Wisteria in Tbilisi: Where to See Blooms and Take Photos

If you come to Tbilisi in spring, the scent of blooming wisteria will accompany you as you stroll along the old streets in the city center. And you’ll come across these flower-covered vines more than once—this shrub is popular in Georgia. Sometimes, in small villages, you can see an open veranda next to a little house, wrapped in gorgeous flowering vines.

But let’s get back to Tbilisi. In the Old Town, there are charming old houses whose walls are draped with green-and-lilac branches. It looks like a kind of waterfall made of stems, leaves, and bright blossoms. Sometimes they even cover windows and balconies, but no one minds—because it’s truly fairy-tale beautiful.

Such houses are asking for a photo. And I want to capture myself in this beauty. Let's take a walk around the city and see where the amazing wisteria grow.

• First stop on D. Zdanevichebi street, not far from the Metekh Bridge. The street rises a little, and here you can find a popular place for photography — a wonderful wisteria on the wall, windows and balconies of an old house. If you look towards the river, the majestic Trinity Cathedral will be clearly visible on the left bank.
• Very interesting Betkemi Rise street or Betlemskaya Street-stairs, built up with apartment buildings. It goes from Khlebnaya Square to Tbilisi fortresses of Narikala. There is also a Maiden monastery here. A gorgeous wisteria grows near the temple. You can go down here from the observation deck at the monument to the Mother of Georgia or climb up from the Old Town.
• Often in the Old Town you can find houses, a little crooked from time, with traditional carved balconies. There is such a house and on Abesadze Street, and next to it — picturesque wisteria bushes. When they bloom, no one sees the cracks on the walls of the house anymore. Only bright flowering vines are visible. You will get here by going down to the side Freedom Square from the previous location.
• But before reaching the square and walking a little to the left, we will go to Shalva nishnianidze Street (former Kodzhorskaya). There is a house here that the locals call the "house with wisteria" in Sololaki. Usually the place is not crowded, tourists rarely get to these streets. But in the spring, lovers of beautiful photos rush here. And it is not surprising, because at the time of wisteria flowering, it feels like a chic blooming stole is thrown over the house. Wisteria grows near the balcony and its age is unknown for sure. Rumor has it that the first owner of this house, P. Zurabyan, a local architect, planted it. A few years ago, when this balcony was being repaired, the bush was cut down. But he survived, was reborn and again gives us his beauty.
• At the corner of Besiki and Arsen streets there is a nice house, all covered with branches of this beautiful plant. This place can be seen on the way from the "house with wisteria" to the side Shota Rustaveli Avenue.
• After walking from Freedom Square along Pushkin Street, be sure to walk along N. Baratashvili Street. Tourists often walk here, inspect the ruins of the fortress wall. And very close by, on Shavteli Street, there is the famous R. Gabriadze Puppet Theater. So, on Baratashvili there is a house with beautiful blue balconies. In spring, they are wrapped in flowering wisteria. It is impossible to pass by such beauty.
• By going on the Nikolay Baratashvili Bridge on the left bank of the Kura River, you will get to the Vereysky district. Here, on the alley of Elena Akhvlediani, there is a cozy hotel “Vinotel”, I am next to a house with a stone fence on the walls of which a flowering wisteria twists.

There are still many places in the Georgian capital where houses are decorated with delicious wisteria. Sometimes you can find them by the aroma that fills the air at the time of flowering. To see it in all its glory, it is better to come in the spring, in April-May.

Enjoy your travels and beautiful photos!