Top 10 Things to do in Tbilisi with kids

1) Vake Park – This park in the SW tip of the city is a beautiful oasis of green in Tbilisi at all times of the year. I highly recommend spending time here. The walking paths are very wide, well-manicured, and both walking and biking-friendly.  There are multiple playgrounds on the lower eastern part of the park (bordering Mishveladze St. & Vake neighborhoods) as well as the higher western end of the park.  The towering trees throughout the park allow for shady areas on the grassy areas for picnics or playing around. I do not recommend taking public transport to/from Vake Park with little kids as there are limited buses/marshrutka van options to/from Vake and they are are always full to the brim because of the busyness of the region; try taking a taxi instead. 

• Meal options nearby: Bringing a picnic to this park is a great idea.  There are plentiful picnic tables, gazebos, or grassy areas to spread out on. There are multiple food stands in the park and several restaurants nearby, including a Wendy’s/Subway’s just a short walk up to Chavchavadze St. 

• Touristy things to do: There is an old, Soviet-era cable car that you can take from the park to Turtle Lake. At Turtle Lake, you can swim, have a picnic, walk around the lake, or hike back down trails to Vake Park.  Vake Park also runs alongside Chavchavadze St., the main thoroughfare through the modern, well-kept Vake neighborhood of Tbilisi.  Several times we have walked the length of the street from the park with our kids riding their bikes alongside us (and with a stroller). These are some of the best sidewalks in Tbilisi for kids to ride their bikes as they are wide and smooth most of the way.

2) Mtatsminda Park – This is Tbilisi’s lone amusement park, mainly hidden from view of city residents because of its location atop Mt. Mtatsminda. This park is a fantastic 1/2-day plus outing to do with your kids!  There are lots of rides available for kids of all ages, including roller coasters, county-fair-type games, playgrounds, face-painting, and much more. Definitely lather up with sunscreen if here in the summer because you will be in the sun a long time. There are multiple ways up to the park including by taxi, the Tbilisi Funicular (and soon-to-open cable car), and by foot (i.e. hiking).  

• Meal options nearby: The park has food stands & cafes throughout, including the Funicular restaurant with its famous creme-filled donuts.  Bringing a picnic and finding a spot in the shade is also a good option.  

• Touristy things to do: There are multiple hiking trails from Tbilisi up to Mtatsminda Park. The trail from the playground above St. Mikhail Church of Tver is a steady uphill climb but accessible and kid-friendly (with the exception of several steep or tight portions of the trail where I always hold my kids’ hands).  My kids and I consistently made it to the top of the mountain in one hour from this starting point.  There is a fresh water spring 1/3 of the way up the trail and the views along the way are fantastic.  You can also continue along the trail through the forest to Turtle Lake. The iconic Ferris Wheel at the park gives an incredible panoramic view beyond Tbilisi to the north and of the foothills towards Kojori in the south.  The funicular is also well-liked in Tbilisi as a way to get up to the park and back down, but to be honest, it’s not very kid-friendly: often there are long wait times, and in crowded confines with many others, kids have a hard time staying still or seeing much. 

3) Gino Paradise – This is Tbilisi’s only waterpark and our kids’ favorite thing to do in Tbilisi, hands down.  About a 20-25 minute drive from downtown, the waterpark has a beautiful location overlooking Tbilisi Sea. You can easily spend 5-7 hrs. here with your family for a fun outing at any time of year!

Gino Paradise is split up into two sections: indoor and outdoor. The indoor section is open year-round, therefore an option to visit in the colder Fall, Winter, and Spring months, sometimes with discounted low-season prices. There is a section for younger kids with a water playground that your kids may not want to leave for hours on end. 🙂  The covered water slides are also indoors and run year-round; although there are six slides, often only 3-4 of them are working at a time, but these are a blast as well. There are amazing views of Tbilisi Sea from the top of the indoor water slide platforms! There is also a large indoor swimming pool as well as a large, warm-water hot tub right outside the indoor section.

The outdoor section is only open in the summer months but is very fun when accessible. From a large wave pool with climbing wall, to lazy river, to water slides for all ages, to swimming pools and hot tubs, the outdoor section is a blast.  Tbilisi Sea views are best from the swimming pools at the far end of the outdoor section.  

