Apart from the major touristic places, visiting some of the most interesting, quirky, and fun museums should be on your itinerary list. Exploring some of the best museums in Tbilisi gives you a different perceptive of the country’s history, culture, and traditions. It is also a great way to spend a cold or rainy day in Tbilisi by learning something new about the country you are staying in. The museums listed here are ideal for a solo and friends visit as well as for family outings for a fun and informative day in the capital.
Museums in Tbilisi to learn history and culture
Georgian National Museum
Georgian National Museum unites 10 different museums, two research centers, and four house museums both in Tbilisi and all over Georgia. The venue showcases internationally important collections of art, culture, and history in its permanent and temporary exhibitions.
The museum has 8 rooms of permanent exhibitions you can visit anytime you are in Tbilisi. So here’s an overview of some of the most significant rooms and what to expect here.
Stone Age Georgia
The very first room to explore in Georgian National Museum is the Stone Age Georgia beautifully showcasing the human life on the territory of current Georgia of that era. Because of its geographical location, Caucasus has always been a hub of cultures; therefore, early humans have regularly lived here for the last 2 million years.
The moment you enter the space, dozens of different human skulls discovered in archeological excavations attract the eye. These skulls were found in different territories in the world 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 Dmanisi, Georgia that are considered the earliest humans in Eurasia. Their skulls date back to 1,770,000 years and were the biggest discovery that put Georgia on the map.
Caucasus Biodiversity
From the Stone Age room, you can go to explore the biodiversity of the Caucasus region represented in unique botanical, geological, and zoological collections. Some of the species shown here are already extinct or endangered.
Here 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. All of this together perfectly reflects the evolution of flora and fauna in the Caucasus.
Kids will love a mammal display with a digital screen to hear the voice or the noise each mammal makes.
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.
Archeological Treasury
This is by far my favorite exhibition hall, and if you don’t plan on visiting any of the rooms mentioned here, I highly recommend paying a visit to this one.
The room shows extraordinary examples of early Georgian goldsmiths that archeologists discovered in various excavations. Items on display here show the progress of gold craftsmen from the 3rd century BCE to the 4th century CE.
Most of the items exhibited were found in burial mounds of important and significant members of the society of ancient Kakheti, Kartli, and Trialeti cultures. In addition, you can see the jewelry made during the period when Georgia was the Colchis Kingdom in ancient times. Meticulously designed necklaces, bracelets, diadems, and rings will take your breath away.
Numismatic Treasury
Set in a small room right next to the Archeological Treasury, this hall displays all sorts of coins that circulated on the territory of today’s Georgia from the 6th century BC till 1834. Considered as one of the unique collections in the world, the exhibition starts with the very first primitive money: massive bronze circles of various forms and weight and mollusk shells from the Indian Ocean called Kauri.
With up to 3,500 coins on display, you can see how Colchian tetri looked like 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 Asian countries due to his military service. He was an expert in weaponry and created a rich collection of Oriental art and weaponry throughout his career.
the museum now showcases his private collection in one of its halls. Here you can see 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 also includes bronze ceramic and wooden statues of Buddhist and Hindu gods, items for household use and worship.
Soviet Occupation Hall
Located on the 4th floor of the museum, come here to learn more about the Soviet occupation in Georgia from 1921 till 1991. The exhibits are divided by years showing pictures, documents, and videos from the terror of that time and enlist 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 regime in our country.
The exhibition is dictated to the national-liberation and anti-occupational movement of Georgia and to 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 on it.
Opening hours: Every day 10 a.m – 6 p.m. Closed on Mondays and official holidays
Entrance fee: 10 GEL for the whole museum
Tbilisi History Museum
Nestled in the restored caravanserai next to Sioni Cathedral in the Old Town, Tbilisi History Museum displayed more than 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 to learn more about the capital and how it changed over the years. With ancient ethnographic and archeological items, you can follow the road of Tbilisi’s growth as you walk through the venue. Old Tbilisi photos hanging on the walls and mock-ups of various houses, palaces, or workshops are the most interesting part of the museum together with the models of trams Tbilisi used to have.
Here, you can also see what Georgians used to wear back in the day, what kind of china or furniture the noble families used in their homes, or even see the metal tins of sweets and candies produced in the factories of Tbilisi.
Opening hours: Every day 10 a.m – 6 p.m. Closed on Mondays and official holidays
Entrance fee: 5 GEL
Art Palace
The Georgian State Museum of Theatre, Music, Cinema, and Choreography, often referred to as Art Palace, is home to a significant collection of local cultural items. The museum building is a piece of art itself and was designed by Paul Stern incorporating Islamic and gothic architectural styles.
