Georgia's capital is equal parts crumbling and glamorous, and Tbilisi wants you to see both.
Start in the Old Town below Narikala Fortress, where balconied wooden houses lean into cobbled lanes that smell of fresh bread and grilling meat. Take the cable car up to the fortress itself for the best orientation view of the city, the Kura river curling below and the Bridge of Peace glowing at dusk.
Spend an afternoon in the sulphur bathhouses of Abanotubani, where a scrub-down from a stranger in a private stone chamber is a genuine local institution, not a tourist add-on. Follow it with a proper Georgian supra — a long, wine-soaked feast of khachapuri, khinkali dumplings and endless small plates — and let someone else order, because half the dishes will not be on any menu you recognise.
Ride the funicular up Mtatsminda for sunset over the whole city, then come back down into Fabrika, a converted Soviet factory turned courtyard of bars and independent shops, for a very different Tbilisi after dark. The city rewards curiosity more than any checklist — the best meal of the weekend is usually the one you find by accident, not the one recommended online.