• Meal options: Gino Paradise is very strict about not allowing clients to bring food or water inside the park, i.e. to get clients to buy food on-site. There is a restaurant inside with lots of seating indoors and outdoors. We often split up our time there with a meal of pizza, etc., for the kids.  

• Other things to note: Depending how many people are a part of your group (and age of children), this can be an expensive outing. Be sure to call in advance to calculate costs. Sometimes there are discounts offered on their Facebook page. And bring lots of sunscreen in the summer!

4) Tbilisi Sea – This is one of MY favorite kid outings in Tbilisi, as a dad 🙂 Tbilisi Sea is the local name of this lake, so named because of it being the largest lake in the city.  There are multiple spots to visit the lake and spend 3-5 hrs. there. The western end (near Chronicles of Georgia) has a traditional beach set up with folding chairs & umbrellas to rent. Just this year stand-up paddle boards became available to rent. On the southern & eastern ends of the lake, many locals go swimming and have picnics.  

Our favorite spot is right below Gino Paradise (see above), as there is both good swimming areas and shaded spots 100 meters above the Sea to do a picnic, relax, etc. To get to this location, turn right down the dirt road, just before the main asphalt road forks left towards Gino Paradise’s entrance. You can drive down this road (it is quite bumpy towards the end), or just park your car by the asphalt road and walk down (what we always do). This part of Tbilisi Sea is often quite windy so prepare for this depending on the season, but the views are beautiful! 

• Meal Options nearby: Perfect destination for a picnic. The main beach on the western end has snack/food stands. 

• Touristy things to do: The iconic Chronicles of Georgia statues are right above the western end of the lake and a popular spot to visit. 

5) Tbilisi Zoo – We lived within walking distance of the Tbilisi Zoo and so probably visited it 10 times in our time in the city (often with out-of-town guests). While it is not maintained at the same level you might be used to in Europe or North America, I think it’s one of the best AND cheapest experiences for little kids in the city.  Kids 5 and under are free and entrance is 3 gel (approx. US$1.25) for everyone else! Quite affordable. As with any zoo, not all the animals are particularly active, but you can consistently count on fun experiences with the lemurs, baboons, and elephants. You can also get quite close to Tbilisi’s famous hippopotamus, peacocks, a camel, and some of the big cats. The indoor terrarium (snakes, fish, lizards, etc.) is an additional 2 gel per person, but well done and our kids love this part too. The zoo itself is not large and so quite manageable on foot for most of the family (or for strollers). There are some smaller amusement park rides and food/snack stands.  

• Meal options: There are lots of restaurants not far from the zoo. One of Tbilisi’s only Chinese restaurants is right beside the zoo. There is a Wendy’s/Subway’s & McDonald’s about 1 km up the hill from the zoo as a post-zoo meal option.  

• Touristy things to do: Tbilisi Zoo is located right on Heroes’ Square (multi-layered traffic circle), and one of the well-known ferris wheels in the city is inside the zoo (not as safe as the ferris wheel on Mtatsminda Park). It is also a short bus rise away from the beautiful Marjanishvili district.   

7) Lisi Lake – This is one of the best places in Tbilisi to go biking, rollerblading, etc. There is a paved path around Lisi Lake where you’ll see many other families walking around.  The lake itself is not for swimming, but a pretty area away from the noise of the city to relax at.  There are multiple playgrounds in the woods near the parking lots, and nice spots on the hillside above the lake to have a picnic or play in the woods with your kids.  Lisi Lake can be quite windy so make sure to be dressed for this depending on the time of year you visit!  

• Meal options: There are multiple snack stands & restaurants along the two sides of the lake near the parking lots. 

• Touristy things to do: Lisi Lake is in a more off-the-beaten-path part of Tbilisi (above the windy road that snakes its way up and over Saburtalo neighborhood), so it is the main attraction to visit.

8) Galleria Mall – As much as I am NOT a mall dad, Galleria gets my nomination for a kid-friendly location in Tbilisi for multiple reasons.  Its location is the best in the city compared to the other malls, as it is right downtown and easily accessible by metro or public transport (Freedom Square stop). The mall is also more compact than some of the other malls in the city (City Mall, East Point), and so more manageable from a kid-corralling perspective.  When my kids and I visit Galleria, we make a beeline for the escalator and go straight to the 5th floor. I like how manageable this is.

