21 Must-Visit Museums in Tbilisi for Culture, History & Art

With dozens of unique, interesting, and wonderful art galleries and museums in Tbilisi, you can learn a lot about Georgia, from ancient civilization to Soviet occupation and the present day, from 8000 years of winemaking to folklore and the artsy side of the country.

Apart from the prominent tourist places, I suggest including one of these art galleries and museums in your Tbilisi itinerary, giving you a different perspective on the country’s history, culture, and traditions. Moreover, they are a perfect hideout during cold or rainy days if you visit Tbilisi in spring or autumn.

In this post, I have included my favorite 25 Tbilisi museums and art galleries that I believe tell Georgian history and culture.

The post is divided into themes – history and culture, literature, art galleries, and not-so-typical museums. This curated list also includes a few free galleries and museums in Tbilisi worth checking out.

Two enterprises manage museums in Tbilisi and across Georgia, while some are private entities. Georgian National Museum unites 12 museums, two research centers, and four house museums in Tbilisi and all over Georgia.

The Union of Museums links nine independent museums in a single organization, such as memorial houses belonging to influential public figures who took part in creating Georgian culture.

The prices of museums have increased considerably over the last two years for locals and foreigners, especially those managed by the Georgian National Museum.

Some museums offer discounts if you are a student (locals and foreigners) and have a card, so remember to pack it. Children under 6 have free entrance, and school kids also get a discount if presented with a proper document.  

At the end of each museum listed here, you’ll find its opening hours, entrance fee, and a website for more info if they have one. However, note that most museums are closed on Mondays and national holidays. Art galleries have varied days of operation, but they are also closed on public holidays.

Tbilisi museums to learn history and culture

Museum of Georgia

The Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia, located on Rustaveli Ave, almost opposite the Freedom/Liberty Square metro station, is one of the leading history museums in Tbilisi and has six permanent exhibition rooms, including the Soviet Occupation Hall.

It showcases internationally important art, culture, and history collections in permanent and temporary exhibitions. One ticket grants you access to the entire building and its rooms. Here’s an overview of each room and what to expect here.

Stone Age Georgia

The first room is the Stone Age Georgia, beautifully showcasing human life on the territory of the current Georgia of that era. Because of its geographical location, the Caucasus has always been a hub of cultures; therefore, early humans have regularly lived here for the last 2 million years.

When you enter space, dozens of human skulls discovered in archaeological excavations attract the eye. These skulls were found in different territories, including Africa, China, and Georgia, to name just a few.

Apart from the eye-catching skulls, the exhibition shows the time flow of human evolution together with the development of fauna in the region.

You can also see the famous Zezva and Mzia busts, the oldest humans found in Georgia’s Dmanisi archaeological sight. They are considered the earliest humans in Eurasia as the skulls date back to 1,770,000 and are the most significant discovery that put Georgia on the map.

Caucasus Biodiversity

You can walk into the Caucasus region’s biodiversity from the Stone Age room, represented in unique botanical, geological, and zoological collections. Some of the species shown here are already extinct or endangered.

You can marvel at various minerals and rocks found in the territory of Georgia and its neighboring countries, stuffed birds and mammals, insects, reptiles, and fishes, to name a few.

Together, these elements perfectly reflect the evolution of flora and fauna in the Caucasus. Kids will love a mammal display with a digital screen to hear each mammal’s voice or noise.

And if you’d like to visualize which species are endemic to which region, there’s a large printed Caucasus Biodiversity Map that the museum created together with National Geographic Magazine Georgia.

Archaeological Treasury

Archaeological Treasury is my favorite exhibition hall, and I highly recommend you make up time for this room, even if you don’t plan on walking through the entire building.

The room shows extraordinary examples of early Georgian goldsmiths that archaeologists discovered in various excavations. Items on display here show the progress of gold artisans from the 3rd century BCE to the 4th century CE.

Scholars found most of the items exhibited here inside the burial grounds of significant members of the society of ancient Kakheti, Kartli, and Trialeti cultures.

You can admire the ancient jewelry of the Colchis Kingdom, where meticulously designed necklaces, bracelets, wreaths, and rings will take your breath away.

Numismatic Treasury

Set in a small room right next to the Archaeological Treasury, this hall displays all sorts of coins that circulated on the territory of today’s Georgia from the 6th century BC till 1834.

The exhibition, considered one of the unique collections in the world, starts with the very first primitive money: massive bronze circles of various forms and weights and mollusk shells from the Indian Ocean called Kauri.  

With up to 3,500 coins on display, you can see how Colchian tetri (ancient Georgian money) looked back in the day or what kind of money was there during the reign of Alexander the Great, different Roman Emperors, and the Sassanian dynasty.

Zurab Kobiashvili Unknown Collections

Zurab Kobiashvili was a General who often traveled to Europe and Asia due to his military service. He was an expert in weaponry and assembled a rich collection of Oriental art and weaponry throughout his career.

