Photos: Diliff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Marcin Konsek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo credits
Photos: Diliff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Marcin Konsek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Soviet modernism and the Chronicles of Georgia
Your local guide
Tamar Gelashvili
View profile
Highlights
- The former Ministry of Highways, now a bank
- The Archaeology Museum's relief facade
- The Expo Georgia pavilions
- The Chronicles of Georgia above Tbilisi Sea
- Soviet Tbilisi, explained by an architect
About this tour
This walk covers Soviet-era Tbilisi through its buildings, from the former Ministry of Highways to the Chronicles of Georgia above the Tbilisi Sea. You see the Archaeology Museum's carved facade, the Expo Georgia pavilions built for exhibitions decades ago, and the carved columns of the Chronicles, all explained by someone trained as an architect. It reads the city through its concrete rather than its churches.
The call opens with a sound check, then moves building to building across the city, with the guide slowing down at each one to explain the design choices behind it. Questions come along the way, and a short list of the buildings and their history follows by message afterwards.
This suits anyone interested in twentieth-century architecture and how a capital city built under one system still looks today. It also suits those who find Soviet-era buildings interesting in their own right rather than simply outdated.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
-
Welcome and sound check 10 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Tbilisi before heading out.
-
The former Ministry of Highways 21 min
The camera holds on the former Ministry of Highways building, its interlocking concrete blocks now housing the Bank of Georgia, one of the best known pieces of Soviet-era architecture in the city.
-
The Archaeology Museum facade 21 min
At the Archaeology Museum, the guide points out the relief carved across its facade, the kind of large-scale public art built into so many Soviet buildings of the period.
-
The Expo Georgia pavilions 21 min
Among the Expo Georgia pavilions, the camera moves past structures built for exhibitions decades ago, some still in use and others left as they were.
-
The Chronicles of Georgia 21 min
The walk ends above the Tbilisi Sea at the Chronicles of Georgia, the guide explaining the carved columns and how an architect reads Soviet Tbilisi differently from a historian.
-
Your questions 18 min
Time to ask anything about Tbilisi: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
-
A short list to keep 8 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Mtsvadi (grilled meat) and Sololaki, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in Tbilisi time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 8 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Tbilisi, showing you Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba) and Narikala Fortress live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
Do I need to know the history already?
No background needed. The guide explains everything as it comes up.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We meet on Google Meet; the link comes with your booking. I walk Tbilisi live with my phone and you ask anything as we go.
Times shown in Tbilisi time (GMT+4)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Reviews appear here after travellers have completed this tour.
How reviews work
Only travellers who booked and paid through Locals Guide and whose tour took place can leave a review, within 60 days of the tour. Every review is marked "Verified booking". We check reviews before they appear and publish positive and negative ones alike; we remove only reviews that break our rules (insults, personal data, unrelated content). Guides cannot pay for, edit or hide reviews, and ratings are the plain average of all published reviews.
Next: Fri 30 Oct · 8 seats left From 24,00 €
Book