you go.
More information & reservations here.
10. Self-guided Wine Walk
- Cost: Free when you subscribe to the GPSmyCity app
- Schedule: On demand – whenever it suits you!
- Duration: Flexible (allow at least 4 hours)
- Reservation required?: N/A
- Highlights: Tbilisi’s best wine bars
If a self-guided tour is more your style, you might want to give the GPSmyCity app a try. After signing up for a yearly subscription, you have access to a host of walking tour itineraries for cities all over the world, with new tours added regularly.
There’s an interesting range of user-generated city tours available in Tbilisi. My favourite is the Self-Guided Wine Walk, which leads you to 5 of the city’s best wine bars, hand-picked by Daria, an expert on Georgian wine.
Other tours focus on Tbilisi’s best restaurants and breakfast cafes, and there’s even a quest to find Tbilisi’s best lemonade. If you’re after something more traditional, there’s also a ’10 Things to Do in Tbilisi’ tour. Maps are available offline, so you don’t have to worry about buying a local SIM card or using up your data.
Download the GPSmyCity app from the Apple Store or Google Play.
11. DIY Immersive Audio Tour
- Cost: 40 USD per person
- Schedule: Daily
- Duration: 1.5 hours (approx. 4km of walking)
- Reservation required?: Yes
- Highlights: Major landmarks, lesser-known spots, interesting facts about Georgia
Another alternative walking tour option, Past Perfect Tbilisi is a self-guided audio excursion, meaning you use headphones and an audio guide to get around.
The narration, lovingly curated by founders Manana and Oleg, includes directions for exploring Tbilisi’s historical centre, plus lots of stories and informative tidbits. The route starts in Rike Park where you collect your headset. Audio is available in both English and Russian.
More information & reservations here.
Georgia essentials
Here are the websites and services I personally use and recommend for Georgia. Check out my full list of travel resources for more tips.
FLIGHTS: Search for affordable flights to Tbilisi, Batumi or Kutaisi on Skyscanner.
TRAVEL INSURANCE: Insure your trip with HeyMondo, my preferred provider for single-trip and annual travel insurance (get 5% off when you book with my link).
SIM CARD: Magti is my preferred provider, with prices starting from 9 GEL/week for unlimited data. See this guide for all the details about buying a Georgian SIM card.
AIRPORT TRANSFERS: Most flights into Georgia arrive in the early hours. For ease, pre-book a private transfer from Tbilisi Airport to your hotel (from $17) or from Kutaisi Airport to Tbilisi (from $90) with my partners at GoTrip.ge.
ACCOMMODATION: Booking.com is the most widely used platform in Georgia. Use it to find family guesthouses, private apartments, hostels and hotels around the country.
CAR HIRE: Find a great deal on a rental car in Georgia – use the Local Rent website to book through a local agent (prices start from $20/day).
DAY TRIPS & CITY TOURS: Use Viator or Get Your Guide to browse a range of day trips and city tours. For off-beat programs, I recommend Friendly.ge (use the promocode wanderlush for 10% off). For in-depth day trips to Georgia’s wine regions, I recommend Eat This! Tours (use the promo code wanderlush for 5% off).
PRIVATE TRANSFERS: GoTrip.ge is a terrific service for booking a private professional driver and car for the day. Use it for A-to-B transfers, a customised round-trip itinerary, or a multi-day trip. You can stop wherever you like for as long as you like without the fixed price going up.
NEED SOME HELP?: Need feedback on your itinerary or personalised travel tips? I offer a one-on-one consultation call service for Tbilisi and Georgia. More information and bookings here.
Have you done one of these paid or free walking tours in Tbilisi? Do you have an alternative tour you love? Leave your recommendations in the comments below!
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You might also be interested in…
- The ultimate Georgia itinerary: Four detailed & custom-designed itineraries
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- The best things to do in Tbilisi: Favourites, hidden gems & local picks
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Hi, fellow Aussie family here and looking forward to our trip in July, unfortunately with thousands of others as that’s when we could come. Question for you – my dad and stepmum aren’t as able to walk (they live in Gori; will be coming to Tbilisi to show us around – and my teen girls aren’t as good with walking. Is there a tour you’d recommend that takes wheels of some kind? We’re very used to taking metros and buses. Assume taxis are frustrating in traffic? Thank you!
Hi Martha, the Soviet Tbilisi tour is done with a private car. If you are interested in history and architecture from that period, it is really a terrific choice!
Amazing depth of information on your website, but I am trying to find out more about cultural events such as dancing, polyphonic singing and any events where we can see or here this. We are in Tibilisi for 5 days – 6th to the 11th April
Thanks
Hi Pren, you can find details in these guides:
https://wander-lush.org/live-music-in-tbilisi-georgian-folk-dance-polyphony/
https://wander-lush.org/festivals-in-georgia-country-calendar/
Thanks. We are travelling through Baku, Tbilisi, Istanbul, Athens and Crete and your blogs have been the main source of our planning
That’s awesome to hear, Pren! Thank you so much. Enjoy your trip!
Hi Emily,
I cannot thank you enough for these wonderful blog posts. I cannot fathom how much research and patience has gone into writing such detailed posts. I will be visiting Georgia in April and have been reading through all of your posts very meticulously. Thanks a ton.
Imrana
Thank you Imrana for the kind words!
Hi Emily,
I somehow got onto ‘Mountain Freaks’ inquiring about arranging a private 4-5 day tour to the Racha area in June. Was that a link from your site? I just can’t find it anymore having been through your site for hours. Is it a reputable organisation for a private tour?
Or do you have any other suggestions?
Cheers,
Astrid
Hi Astrid – they are reputable, yes. But I don’t know about their private tours, I am only familiar with their transfers around Kazbegi. You might have read about them in my Kazbegi day trips guide.
If you are looking for a private guide for Racha I can recommend someone who is based here in Kutaisi. Let me know and I will pass on his details!
Hey emily thank you for your blog, actually i used the information to prepare my travel to tbilisi.
Thanks
My pleasure, Mohamed! Glad to hear it was useful. I hope you enjoyed your time in Tbilisi!
Hey emily thank you for your blog, actually i used the information to prepare my travel to tbilisi.
Thanks so much for this! Quick question: how much of a tip would be considered generous (for the free tours)? 🙂
Thanks Tracey! And great question!
Someone recently asked this in a Facebook forum that’s specific to travel in the region. The consensus was that a tip of 5-10 Euros (about 15-30 GEL) per person was acceptable for a free walking tour. I guess ‘generous’ would be at the upper end, or even a little higher? It’s a personal preference, but I would also consider leaving a guide a modest tip for the paid tours as well.
I hope that helps!
Thanks Emily! This helps a lot. My sense of what’s appropriate for tips is somewhat skewed by living in the Philippines. I’m looking forward to joining some of these tours next week. 😀
Awesome, enjoy!!
Wow amazing! I’ll use this information to plan my trip and be sure not to miss this awesome tours. Thanks!