The museum now showcases his private collection of 199 weapons of the 16th and 19th centuries that were popular in Georgia, Russia, Europe, the Middle East, and Asian countries, including China, Japan, Mongolia, and India, to name a few.

The collection includes bronze ceramic, wooden statues of Buddhist and Hindu gods, household items, traditional clothes, etc.

Soviet Occupation Hall 

Located on the 4th floor of the museum, come here to learn more about the Soviet occupation of Georgia from 1921 to 1991. The exhibits are divided by years, showing pictures, documents, and videos from the terror of that time and enlisting names of the victims of the brutal regime.

The display perfectly tells the story of how the Red Army invaded Georgia and established the Soviet government in our country.

The exhibition is dictated to Georgia’s national liberation and anti-occupational movement and the victims of Soviet repressions. Here, you can also see one of the wooden train carriages in which the participants of the national uprising of 1924 were executed. The center of the room has a typical table of a Soviet officer with documents, a table lamp, and a couple of stationeries.

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10 am to 6 pm. Closed on Mondays
• Entrance fee: adults – 15 GEL for Georgian citizens; 30 GEL for foreigners

Open Air Museum of Ethnography

Located on the hills above Vake Park, the Giorgi Chitaia Open Air Museum of Ethnography is a place to see Georgia’s diverse regional architecture and folk culture without leaving Tbilisi.

Founded in 1966 by ethnographer Giorgi Chitaia, the museum spans over 50 hectares, is divided into 11 sectors, and features around 70 traditional houses relocated from across the country.

Each structure—from defensive tower typical of Svaneti to the Meskhetian Darbazuli house of Samtskhe-Javakheti—showcases distinct regional architectural styles and offers insight into the daily lives of Georgians from various regions.

Inside each house, you’ll find authentic household items, textiles, and tools that people used back in the day and are specific to the region.  

The museum also serves as a place for the annual Art-Gene folk festival held in summer or Tbilisoba in autumn.

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10 am to 6 pm. Closed on Mondays
• Entrance fee: adults – 8 GEL – Georgian citizens; 25 GEL – foreigners

Tbilisi History Museum

Housed in the restored caravanserai next to Sioni Cathedral in the Old Town, the Tbilisi History Museum displayed over 50,000 artifacts that tell the story of the capital and its historic part in the Silk Road trading route.

With impeccable exhibits, it is one of the best museums in Tbilisi for learning more about the capital and how it has changed over the years. With ancient ethnographic and archaeological items, you can follow the road of Tbilisi’s growth as you walk through the venue.

Archival Tbilisi photos hanging on the walls and mock-ups of various houses, palaces, or workshops are the most exciting parts of the museum, together with the models of trams Tbilisi used to have.

You can also admire what Georgians used to wear back in the day, what kind of china or furniture the noble families had in their homes, or even see the metal tins of sweets and candies produced in the factories of Tbilisi.

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10 am to 6 pm. Closed on Mondays
• Entrance fee: adults – 10 GEL for Georgian citizens; 15 GEL for foreigners

Tbilisi Wine Museum

Right after visiting the Tbilisi History Museum, head downstairs and explore the Tbilisi Wine Museum; after all, Georgia has been the birthplace of wine-making for 8000 years.

Set underground, what used to be the river entrance of the old caravanserai, the museum showcases various ethnographic and archaeological items related to Georgian wine history: wine-drinking plates, bowls, qvevri clay vessels, satsnakheli wine press, different items used for stirring and cleaning of qvevri, and one of the oldest bottled wines, to name a few.

Most displayed items are replicas of the original items exhibited in the Museum of Georgia mentioned above or Vani Archaeological Museum-Reserve. But that’s okay, as you’ll learn much about Georgia’s UNESCO-listed winemaking customs and traditions through the guided tour included in your ticket price.

The museum walls also display archival photos of Tbilisi to witness how the city has grown and changed. Consider even playing a small game of guessing the landmark, street, or square of centuries-old Tbilisi. How many would guess?

The venue also offers optional wine tasting. There’s also a restaurant called Archive that serves Georgian cuisine in a unique atmosphere.

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 11 pm to 8 pm; Mondays from 12 pm to 6 pm.
• Entrance fee: adults – 10 GEL for Georgian citizens; 15 for foreigners

Tea Museum shop

Nestled in the center, the Bitadze Tea Museum shop is one of my favorite unofficial museums for anyone who loves tea and wants to learn more about Georgian tea production.

Founded by father-son duo Shota and George Bitadze, this tiny venue showcases the history and culture of tea, starting from the tea production in Imperial Russia in 1847 following its peak in Soviet times and then a drastic drop after the collapse of the USSR.

Stepping inside this museum shop is like traveling back in time through various photos, tea boxes, and labels. The staff is very welcoming and eager to tell you about the rich history of tea production in Georgia.

One of the most valuable items of this Tea Museum is the original, more than 100-year-old packaging of the Georgian tea with state emblems of the Russian Empire, Austr-Hungarian Empire, Persia, Norway, and Belgium – the distribution areas. This exact tea got worldwide recognition at the Paris World Expo in 1899 and won a gold medal.

