10 Amazing Foreign Vacation Destinations You Haven’t Considered

4. Tbilisi, Georgia

Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Georgia, dating from the 5th century AD. The city brims with history and has a dramatic setting on hillsides either side of the swift Mtkvari River. Its Old Town, at the narrowest part of the valley, is still redolent of an ancient Eurasian crossroads, with winding lanes, old balconied houses, leafy squares, handsome churches, wide boulevards with neoclassical buildings, and countless busy bars and cafes, all overlooked by the medieval Narikala fortress.

Try to come to Tbilisi during the Tbilisoba season. Tbilisoba is an annual October festival, celebrating the diversity and history of the Georgian capital. The festival features open-air concerts of traditional music,dancing, and various cultural events, centered in the historical part of the city. Beyond celebrating the city’s past and present, people from all over Georgia represent their region at the fair of the harvest. This is the best time to immerse yourself in authentic not-for-tourists Georgian culture, sample local finger-licking good cuisine, taste the uniquely made Georgian wine, which is fermented not in wooden barrels but in clay jars buried underground, or visit the famous thermal baths, dating from the time of the Silk Road.

Tbilisi is also a modern city trying to move forward in the 21st century after the strife and stagnation of the late 20th. The city is a starting point for trips to explore the wild and breathtakingly beautiful mountainous region of Upper Svaneti, as well as the subtropical Black Sea paradise of Adzharia, near the border with Turkey.

Tbilisi is still the beating heart of the South Caucasus and should not be missed by any visitor. Once you leave this ancient charming city, Georgia will always remain on your mind.