Bridge lights
A night-time light show.
Andrew Milligan sumo — CC BY 2.0 · Lohen11 — CC BY 4.0 · Uwe Brodrecht — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Marcin Konsek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Amir Hossein Eslami — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maxence — CC BY 2.0 · Marcin Konsek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Amir Hossein Eslami — CC BY-SA 4.0
A bow-shaped pedestrian bridge of steel and glass spanning 150 metres across the Mtkvari, linking the Old Town with Rike Park in central Tbilisi. It opened in May 2010 and has since become one of the capital's best-known and most photographed landmarks, its undulating form often likened to a sea creature. It was designed by the Italian architect Michele De Lucchi, built in Italy and brought to Tbilisi in two hundred trucks, with lighting designed by the Frenchman Philippe Martinaud. Its roof holds more than twelve hundred LED fixtures that shimmer with light displays from before sunset until after sunrise. The bridge looks out over Metekhi Church and the statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali on the cliff and up to Narikala Fortress on one side, and over the old presidential palace and the bridges on the other. Across the river spreads Rike Park, with lawns and paths, and the cable car up to the fortress leaves from there. Crossing is free and open around the clock, and the best time to visit is after sunset when the lights come on. Combine it with a stroll in Rike Park and the cable car to Narikala in an hour or two.
A night-time light show.
Lawns and paths.
Metekhi and Narikala.
Over the Mtkvari between the Old Town and Rike Park, Tbilisi
Sioni CathedralThe Cathedral of the Dormition, known as the Tbilisi Sioni, stands on Sioni Stre2 minutes walk
Gabriadze Theatre Clock TowerA leaning clock tower straight out of a fairy tale, on Shavteli Street in Tbilis4 minutes walk
Metekhi ChurchA medieval stone church on the Metekhi Cliff above the left bank of the Mtkvari,5 minutes walk
Narikala FortressAn ancient fortress crowning a steep hill above Tbilisi's Old Town and the Mtkva7 minutes walk
Abanotubani Sulphur BathsA historic quarter of Tbilisi's Old Town whose Georgian name means «bath distric8 minutes walkThe lights come on shortly before sunset and stay on through the night, so the best time for photos is just after dark.