What adds to the charm of the building is the love story behind it. Back in 1882, German Prince Constantine Oldenburg fell in love with Agraphina Japaridze, wife of a Georgian nobleman Diadini when they met in Kutaisi. Despite that, Prince confessed his love for her and they eloped to live in Tbilisi. Prince decided to commission 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 of its kind in the whole Caucasus region. Exhibits here ideally show the development of Georgian cinema, theater, Georgian folk, ballet, opera, and circus together with proceeding an insight look at how famous aristocracy lived in that period.
Art Palace is among those museums in Tbilisi 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, and playwrights, illustrations, posters, gramophone record, and 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.
Opening hours: Every day 10:30 a.m – 6 p.m
State Silk Museum
Since Georgia was part of the Great Silk Road trading route, it will come as no surprise to you that we have the Silk Museum in Tbilisi. 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. You can see mulberry tree leaves, cocoons, butterflies, and silkworms on display. Some of them were brought from Russia upon the foundation of the museum, while others were gathered in Europe and Georgia.
You can also learn the history of silk production in the whole world and admire the multinational exhibits from around 50 countries. The items include various machinery, textiles made from different techniques, vintage thread packaging boxes, and the most impressive – silk cocoons with samples of more than 20 countries including the Caucasus, Europe, Eastern and Central Asia. This means that the museum might have more than 18,000 cocoons of 5,000 various species.
Apart from gorgeous textiles and informative displays, the museum has a unique library with rare books published in 17 different languages and date to the 18th and 19th centuries, including Chinese, Japanese, Arabian, Persian, Hungarian, English, German, and French, to name a few.
On the ground floor, the museum also presents a very interesting and unique collection of marine shells and terrain picked at various seas and oceans. It is a private collection of at least 100 different shells. The room also shows jewelry made from pearls and different shells.
Opening hours: Every day 11 a.m – 6 p.m. Closed on Mondays and official holidays
Entrance fee: 5 GEL
Temporarily closed because of renovation works
Tbilisi museums for book and literature lovers
The Museum of Books
Visiting the Museum of Books should be on the list of any book and literature lover. Considered as one of the biggest projects in the Caucasus in terms of the number of items displayed, the museum showcases the permanent exhibition of more than 19,000 rare books published in Georgia since the 17th century.
This one-room museum is located in the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. Look for the huge book-shaped sign hanging on the exterior of the library. Once you go inside a heavy wooden door, you’ll see painted ceilings adorning its interior. You can freely browse the hallway and even walk up the staircase to enjoy stunning handpainted walls. The museum itself is set in a different room with no signs were to go, so ask the security guy to show you the entrance.
Even though the books are in Georgian, the staff is eager to help and explain in English and Russian what you are looking at.
The collection is divided into four spaces. The first one is dedicated to the Georgian medieval masterpiece poem The Knight in the Panther’s Skin and displays around 500 published copies from all over the world.
The next space represents rare books such as Georgian-Italian dictionary published in 1629, the grammar of Georgian language published in 1670, or the very first book published in Georgia in 1709 – the Book of Psalms.
Then comes the area dedicated to Ilia Chavchavadze, a Georgian writer and public figure behind the national movement in the second half of the 19th century. His personal library and a workspace are on display.
And lastly, there’s a book depository of Marie Brosset, a French orientalist who specialized in Armenian and Georgian studies in the 19th century.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10 a.m – 6 p.m. Closed on weekends and official holidays
Entrance fee: FREE
Museums in Tbilisi for art enthusiasts
The National Gallery
Art lovers will enjoy a visit to the National Gallery located on Rustaveli Avenue just a few minutes walk from the Georgian National Museum. 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.
The self-taught artist Niko Pirosmani received local and international acknowledgment after his death. He was a naïve painter who showed rustic and everyday life of that time Georgia. The main characters of his works are shopkeepers, merchants, workmen. and sometimes noblemen groups. He was fond of rural life and nature and often painted animals, making him the only Georgian animalist painter.
Davit Kakabaze was one of the preeminent avant-garde painter, scenic designer, and graphic artist. Moreover, he was an inventor in cinematography, an art scholar, and an amateur photographer. His works are a combination of European “leftists” art with Georgian traditions. The series of Imereti regions landscapes is one of the most popular among his works.
Lado Gudiashvili’s works are highly influenced by Pirosmani, his early paintings combine dramatic grotesque with the poetic mystery. Later on, his colors become warmer, and the perception of the world as a theater grew. Most of the time, he painted scenes inspired by ballets and operas.
Opening hours: Every day 10 a.m – 6 p.m. Closed on Mondays and official holidays
Entrance fee: 5 GEL
Elene Akhvlediani House Museum
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 continues in Paris after traveling to Italy for 6 months. Her series of Parisian Views shows the cityscape of that time capital of France. After returning to Tbilisi, her paintings mainly are of urban city landscapes of Telavi, Kutaisi, and Tbilisi, just like her Parisian series.
Her house-museum on 12 Gia Kiacheli str. displays graphic and pictorial works, costumes, theatrical sketches, book illustrations, personal archives, and photos. She often hosted personal exhibitions and thematic evenings at her house to create a space for creative collaborations and gatherings.
