Mtskheta Old Town and Arsukidze Street

Things to do in Mtskheta Old Town

The old town is not a single monument but the lived-in centre of a small town that grew up around Georgia’s patriarchal cathedral, Svetitskhoveli. Most of what you will do here is walk, eat and shop between the churches — and that takes about an hour at an easy pace.

Start at the cathedral’s west gate on Arsukidze Street, the main tourist strip of wine shops, churchkhela stalls and cafés with terraces facing the 18th-century fortress wall. Wander one block back to Gamsakhurdia and Kostava streets for quiet stone houses with wooden balconies, then drop down to the riverbank where the Aragvi flows into the Kura.

From there, the tiny Antiokia church of St Stephen stands on the bank, and the main street, Davit Aghmashenebeli, leads 10–15 minutes north to Samtavro convent. For the view of all of it — rooftops, walls and the river confluence — look up at Jvari Monastery on the hill opposite.

What to see on the walk

• Arsukidze Street by the west gate — stalls, wine shops and terraces, plus the spot where local taxis wait.
• The cathedral’s fortress wall with its towers, built in the 18th century — the best angles are from Arsukidze Street and the riverbank.
• Stone houses with carved wooden balconies on Gamsakhurdia and Kostava streets, a block away from the souvenir crowds.
• The riverbank at the Aragvi–Kura confluence — locals fish here in warm months, and there is a small jetty for river trips (unofficial).
• Antiokia, a tiny sandstone church right by the water. The gate is sometimes locked; the outside is still worth the detour.
• Davit Aghmashenebeli Street, the town’s main road, where marshrutkas stop and the walk north to Samtavro begins.

Where to eat in Mtskheta

Georgian cafés line Arsukidze Street and the lanes around the cathedral. Menus are aimed at visitors — khinkali, khachapuri, mtsvadi (grilled meat), lobio and walnut salads — and the terraces facing the fortress wall are the main draw. Fine for a quick lunch between churches; nothing you can’t find in Tbilisi.

For the town’s best-known dish, go a little further. Salobie, a large roadside café below Armaztsikhe across the Kura, serves lobio — spiced kidney beans in a clay pot — with mchadi cornbread. Grab a table first, then order and pay at the counter.

Order a Georgian lemonade with it: tarragon (tarkhuna) is the classic. There is no special “Mtskheta lemonade”, but Natakhtari, the best-known brand, is bottled in Natakhtari village 8 km north of town. Tip from YesGo: eat before noon or after 15:00 — tour buses unofficially arrive between about 10:00 and 13:00 and fill the terraces.

Is Mtskheta Old Town worth visiting?

Yes, as part of a trip to the cathedral and monasteries — which is the reason to come. On its own it is a pleasant hour, not a destination: the streets were heavily rebuilt in 2008–2010, when around a hundred buildings and seven streets were renewed, so it looks neat and in places almost new. If you want genuinely old, lived-in lanes, Tbilisi’s Old Town has more of them.

Plan half a day for Svetitskhoveli, the old town with lunch and Samtavro; a full day if you add Jvari by taxi and the ruins of Armaztsikhe. Come on a weekday morning or after 15:00, in spring or autumn. In July and August the cobbles are hot by noon, so arrive before 10:00. On 14 October, the Svetitskhovloba festival, the town is packed with pilgrims and roads jam.

Taxi, train or tour?

Bolt works between Tbilisi and Mtskheta and drops you at the gate, but it costs many times the marshrutka fare, and a car back is not always available — drivers in Mtskheta are thin on the ground. Skip the train: unofficially, Mtskheta station is closed for restoration and no trains run from Tbilisi.

A guided day trip from Tbilisi usually bundles Svetitskhoveli, Jvari and the old town in half a day, with the legends that no sign on the street explains. It is the easiest way to see Jvari without arranging your own taxi up the hill.

What to buy: churchkhela, wine and chacha

The classic buy is churchkhela — walnuts or hazelnuts on a string, dipped in thickened grape juice. Fresh ones are firm and slightly springy, never rock-hard. Stalls also sell tklapi (thin fruit leather), honey, spices, Svan salt and green-walnut jam.

Wine shops on Arsukidze sell wine and chacha (grape brandy), and some will pour a taste first. Mtskheta is in Kartli, and the Mukhrani valley in the same municipality makes wine from local grapes such as Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane and Shavkapito. Choose factory-sealed bottles if you are flying.

Ceramics, drinking horns, mini qvevri and cathedral magnets fill the open stalls, where gentle haggling is normal if you buy several things; shops with price tags are fixed-price. We found no produce market with market days in the old town — the souvenir rows by the cathedral are the market, and they trade daily.

Old town, Svetitskhoveli or Samtavro?

The old town doesn’t replace the churches — it links them. Short on time? See Svetitskhoveli first, then walk Arsukidze Street to lunch.

Historic sites in Mtskheta compared

Every historic site in Mtskheta rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

Nearby — add to your day

52

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

Mtskheta, Georgia

1 h · Free · 3 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

44

Samtavro Monastery

Mtskheta, Georgia

30 min · Free, donations welcome · 8 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Samtavro Monastery

45

Antiokia Church

Mtskheta, Georgia

15 min · Free · 8 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Antiokia Church

44

Armaztsikhe-Bagineti

Mtskheta, Georgia

45 min · Free or 6 GEL — sources disagree · 9 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Armaztsikhe-Bagineti

How to do it right

• Arrive before 10:00 or after 15:00 to walk Arsukidze Street and photograph the cathedral wall without the crowds.
• Step one street back from the cathedral — Gamsakhurdia and Kostava are quieter, and the balconied houses photograph better without stalls in front.
• Dress for the churches from the start; there is nowhere to change at the gates.
• For Jvari, take a taxi from the rank by the cathedral gate and agree the fare and waiting time before you get in.
• Pick churchkhela that is firm but springy — dried-out ones crumble — and wine in sealed factory bottles.
• Save half an hour for the riverbank at the confluence; it is calm after busy Arsukidze Street.

Questions