Tbilisi nightlife operates on a scale that contradicts the city's 1.2 million population. Bassiani, located in the concrete shell beneath Dinamo Stadium, opened in 2014 and functions as the anchor of Georgian techno culture. The club operates Thursday through Monday from midnight until 10:00 AM or later, with resident DJs including HVL and Newa. The venue gained international attention in May 2018 when police raided it during a Saturday morning set, leading to protests outside Parliament that drew an estimated 10,000 people and resulted in government statements supporting club culture. Admission ranges from 15 to 30 GEL depending on the night. Khidi opened in 2016 under the Baratashvili Bridge on the left bank of the Mtkvari River, programming primarily house and techno across two rooms with a terrace overlooking the water. The venue runs Friday and Saturday from midnight to noon, with tickets at 10 to 25 GEL. Mtkvarze, a floating platform on the Mtkvari, operates May through September with open-air sessions mixing electronic music with live Georgian folk reinterpretations by groups like Iberi and Shin. Entrance costs 5 to 15 GEL. Café Gallery occupies a courtyard at 18 Shardeni Street in Old Tbilisi, hosting jazz performances Thursday through Saturday starting at 21:00, with musicians including Beka Gochiashvili on piano and Zaza Miminoshvili on saxophone. No cover charge applies, though table reservations require drink minimums of approximately 30 GEL per person.
The drinking culture in Tbilisi centers on wine bars reflecting Georgia's 8,000-year viticulture history demonstrated by kvevri remnants excavated south of Tbilisi and carbon-dated to 6,000 BC. Vino Underground at 15 Galaktion Tabidze Street stocks over 300 qvevri wines from producers including Pheasant's Tears, Iago Bitarishvili, and Cradle of Wine, with glasses starting at 12 GEL and bottles from 40 GEL. The space opens at 12:00 and closes between 23:00 and midnight depending on customer flow. 8000 Vintages on Erekle II Street maintains a list of approximately 150 natural wines, predominantly amber wines from Kakheti producers like Ramaz Nikoladze and Vakhtang Janjgava, with prices from 10 GEL per glass. Ghvino Underground on Dadiani Street focuses exclusively on qvevri wines, offering bottles from 35 GEL alongside Georgian cheeses including Guda and Sulguni. Chateau Mukhrani, 30 kilometers northwest of Tbilisi, produces wine on an estate established by Prince Ivane Mukhranbatoni in 1878, offering tastings of five wines for 20 GEL daily from 10:00 to 18:00. The estate grows Saperavi and Rkatsiteli on 80 hectares and produces approximately 500,000 bottles annually.
Georgian polyphonic singing, inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2001, comprises three or more vocal parts creating harmonic intervals uncommon in other traditions. The Rustavi Choir, founded in 1968 by Anzor Erkomaishvili, performs traditional Georgian polyphony at Tbilisi venues including the Rustaveli Theatre and Conservatoire Concert Hall, with tickets from 20 GEL. Performances occur irregularly, typically announced one to two weeks in advance via the ensemble's website. The Anchiskhati Choir, based at Anchiskhati Basilica built in the 6th century on Shavteli Street, sings liturgical Georgian chant during Sunday services at 10:00, free to attend. Erisioni ensemble performs folk songs from Svaneti, Khevsureti, and other mountain regions at the Gabriadze Theatre monthly, with tickets at 15 GEL. The Georgian National Ballet, established in 1945 under Iliko Sukhishvili and Nino Ramishvili, performs dances including the Khevsuruli war dance and Kartuli courtship dance at the Palace of Culture on Rustaveli Avenue, with performances Tuesday and Friday at 19:00 from September through May, tickets 30 to 60 GEL.
The Georgian National Museum at 3 Rustaveli Avenue houses archaeological collections including gold jewelry from Vani dated to the 5th century BC, demonstrating Colchian metalwork techniques. The treasury contains the Akhalgori hoard of 3rd-century BC gold objects and the Trialeti goblets from the 2nd millennium BC. The Soviet Occupation exhibit on the third floor documents the 1921 Red Army invasion and subsequent incorporation into the USSR, displaying photographs, documents, and personal effects. Entry costs 7 GEL, with hours from 10:00 to 18:00 Tuesday through Sunday. The Museum of Fine Arts at 1 Rustaveli Avenue holds European paintings including works by Niko Pirosmani, Georgia's most internationally recognized painter who died in poverty in 1918. His primitivist works, painted on oilcloth and cardboard, depict feasts, animals, and Georgian daily life. Admission is 5 GEL, hours identical to the National Museum. The Open Air Museum of Ethnography, located on Turtle Lake road 5 kilometers west of central Tbilisi, displays 70 traditional houses relocated from Georgian regions including a Svan tower from Mestia, an Imeretian farmhouse, and a Kakhetian marani wine cellar. The 52-hectare site requires approximately three hours to tour completely. Entry costs 5 GEL, open 10:00 to 18:00 except Mondays.
Dry Bridge Market operates daily from 09:00 to 18:00 along the Mtkvari embankment near Freedom Square, selling Soviet-era items including medals, cameras, watches, glassware, and textiles. Vendors spread goods on blankets and tables across approximately 200 meters of pavement. Prices are negotiable, with Soviet military watches starting around 30 GEL and medals from 10 GEL. The market expands on weekends when additional sellers arrive from outside Tbilisi. Dezerter Bazaar, Tbilisi's largest food market, occupies a covered complex at 14 Kheivani Street in the northeast of the city, operating 08:00 to 19:00 daily. Vendors sell produce, herbs, spices, churchkhela, walnuts, honey, and Georgian cheeses. Fresh tarragon, cilantro, and purple basil are sold in large bunches for 2 to 3 GEL. Tkemali sauce, made from sour plums, costs approximately 10 GEL per half-liter jar. The market includes butchers selling beef, lamb, and pork, and stands offering prepared foods including khinkali at 1 GEL each.
Fabric and souvenir shops line Aghmashenebeli Avenue, a 1.5-kilometer boulevard running northeast from Freedom Square. Renovated between 2015 and 2018 with EU funding, the street contains 19th-century buildings housing shops selling chokha (traditional Georgian male costume), papakhi (wool hats), and textiles. A chokha costs from 400 GEL for machine-made versions to over 2,000 GEL for hand-stitched examples. Samaia sells traditional jewelry including niello-work pieces inspired by Kakhetian designs, with silver rings from 80 GEL. Caucasian Carpets at 32 Aghmashenebeli stocks kilims and wool carpets from Georgian weavers, with small rugs from 200 GEL. Prosperos Books at 34 Rustaveli Avenue, operating since 2001, carries English-language books including Georgian history titles, translated literature, and travel guides. The shop stocks works by Nino Haratischvili, whose novel "The Eighth Life" was published in English in 2019, and Aka Morchiladze's "Journey to Karabakh."