Opening hours: Every day 11 a.m – 6 p.m. Closed on Mondays and official holidays
Entrance fee: 3 GEL
Extraordinary museums in Tbilisi
Museum of Illusions Tbilisi
Only opened around a year ago, this museum is an ideal place for those who would love to explore the world of illusions. Spread on two floors of the venue, the museum is on Betlemi street in the old town. It’s easy to find while walking in the neighborhood as there are plenty of signs to guide you.
Each exhibit here has a description in Georgian, Russian, and English languages to help you understand what they do or what you should do in order for it to work. It’s a great place to explore with kids, loved ones, or friends.
Sit at the clone table and do crazy things, pretend you are attacked by a giant person in Ames Room, play in an anti-gravity room, or experience a true hypnotic illusion by turntables to name just a few. Moreover, there are puzzles and games to solve. Therefore, the Museum of Illusions has plenty of installations, so make sure to spare at least an hour here.
One of the most impressive, yet mad installation is the Vortex Tunnel. You stand into a rotating cylinder and can’t take a step forward without stumbling. I felt quite dizzy inside afterward.
Opening hours: Tue-Fri: 4 pm – 10 pm; Sat-Sun: 1 pm – 10 pm; Monday – Closed
Tbilisi Digital Space
The first digital art museum of its kind, Tbilisi Digital Space is on the 3rd floor of Tbilisi Mall shopping center covering 500 sq. meters. If you are into art, visual effects, and surrealistic space, then make sure you add this to your list of the museums in Tbilisi you plan to visit!
The creators worked hard to construct an ultramodern and whimsical place via several digital and virtual installations. It surely creates an instantaneous and contradictory world.
Currently, the Tbilisi Digital Museum hosts two shows: works of world-famous Gustav Klimt brought to life by visual and sound effects, and Galaxy taking visitors to a gorgeous and massive “unknown” world beyond our globe.
Gustav Klimt’s show marks the 102nd anniversary of his death and presents an impressive exhibition of his works on all the surfaces of the venue. Colors and visual effects accompanied by orchestra music is absolutely soothing and captivating.
After Klimt’s show, you are directed to a small room to watch a short documentary about how he worked and what influenced him.
The Galaxy show aims to eliminate the boundary between nature and man by taking the visitor to the visual world of nature with flowers, jellyfish, butterflies, and flowers displayed on every wall of the space. Afterward, the show continues taking you into a fantasy environment and mesmerizes you with planets, stars, and the “life” beyond the planet Earth.
Similar to Klimt’s show, after the Galaxy, you’ll be able to watch the animated story of Withered Breech by Vazha Pshavela created specifically for this show.
Opening hours: Everyday 11 am – 9 pm
Note: they often run promo sales on their social media accounts, so watch out for them!
Museum of Selfies
If you are looking for exciting, enjoyable, and amazing museums in Tbilisi, look no further – the Museum of Selfies is exactly this! It’s a perfect place to enjoy a fun day with friends and family.
Opened only a month ago, the Museum of Selfies spans 600 sq. meters and features around 30 spots of different themes to make beautiful, unique, and fun selfies. It doesn’t seem big in the pictures, but trust my word!
The museum has a separate room with lockers to put your belongings inside and not drag them around. I found this extremely useful!
Once you enter the space, your head will spin as you’ll feel anxious about where to start. Take a deep breath, walk around, and choose which ones you like the best. I bet, it will be hard, as you’ll want a picture in EVERY spot possible. That’s at least how my friend, Mariam, and I felt like.
Each installation is well thought of and is fun to pose at. We especially liked the +18 room, it’s an absolutely fantastic and well-designed room.
I highly recommend this place to visit! I am sure, you won’t be disappointed, pictures are worth 1000 words, right?
Additionally, if you’d like to take selfies with a selfie stick and don’t have one, there are a couple you can borrow.
Opening hours: Tue-Sun: 11 am – 9 pm; Mondays – Closed.
Entrance fee: 25 GEL adult
Temporarily closed because of COVID-19
Prepare for the trip
To ease your travel planning, check out all the posts about Georgia travel. Additionally, here are some of the websites and services I use when preparing for my next adventure anywhere in the world.
- Book affordable flights on Skyscanner, a platform that shows the best routes and flight deals to your destination. There’s a money-back guarantee if you miss the flight!
- Check iVisa to see if you need a tourist visa to visit Georgia, how to apply online if applicable, or where’s the nearest embassy or consulate
- Find budget-friendly deals on all sorts of accommodation types on Booking and Agoda, or find a cool apartment on Airbnb!
- Pre-book a private car transfer from Tbilisi Airport to your hotel
- Buy the most flexible and budget-friendly travel insurance, SafetyWing, to cover all sorts of health problems on the road
- Book in advance some of the best city walks, cultural experiences, and day tours to maximize your stay and experience here