Our top kid-friendly things to do in Galleria Mall are:

• Go bowling – The alley’s prices are surprisingly affordable compared to what we’re used to in the US. It’s first come first serve, so make sure to be there when they open (12:00 pm?), or you may have to wait. It is located on the 5th floor right beside the movie theater. 

• English-language movies – There are many movie theaters in the city but this is one of the main ones we’ve visited. With the plethora of animated movies that are released these days, we’ve enjoyed this movie theater. Tickets can be purchased in advance on tkt.ge. 

• Food court on 4th floor – There is a McDonalds, Wendy’s, and Burger King in the food court, among all the other options. This is a no-brainer for us if in the area for lunch.  

• There is also a kid play place on the 4th floor which we’ve visited once but was a bit dizzying with multiple kids bouncing all over the place.

Touristy things to do nearby: Freedom, or Liberty, Square is one of the iconic locations of Tbilisi, so be sure to take in this bustling area with the beautiful golden statue in the center.  Galleria is also located on Tbilisi’s central street of Rustaveli Avenue, so it’s a nice street with large sidewalks to walk down with a stroller, including past the beautiful Parliament building.  A side street continues downhill towards Old Town, but I can’t recommend it as kid-friendly with the cobblestones & lots of traffic.  From Freedom Square you can walk down the hill towards Rike Park and the Peace Bridge, but again, this is not kid-friendly at all with tight sidewalks in very traffic-y parts of town.  

9) Mziuri Park – This is another fantastic park for bike-riding that is very kid-friendly.  There are two primary entrances: from the top of the park on Chavchavadze St. in Vake neighborhood, or from the bottom off the main highway.  If you enter the park from the top from Chavchavadze St. (access by walking or public transport), you will likely want to exit the park at the bottom, as it’s a long winding downhill walk from the top, and for kids, coming back up would not be fun.  This is a fun walk as there are multiple playgrounds along the way to stop at for snacks and for kids to play at. Kids can get going pretty quickly depending on what they are riding, so make sure to keep an eye on their speed.  

The bottom of Mziuri Park has something for everyone. There are fantastic playground areas including a large skate park. There are huge green areas to play and have a picnic.  Lots of sidewalks to ride bikes/scooters on or rollerblade on.  There is a large field where people play ultimate frisbee sometimes.  There is a small pond where you can find turtles and ducks.  There are tennis and basketball courts as well. We highly recommend you to visit!  

• Meal options nearby: There are multiple coffee shops on Chavchavadze Street in Vake to grab snacks before you start your descent into the park, and there is a cafe about 1/2 km down from the top entrance. But other than that, there are not snack/food stands in the park that I know of, so be sure to bring food for a picnic.

10) Museum of Illusions – One museum did make our list! The Museum of Illusions is located right in Old Town and is a great option for kids (especially on a rainy day, when your outdoor options are limited). The Museum of Illusions isn’t unique to Tbilisi— it’s a brand that has locations worldwide. The Tbilisi version is 3 stories of hands-on optical illusions that are very kid-friendly.  Our kids (ages 2-11) all enjoyed exploring the museum and trying out the different rooms and experiments.  The other highlight of the museum is that it’s a great place for fun photos that look like you’re hanging from the ceiling, or that your head is on a platter, etc. 

We haven’t been often because it’s a bit pricey (23.5 lari for kids 6 and up, 31.5 lari for adults — under 5 is free), but it is a fun special treat option (we did it with grandparents when they were in town visiting). Note: there is a second (separate) part to the museum that has rotating paid exhibits all on huge holographic screens.  The museum staff will likely try to upsell you to buy additional tickets to go to this separate exhibit.  I bought them once and won’t again because we far preferred the actual Museum of Illusions side (which is to the left when you enter the building).  

• Meal options nearby: There are lots of cafes & restaurants in the vicinity of the Museum of Illusions since it’s in the middle of Old Town. Kid-friendly options are mainly ones with desserts, such as Dunkin’ Donuts or Baskin Robbins.  

• Touristy things to do: Being in the middle of Old Town, there are endless touristy things to do and see around the Museum of Illusions, BUT most of them are not kid-friendly, since they involve cobblestone streets (not good for strollers), narrow roads with lots of traffic, and are generally older, historic sites where quiet & decorum is expected (i.e. several Orthodox churches as well as the central Jewish synagogue).