Top 10 Places to Visit in Georgia in 2026

The top places to visit in Georgia (the Caucasus country) are Tbilisi, Mtskheta, Upper Svaneti, Vardzia, Gelati Monastery, Batumi, Gergeti Trinity Church, Uplistsikhe, Sighnaghi, and the country’s qvevri wine region. Georgia recorded 5,091,732 international tourist visits in 2024, up 9% from 2023, per the Georgian National Tourism Administration.

1. Tbilisi — The capital’s Narikala Fortress was likely first built around 364 AD, according to archaeological evidence, and expanded over the following centuries, overlooking the Old Town from a hill above the Mtkvari River.
2. Mtskheta — A UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1994, covering Jvari Monastery (6th century), Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11th century), and Samtavro Monastery (4th century).
3. Upper Svaneti — The community of Ushguli was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 for its medieval Svan tower houses, built mainly in the 9th to 12th centuries.
4. Vardzia — A 12th-century cave monastery complex founded under King Giorgi III and significantly expanded by his successor, Queen Tamar, carved into the cliffs of Erusheti Mountain in southern Georgia.
5. Gelati Monastery — Founded near Kutaisi with its main church completed in 1130, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994 and decorated with sanctuary mosaics from the 12th century and murals from the 16th century.
6. Batumi — Georgia’s second-largest city and one of its main Black Sea port cities, home to the 145-metre Alphabetic Tower and the Batumi Botanical Garden.
7. Gergeti Trinity Church — A 14th-century church near Stepantsminda, sitting at an elevation of 2,170 metres under Mount Kazbek.
8. Uplistsikhe — A rock-hewn town with traces of human presence dating to the end of the 2nd millennium BC, spanning roughly 8 hectares of caves, halls, and basilicas before it was abandoned after 14th-century Mongol raids.
9. Sighnaghi — King Heraclius II sponsored the construction of this fortified Kakheti town in 1762 to defend the area from raids; it now sits at the heart of Georgia’s wine-growing regions.
10. Georgia’s qvevri wine region — UNESCO added the traditional Georgian method of making wine in qvevri (large buried clay vessels) to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013; archaeological finds trace Georgian winemaking to the 6th millennium BC.

Planning note

Tbilisi, Mtskheta, and Uplistsikhe sit close enough together for day trips from the capital; Upper Svaneti and Vardzia are each a full day’s travel in the opposite direction (northwest and south respectively), so pick one mountain region rather than both on a first trip. Sighnaghi and the Kakheti wine region pair naturally as a separate eastern loop.

Sources

• Georgia Today — Georgia sets new record with 5.1 million tourist visits in 2024
• Wikipedia — Narikala
• Wikipedia — Historical Monuments of Mtskheta
• Wikipedia — Upper Svaneti
• Wikipedia — Vardzia
• Wikipedia — Gelati Monastery
• Wikipedia — Batumi
• Wikipedia — Gergeti Trinity Church
• Wikipedia — Uplistsikhe
• Wikipedia — Sighnaghi
• Wikipedia — Qvevri

Read the Top 10 Countries to Visit in 2026 roundup to see how Georgia compares globally.