The Telegraph: It’s time to discover Tbilisi

Georgia’s capital Tbilisi has been named on a list of 21 lesser-known European cities that guests must visit.

The list, titled ‘European cities you never thought to visit – but probably should’ was compiled by The Telegraph and explored 21 destinations that were off the beaten track.

Tbilisi was a "city finally coming into itself,” wrote the article’s author Claire Allfree.

Named among other locations including Tavira in Portugal, Skopje in Macedonia and Treviso in Italy, Tbilisi was selected for its rich cultural experience and architectural delights.

These days, it’s fine Art Nouveau buildings and pretty, traditional balconied houses are what some would call shabby chic: if any city needed a good lick of Farrow and Ball, this one does. Yet new hostels and shopping malls are springing up and gentrification is under way in its more historic districts. Determinedly looking towards Europe, Tbilisi feels like a city finally coming into itself. In other words, get here fast before everyone else does,” Allfree wrote.

Her words spawned from a visit in 2012, where she wrote a travel piece on the city.

In the original city guide The Telegraph reviewer described her impressions of the capital on the crossroads between Europe and Asia, describing architectural effects of the city’s past as well as cultural venues and local cuisine welcoming its visitors.

Tbilisi has always been a magnet for artists and writers, and its soul remains visible not in the gleam of its new office districts, but in its domed churches, hidden courtyards, its cosmopolitan, foreign-language bookshops, and most of all in the hazy streets of its labyrinthine Old Town. It was here that I really fell in love, losing myself in dusty alleyways filled with Art Deco buildings,” Allfree shared her impressions of the city’s historical section.

See The Telegraph’s list of all 21 European locations to visit here.