The Bitadze family started cultivating and reviving tea in Georgia in 2006 and eventually formed the Georgian Organic Tea Producers Association. With about ten members now, Georgia’s tea production is regaining its cultivation and popularity in its tea regions of Guria, Samegrelo, and Imereti.

In addition to selling Georgian tea produced by their association members, the Tea Museum also offers a tea-tasting experience to sample different types of Georgian tea and learn about each variety’s unique flavors and characteristics. And in case you’d want to visit tea plantations, they can also organize a tea tour in one of their association member’s plantations.

• Opening hours: Mon-Sat – 11 am to 8 pm. Closed on Sundays
• Entrance fee: FREE. The tea-tasting ceremony is 40 GEL per person and lasts 1-1:30 hrs. Maximum group: 4-5 people.

Art Palace

The Georgian State Museum of Theatre, Music, Cinema, and Choreography, often called Art Palace, is home to a significant collection of local cultural items. The museum building is a piece of art designed by Paul Stern, incorporating Islamic and Gothic architectural styles.

What adds to the charm of the building is the love story behind it. In 1882, German Prince Constantine Oldenburg fell in love with Agraphina Japaridze, wife of a Georgian nobleman, Prince Tariel, the grandson of Manuchar II Dadiani, the ruler of the Principality of Mingrelia (today’s Samegrelo), when they met in Kutaisi.

Despite that, Oldenburg confessed his love for her and may or may not convinced them to get a divorce. There are numerous rumors about this incident, but one is a fact: they moved to Tbilisi, and Oldenburg commissioned this palace for Agraphina as a token of this great admiration.

With more than 300,000 items on display, Art Palace is the only museum in the Caucasus region. Exhibits here ideally show the development of Georgian cinema, theater, Georgian folk, ballet, opera, and circus. It also gives an insight into how famous aristocracy lived in that period.

Art Palace is among those museums that should be on your list if you’d like to know the artsy side of the country through the manuscripts of famous Georgian writers and poets, screenplays, playwrights, illustrations, posters, gramophone records, costumes used in various film and theater scenes.

In addition to Georgian items, the museum also offers a vibrant collection of Persian miniatures, French engravings, and old-style Tbilisi paintings, to name just a few.

Remember: visiting the museum has a one-way route, so when you go upstairs, visit the Secret Room in the attic first and then continue browsing the exhibition on the second floor.

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm; Closed on Mondays
• Entrance fee: adults – 5 GEL for all nationalities

State Silk Museum 

After four years of extensive renovation, the State Silk Museum reopened in October 2024 in its original building next to Dinamo Stadium.

Polish architect Aleksander Szymkiewicz, who also planned several other significant buildings in Tbilisi, including Rustaveli Theater, designed the building and its display cases specifically for the museum.

The building has original architecture and a blend of various architectural styles and elements, including Classicism, Gothic, and Islamic, which granted it cultural heritage status in 2006.

Being one of the oldest Silk Museums in the world, established in 1887, the venue ideally showcases everything about sericulture, silkworm biology, thread, and textile production.

After the renovation, the museum has a fresh look with permanent exhibition spaces on the second floor. The exhibits were left in their original displays, mainly with Georgian and Russian notes.

However, bigger, more general poster-like explanatory info boards are placed throughout the exhibition space – on the walls and sides of the central wooden display cases.

There are many items to look at, from silk cocoons with samples from more than 20 countries (Caucasus, Europe, and Eastern and Central Asia) to mulberry tree leaves, from worms to various technologies/tools and items used for silkworm farming and thread production, from various textile examples to vintage packages. Its collection has an extensive, more than 18,000 cocoons of 5,000 species.

The second, red room, now showcases a new, unique collection of handmade infographics from the early 20th century and Soviet-era propaganda posters and illustrations on how to care for silkworms and prevent various diseases. In the same room, don’t skip watching a short Soviet video clip about silk production in Georgia.

The third room on the second floor is devoted to the unique library with rare books published in 17 languages dating to the 18th and 19th centuries, including Chinese, Japanese, Arabian, Persian, Hungarian, English, German, and French, to name a few.

Before the renovation, the ground floor had a collection of marine shells and terrain picked from various seas and oceans. Now, the area hosts temporary exhibitions devoted to sericulture. This is where you can also watch another short film about the silkworm’s lifecycle.

• Opening hours: Tue-Sat from 11 am to 6 pm; Closed on Mondays and Sundays
• Entrance fee: adults – 12 GEL for all nationalities; Guided service – additional 40 GEL booked in advance, preferably two days before the visit. FREE every first Wednesday of the month

The Ethnographic House by Porakishvili

Also known as Porakishvili Hall, it is one of Tbilisi’s rare architectural survivors and a hidden gem tucked away in the historic neighborhood of Avlabari.

This partially preserved 17th-century house owned by the Porakishvili family is the only known example of a Darbazuli structure (typically found in Samtskhe-Javakheti) still standing in the city.

