Christmas Markets in Tbilisi 2026: Where and When

The first sign is the smell. One evening in December a square that was empty a week ago smells of mulled wine, waffles and roasted chestnuts, a tree goes up, and the city starts to queue for hot chocolate in the cold.

Tbilisi’s Christmas markets are smaller and more local than the famous ones in Central Europe, and that is the charm. Here is where to find them, when they open, and what to eat and bring home.

The city’s New Year village

Every winter the city builds a New Year village around its main Christmas tree. Last season it stood on First Republic Square. The tree was lit on 12 December, and the village ran until 7 January, while the tree and the ice rink stayed until 14 January, the Old New Year.

Expect wooden stalls with food, Georgian sweets and small local makers, an ice rink, rides and a little train for children, concerts in the evenings and an open-air cinema. Tbilisi announces each year’s programme and locations in early December, and we will update this guide when it does.

An evening walk through the Old Town

The city decorates squares and parks across the centre, and this year’s list comes with the programme in early December. For a walk you can count on, head to the Old Town, where the old lanes, the river and the fortress are lit every night:

1. Dry Bridge and Dedaena Park. Start by the river. In the daytime the open-air flea market here sells Soviet cameras, old enamel and paintings.
2. Rike Park. Follow the river to the park below Narikala, where the cable car rises to the fortress.
3. The Bridge of Peace. Cross the river on the glass footbridge, lit with thousands of lights after dark.
4. Sioni and the old lanes. Wander the narrow streets of the Old Town around Sioni Cathedral.
5. Abanotubani. End at the domed sulphur baths, with Narikala Fortress lit on the hill above and the little waterfall in Leghvtakhevi gorge just behind.

Our market under the towers

From 18 December we open our own Christmas market outside Pullman Tbilisi Axis Towers, on Chavchavadze Avenue in Vake. It is a small one, a few lit huts and trees in front of the hotel, and it is where the neighbourhood comes after work: mulled wine, hot chocolate, crisp waffles, roasted chestnuts and gingerbread.

Bringing children? On 12 and 19 December, from 2 to 4 pm, they can decorate their own gingerbread in our Playroom, with hot chocolate and face painting.

What to eat and bring home

A Georgian Christmas market is a good place to taste the season. Four things worth looking for:

A few practical tips

• Dress for standing still. Evenings are close to freezing, and you will be outside longer than you think.
• Carry a little cash. Most stalls take cards, but small makers sometimes prefer cash.
• Go on a weekday if you want space; weekends and the days before New Year are busiest.
• Combine it with dinner. The markets are best in the early evening, so plan dinner after.