Mtskheta
The old royal capital, thirty minutes from Tbilisi. Half a day, easily combined.
What you would see
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
The cathedral where Georgian kings were crowned and buried, built in the eleventh century over a fourth-century church, on the spot where tradition holds the robe of Christ was buried. It is the country's most sacred building and the whole town around it is a UNESCO site.
Jvari Monastery
The sixth-century monastery on the cliff directly above Mtskheta, small and bare inside, with the best view in the region from its terrace. The building is fifteen hundred years old and looks it, in the best way.
Confluence of two rivers
The point below Jvari where the Aragvi and the Mtkvari meet, one river running clear and the other brown, flowing side by side without mixing for several hundred metres. It is a strange thing to watch and it costs nothing.