It’s a reminder of how homes in old Tbilisi once looked, long before modern construction and repeated invasions changed the city’s layout.

While most Shirvan-style houses that once filled the area were destroyed—especially during the invasion of Agha-Mahmud-Khan—Porakishvili Hall somehow made it through.

A sketch by German architect Carl Zaar, displayed inside, shows its original design: a 12-sided crown, tall gables, and elegant wall niches. Though it was renovated in 1904 and almost changed its layout, the hall still preserves key details of its unique design.

What really surprised me was the small auditorium and stage inside—possibly a later addition, but intriguing nonetheless.

There’s no signage or guide on site, so you’re left with more questions and answers and piecing together the story independently.

• Opening hours: Mon-Fri from 11 am to 6 pm; Closed on weekends
• Entrance fee: 3 GEL for all nationalities paid cash or card at Kopala Hotel reception in front.

Art museums and galleries in Tbilisi

Art Museum of Georgia

A newly reopened museum, also known as Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts, is in a completely different building accessed from Lado Gudiashvili Street.

It spans three floors and presents significant cultural and historical exhibits. The museum is divided into three spaces – Medieval Georgian Relief Sculpture, Georgian Art from 1900 to 1930, and Paolo Veneziano to Wassily Kandinsky.

The museum has an extensive collection, so allow around 1:30-2hrs to browse through. All the rooms and items have signage in English and Georgian and a QR code to read more about the item.

QR codes to some paintings even direct you to audio explanations uploaded on YouTube. Give yourself more time if you’ll be scanning the QR codes and reading/listening to the explanations.

The Medieval Georgian Relief Sculpture room on the ground floor is impressive with its layout, lights, and black walls. The space showcases the facades and interiors of Christian churches in figurative images and ornamental decorations.

Orthodox religion doesn’t support round sculptures and statues. Instead, we have the art of relief imagery, beautifully presented in this hall with vast examples of intricately carved decorations from the 5th to 12th centuries found across the country.

From Bolnisi Sioni to Ateni, Tserovani, Sapara, and Tsebelda (currently in Abkhazia), the craftsmanship of these relief sculptures will impress you at every display.

I especially loved the centrally placed altar of Satkhe church of Kvemo Kartli dating to 1171. Besides meticulously carved ornaments, the altar features St. George and St. Theodore on the bottom section and an inscription in curvy Asomtavruli (old Georgian script) on the entablature.

Alter fragments of Shiomghvime Church are also quite remarkable, as is the copy of the top column of Bagrati Cathedral of Kutaisi.

Georgian Art from 1900 to 1930 on the third floor represents a dynamic era of Georgian artists influenced heavily by European and Russian creative movements but mixing in local traditions and folklore.

The political and economic aspects of that time in Georgia and the fact that many of these artists studied in St. Petersburg, Munich, Moscow, and Paris have heavily affected them, as shown in their works.

This is where you can see more works of Niko Pirosmani, Lado Gudiashvili, and David Kakabadze, along with a few works of Elene Akhvlediani, Kirill Zdanevich, and Shalva Kikodze, to name a few.

Panorama paintings of Niko Pirosmani that I haven’t seen before are especially noteworthy. I particularly liked his Rtveli wine harvest-themed paintings and a few other smaller ones. The Fisherman now hangs here instead of the National Gallery.

David Kakabadze’s Imereti-My Mother is his most well-known piece, even displayed on the back of the 10 Georgian Lari banknote. Seeing it in person is an experience on its own.

The landscape paintings of Paris and Luxemburg by Elene Akhvlediani and Shalva Kikodze give a perfect image of the bygone era.

The last room, Paolo Veneziano to Wassily Kandinsky, on the fourth floor, represents the idea of the founder of the National Gallery, Dimitri Shevardnadze, for Georgia to have its own Louvre showcasing not only Georgian art but works from culturally similar countries.

He and his associates have collected Western European fine art from private collections, including Princess Elizabeth Orbeliani’s and Romanov’s Palace in Likani, near Borjomi.

The hall showcases the gorgeous art of international painters from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Ukraine, etc., of early Renaissance to Modernism.

Admire various landscapes, still life, and genre paintings of Paolo Veneziano, Guido Reni, Bernardo Daddi, Onore Domie, and Auguste Rodin, to name a few.

The most surprising item for me was to see Lucas Cranach’s The Procuress/The Inappropriate Couple, which I didn’t know we had!

• Opening hours: daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Closed on Mondays
• Entrance fee: adults – 15 GEL for Georgian citizens; 40 GEL for foreigners. International students and pupils – 20 GEL.

The National Gallery 

Art lovers will enjoy a visit to the National Gallery located on Rustaveli Avenue, just a few minutes walk from the Museum of Georgia. The gallery represents paintings by prominent Georgian artists of the 20th century, including David Kakabadze, Niko Pirosmanashvili (Pirosmani), Lado Gudiashvili, Elene Akhvlediani, and sculptor Niko Nikoladze.

