Abanotubani sulphur baths
The sulphur baths under brick domes, at the foot of the old town. A private room by the hour, scrub optional.
Duration
1 hr – 2 hrs
Best time
In the evening
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
The Abanotubani baths are fed by sulphur springs that come out at about forty degrees, with no heating. The brick domes you see at ground level are the roofs: the rooms are buried, which holds the heat.
Pushkin and Dumas both came and wrote about it. You do not book a place but a private room by the hour, for as many people as you like. The kisa, a scrub with a rough mitt by an attendant, is an extra and it is the part everyone remembers — it is vigorous.
Getting there
Abanotubani district, at the foot of the fortress, ten minutes on foot from Liberty Square. The bathhouses run one after another along the street.
What the price covers
a private room hired by the hour, scrub charged extra. Each house on the street sets its own prices and none publishes them: the spread is threefold, and the full rate should be asked for before going in.
What to bring
- Swimsuit
Rules on site
The sulphur smell stays in hair and light swimwear for a long time. The room is hired by the hour and the scrub costs extra: ask for the full price before going in, as it varies a great deal between houses.
Other places in Tbilisi
- Old town and the sulphur bathsHouses with carved wooden balconies, and bathhouses under brick domes.
Narikala FortressA fourth-century citadel above the whole city and the Kura valley.
- Dezerter BazaarTbilisi's raw market: cheeses, Svan spices, tkemali and churchkhela hanging in rows.
- Gergeti and Mount KazbekA fourteenth-century church at 2,170 m facing the glacier. Three hours' drive from Tbilisi, then the climb.