However, most people visit the gallery to see the works of the self-taught artist Niko Pirosmani, who received local and international acknowledgment after his death. He was a naïve painter who showed the rural and everyday life of that time in Georgia.

The main characters of his works are shopkeepers, merchants, workers, and sometimes noblemen groups. He was fond of rural life and nature and often painted animals, making him the only Georgian animalist painter. You can also visit his tiny house museum; see details below.

Pirosmani’s most iconic pieces are so widespread and reproduced on so many items, including souvenirs, that they are overwhelming and tiresome. This refers to the Fisherman in a red shirt holding a fish and a bucket and Margarita, an actress Pirosmani fell in love with after seeing her performance. He is also an inspiration for the Niko Movement, one of Tbilisi and Georgia’s mural and street art projects.

Davit Kakabaze was a preeminent avant-garde painter, scenic designer, and graphic artist. Moreover, he was an inventor of cinematography, an art scholar, and an amateur photographer. His works combine European “leftist” art with Georgian traditions. The series of landscapes of the Imereti region is among his most famous works.

I also love Elene Akhvlediani’s Tbilisi landscapes, typically colorful representations of traditional Tbilisi courtyards and intricate wooden-carved balconies. Since her house museum has been closed for renovation for a few years now, the National Gallery is the only place to see her works.

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10 am to 6 pm. Closed on Mondays
• Entrance fee: adults – 13 GEL for Georgian citizens; 25 GEL for foreigners. International students and pupils – 10 GEL.

Niko Pirosmani House Museum

Born in 1862 in Kakheti’s Mirzaani village, Niko Pirosmanashvili, known as Nikala or Niko Pirosmani, only received worldwide recognition after he died in 1918. Today, his paintings hang in various museums globally, next to the works of Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Edvard Munch.

Nikala, the self-taught artist, opened a painting workshop in Tbilisi in 1880 with another self-taught painter, Zaziashvili, where they created signboards for Tbilisi’s shops and various businesses. Pirosmani also decorated the walls of taverns, known as duqani back then, and also worked as a tram conductor.

However, his work barely made him substantial money, and in most cases, he did work in exchange for food or art supplies. Therefore, he died in extreme poverty. The exact dates of his birth and death are unknown, as well as the location of his grave. He didn’t have a family or children.

The house museum in Tbilisi, at 29 Pirosmani Str. is where he spent the last years of his life, in a small room under the stairs. Apart from the one in Tbilisi, you can also visit his house museum in Mirzaani, but currently, it’s under renovation and closed to the public.

Nikala’s paintings were uncovered by a Georgian-Polish artist, Ilya Zdanevich, who showed pieces to Pablo Picasso. Picasso was so impressed by what he saw that he drew a portrait of Pirosmani, now displayed in the Sighnaghi History Museum.

This house museum has two rooms. The small exhibition hall shows paintings of Nikala done by various artists and a short movie about his life, love, and work. The actual space where he lived for the last year only has the original carpet weaved by his mother.  

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10 am to 6 pm. Closed on Mondays
• Entrance fee: adults – 5 GEL for all nationalities.

IArt Gallery

Housed in a historical building of the 20th century, IArt Gallery exhibits fine art pieces of various Georgian contemporary artists in its vast exhibition space.

The gallery hosts both permanent and temporary exhibitions and is a great place to see modern works of today’s artists.

They were preparing for an exhibition on my visit, and two rooms were empty. However, I still browsed the rest and even went to areas that seemed like office spaces full of paintings.

Since the doors were open and the curator didn’t say anything, I admired some really interesting pieces, including Lado Gudiashvili’s work on Georgian tea plantation workers pictured here.

Note: Although the official address is 13 Dimitri Uznadze Str, the gallery entrance is from a tiny Zakaria Kurdiani street.

• Opening hours: every day from 12 pm to 8 pm.
• Entrance fee: FREE

Lado Gudiashvili Exhibition Hall

Lado Gudiashvili is a famous Georgian painter of the 20th century who studied in Paris from 1919 to 1926 and even belonged to a group of Georgian poets called Tsisper Kantselebi, or “The Blue Horns” for a brief time.

He is one of the painters who decorated the ground floor of Rustaveli Thater when it was a meeting point of The Blue Horns’s members and a cafe Kimerioni.

When living in Paris, he frequented the famous La Ruche, the artist residency, where he met with Amedeo Modigliani, Mikhail Larionov, Ignacio Zuloaga, Natalia Goncharova, and even Pablo Picasso, to name a few.

While you can visit some of his paintings in the National Gallery mentioned above, this exhibition hall showcases his works from 1940 to 1950 and 1960 to 1970.

His graphic works demonstrate satirical protest that resulted in deep personal sorrow. In these works, he tried to show the physical tragedy and morals of society of his time, particularly of Soviet Georgia —everything that created fear and killed love and sincerity in communities.

On the second floor, his works are inspired by Georgian frescos, miniatures, and mosaics.

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 12 pm to 8 pm. Closed on Mondays
• Entrance fee: adults – 15 GEL for all nationalities | More info

Georgian Museum of Fine Arts

The Georgian Museum of Fine Arts is a massive venue that showcases the private collection of a businessman, Gia Jokhtaberidze. He decided to open a gallery and display his enormous collection to the public. 

Spread over two floors, the gallery displays over 3,500 fine art pieces by at least 100 Georgian artists. Besides the paintings, you can also see sculptures and modern furniture items. 

What I loved the most about my visit was seeing several works of the same artist spread in one room. This gave me a perspective of the artist’s development, mood, and character and how they changed their technique or works over the years. 

Each room dedicated to the artist also has info stickers about the artist at the beginning of the room, so you get the idea and a bit of his/her biography. Since the museum is quite extensive, spare at least 1:30 to 2 hours for your visit.  

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10 am to 9 pm. Closed on Mondays
• Entrance fee: adults – 15 GEL for Georgian citizens and residents; 30 GEL for foreigners. FREE for children under 12 | More info

Tbilisi Art Academy Museum

The building of Tbilisi Art Academy dates back to the 1850s, making it one of the oldest and most fascinating architectural buildings in Tbilisi, with a mix of European and Persian (Asian) styles.

The building is best known for the Mirror Halls, fascinating mirror mosaic rooms created by Qajar artists from Iran.

Once you enter the museum grounds, a small entryway with a mirrored fireplace greets you immediately, opening the entrance into two larger halls.

Walking through these rooms leaves you in awe. I have it as an optional stop at my Tbilisi Art Nouveau Walking Tour, and every time I bring my guests here, they are awestruck, saying they would have missed this place as not many blogs or websites talk about it.

Almost all the rooms have a fascinating mirror mosaic from ceiling to floor. This technique of covering a surface with a mirror glass is called Āina-kāri. Some parts of the ceiling and cornices feature miniature paintings, sculptures, and muqarnas.

Colorful stained glass windows with a mashrabiya pattern bring the light into these rooms, reflecting into the mirror walls.

When visiting the museum, no signs direct you to it. Enter from the entrance closer to the garden gates and walk up the two sets of stairs on the second floor.

Then, turn on your left to enter a small hallway and find a brown door on your right. That’s a museum door with an info board next to it. If you can’t find it, there should be someone to direct you to it.

• Opening hours: Mon-Fri from 11 am to 5:30; Closed on weekends
• Entrance fee: adults – 8 GEL for Georgian citizens; 12 GEL for foreigners

Elene Akhvlediani House Museum

2024 update: Temporarily closed for renovation

Elene Akhvlediani (1901-75) was a modernist painter, graphic artist, and stage designer of the 20th century. She first studied at the Tbilisi Art Academy and later continued in Paris after traveling to Italy for six months.

Her Parisian Views series shows the cityscape of the capital of France at that time. After returning to Tbilisi, her paintings mainly feature Telavi, Kutaisi, and Tbilisi urban landscapes, just like her Parisian series. 

Her house museum on 12 Lado Kiacheli Street displays graphic and pictorial works, costumes, theatrical sketches, book illustrations, personal archives, and photos. She often hosted individual exhibitions and thematic evenings at her house to create a space for creative collaborations and gatherings.

Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum

Housed in a boutique hotel, Stamba, a Soviet-era publishing house, Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum is a non-profit and non-governmental organization that showcases contemporary images in various forms: new media, photography, and video.

The museum’s main aim is to be an independent platform that promotes photography as a stimulus of cultural and social change in Georgia and the Caucasus.

The museum constantly changes the exhibition, so it’s worth popping in after a hearty breakfast in Cafe Stamba. One of the exhibitions I saw here was called Three Colors: Green, Red, Blue, and presented photos of the South Caucasus from the Industrial Revolution to the Soviet Occupation.

• Opening hours: Mon-Fri from 12 pm to 7 pm; Weekends from 2 pm to 8 pm.
• Entrance fee: FREE | More info

Fotografia

Fotografia Gallery is a tiny space in the heart of Tbilisi that offers a powerful glimpse into Georgia’s past and present through the lens of photography.

Opened in 2017, the gallery focuses on archival and contemporary photography, shining a light on local photographers and international names redefining the medium.

From black-and-white portraits taken in the late 19th century to striking images from the Soviet years and bold, modern takes on fashion and street photography, the space captures a wide spectrum of Georgian life and culture.

You’ll find works by iconic photographers like Guram Tsibakashvili, Giorgi Tsagareli, and Yuri Mechitov documenting some of the country’s most pivotal moments and showcasing more contemporary works of young photographers.

Besides exhibitions, the gallery hosts Paraskevi talks (named after the Georgian word for Friday) every Friday evening—informal gatherings where photographers and creatives dive into everything from documentary photography to visual storytelling.

This is a lovely stop if you’re into visual arts or photography or want a different perspective on Georgia’s history.

You can also browse through prints, photo books, and posters for sale—perfect if you want to take home a unique souvenir.

• Opening hours: Wed-Sun 12 pm to 7 pm; Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
• Entrance fee: FREE | More info

Tbilisi museums for book and literature lovers

Writers House of Georgia

Writers House of Georgia is one of my favorite buildings in the Sololaki neighborhood that once belonged to David Sarajishvili, a chemist, philanthropist, and businessman who brought the brandy-making technique to the Caucasus after studying cognac production in France and opened the first factory in the region. We still produce brandy under his surname.

He loved Georgian literature and was friends with many local poets and writers; therefore, when he died, he devoted this building to the writers of Georgia. Today, it’s partly a museum and a boutique hotel with seasonal Litera Restaurants housed in its courtyard.

This gorgeous Art Nouveau building is absolutely stunning inside, with wood as its main interior decor. I especially love the magnificent ceiling in the living/dining room on the ground floor and the wooden staircase with a stained-glass window pictured here. Thus, I highly recommend making time for a visit.

The museum rooms on the second floor showcase Sarajishvili’s life and memorabilia, while another room honors Georgian writers repressed during the Soviet era on the second floor.

There are various digital info boards telling the story of the building and Sarajishvili himself. The room, allegedly Sarajishvili’s bedroom, has a very ornate Oriental-style ceiling. It shows his memorabilia, his wife’s beautiful dress, an archival photo of when she wore it, and a porcelain china with his initials, to name a few.

I enjoyed the animated movie that tells the story of the house and the events Sarajishvili hosted in the early 20th-century bourgeois society.

The Museum of Repressed Writers opened in 2023. It is a small exhibition honoring the victims of Soviet Terror and echoes the Soviet government’s efforts to make Georgian literature compliant with their rules.

With archival photos, some of which are censored with black paint, poetic quotes, and letters, the museum shows a wealth of information about Georgian literature, censorship and propaganda, the terror timeline, the writers’ movement of Georgian SSR, including Tsisperqantselebi ‘Blue Horns,’ and many more.

Afterward, make sure you go into the courtyard and pay attention to the terrace floor mosaic decoration, which was custom-made for him by Villeroy & Bosch company. If you have time, order a coffee at Litera (if it’s open) and enjoy the serene atmosphere.

And make sure to check out the bathroom on the ground floor (the green sink with a fish face in the picture). Once you enter the building and walk the stairs, take your right and walk a few more steps, and the bathroom is on your left. It has one of the most beautiful sinks I’ve ever seen!

• Opening hours: Tue-Fri from 11 am to 8 pm; Saturdays from 12 pm to 6 pm. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.
• Entrance fee: adults – 5 GEL for all nationalities | More info

The Museum of Books

Visiting the Museum of Books should be on the list of any book and literature lover or those looking for free museums in Tbilisi.

This one-room museum, part of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, showcases the permanent exhibition of rare books published in the country since the 17th century.

The first book at the entrance is the Georgian medieval masterpiece poem The Knight in the Panther’s Skin, the first-ever print of the poem dating back to 1888.

The next space represents books such as the Georgian-Italian dictionary published in 1629, the grammar of the Georgian language of 1670, or the very first book published in the country in 1709 – the Book of Psalms.

Then comes the Gospel Book published in 1709, Kontakion (1710), Ayat of the Book of Knowledge (1721), the Book of the Great Lent (1793), and Wisdom of Kitai or Teaching of the Happy Way of Wordly Living (1784) to name a few.

From the present era, it also shows books and magazines published in Soviet times, both in Georgian and Russian languages.

Sadly, the explanations for these books are in Georgian, with almost no English signs, except for the book’s title, printing place, and date. Nevertheless, it is still worth checking out for its stunning painted ceilings adorning the building’s vestibule and the staircase, making it one of the secret Instagrammable spots in Tbilisi.

Note: The entrance to the museum is now from the library’s main entrance, not from the gate under the huge book-shaped sign hanging off the building.

• Opening hours: Tue-Fri from 10:30 am to 4 pm. Closed on Mondays and weekends
• Entrance fee: FREE

Not-so-typical Tbilisi museums

Stalin Underground Printing House

Most people don’t expect to find a secret printing press tucked away in Tbilisi’s Avlabari district—but that’s exactly what this museum is.

From 1903 to 1906, this house operated as an illegal underground printing press led by Georgian Marxists, including a young Joseph Stalin.

They printed socialist materials in Georgian, Russian, and Armenian, smuggled them across Europe and the Caucasus, and helped fuel early revolutionary movements.

The press was hidden beneath an ordinary home, accessible only through a tunnel entered via a deep well. It all ended with a police raid in 1906. The press was discovered, the house destroyed—and decades later, rebuilt into a museum.

Although in a deteriorating state today, this unique and quirky museum is an interesting place to visit. Check my detailed post on how to visit and what to expect. 

• Opening hours: Mon-Fri from 10 am to 6 pm. Closed on weekends
• Entrance fee: FREE, but you can leave a donation if you’d want. 

Museum for History of Georgian Medicine

Before my visit, I was skeptical about it but was pleasantly surprised at how well laid out this museum is and what wealth of information it provides.

Spread over two floors, the museum tells the history of medicine in Georgia from ancient times to the present day. Opened in 1963, it was the first museum of its kind in the Soviet Union!

The exhibit starts with the ancient Kingdom of Colchis and Medea, known for her potions, poisons, cosmetics, and sedatives made from herbs and plants. Her practice and skills in creating those remedies are associated with the base of today’s medicine!

The museum has well-organized signage both in English and Georgia. It showcases compelling items and manuscripts that research Georgia’s healing mineral waters, endemic herbs, ancient surgery techniques, and even the benefits of the kisa scrubbing at the Tbilisi sulfur baths.

A few trephined skulls displayed on the first floor are the testaments of Georgia’s advanced medical practices dating back to the end of the 4th Millennium. There are ancient needles, bronze measuring cups for drugs or poisons, bronze forceps, medicine vessels, bandages for immobilization, prostheses made from dog bones, etc.

One of the highlights for me was the section on Georgian folk medicine spread in Khevsureti and Tusheti, collected during 40 expeditions in the second half of the 19th century to record recipes and spells and gather surgical instruments. This section also honors some of the prominent healers of that time with archival photos and names under them. I also loved the reproduction of a pharmacy in Vardzia Cave Town.

The second floor shows the history and objects from the Renaissance to modern days, with two big sculpture-like representations of anatomical and brain moulages in the center of the room, which were brought from France in 1919. You’ll find manuscripts, medical herbarium samples, a modern-day doctor’s room with all the necessary equipment, and many tools and surgical items. There’s also a pharmacy cabinet, archival photos of old pharmacies in Tbilisi, and examples of pharmaceutical and medicinal goods labels.

Even though the signage is almost on everything and well-organized, and you get a good idea of the entire industry and its history on your own, after a visit, I wished I had done a guided tour for an additional 20 GEL.

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 11 am to 6 pm; Closed on Mondays
• Entrance fee: adults – 10 GEL for all nationalities | More info

Miniature Museum of Yota Royal Gallery

If you are after genuinely impressive museums, look no further. This hidden gem features an extensive collection of 40 mm statues. The space displays figures created for the first time in 1974 for Kinder Surprise until today. Since then, Kinder has created up to 30 series on various themes for its products and stopped the production of these statues in 1994.

The museum, located in a tiny basement on Dadiani Street, 5 minutes from Freedom/Liberty Square, showcases a personal collection of Gregory Robakidze, making it one of the world’s most extensive public collections of such tiny figures.

Besides these international miniatures, you can also see Georgian solder statues made by Gregory himself. The Georgian solder collection presents Georgian Kings, including King Tamar, Parnavaz, Aieti, Parsman Qveli, Mirian III, Vakhtang Gorgasali, and David Aghmashenebeli, to name just a few.

He also crafted statues of famous Georgian public figures who played an important role in forming the Republic of Georgia.

Gregory also makes maquettes accompanying the miniatures to display them better and create relevant scenery. He will also give you a tour and explain the history, how he started the collection, and what he has collected thus far.

Note: if the museum is closed, call the number on the door (+995 577 788 284). The owners leave upstairs and will open up in a few minutes.

• Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 11 am to 8 pm
• Entrance fee: adults – 5 GEL for all nationalities

Museum of Illusions Tbilisi

The kid-friendly museum is ideal for those who would love to explore the world of illusions spread on two floors of the venue on Betlemi Street.

Each exhibit here has a Georgian and English language description to help you understand what they do or what you should do for it to work.

Sit at the clone table and do crazy things, pretend a giant person attacks you in Ames Room, play in an anti-gravity room, or experience a true hypnotic illusion by turntables, and try to solve as many puzzles and games as possible.  

One of the most impressive yet mad installations is the Vortex Tunnel. You stand in a rotating cylinder and can’t take a step forward without stumbling. I felt pretty dizzy inside afterward.

• Opening hours: every day from 11 am to 9 pm
• Entrance fee: varies by age and nationality | More info.

Tbilisi Digital Space

The first Digital Art Museum has moved to 16 Rustaveli Ave in a much bigger space covering 850 sq. meters. If you are into art, visual effects, and surrealistic space, then make sure you add this to your list! It’s one of the most visited museums, hosting around 600 people daily.

Through several digital and virtual installations, the creators worked hard to construct an ultramodern and whimsical place. It indeed creates an instantaneous and contradictory world.

Tbilisi Digital Space typically hosts two visual displays at various times throughout the day, each having its own price table. The venue also changes shows occasionally and currently has the Underwater World and Galaxy Exhibition and the Vincent Van Gogh Immersive Exhibition. I suggest contacting them to see the timetable for each show.

Additionally, after these shows, you can enter a small mirror room with thousands of colored LED dots, creating an illusion of infinity.

• Opening hours: every day from 12 pm to 9 pm
• Entrance fee: vary by exhibition, age, and nationality | More info.