Abandoned & Unusual places of Tbilisi

Cinema Apollo, in the heart of Tbilisi, is one of the city’s oldest surviving movie theater building and a quiet reminder of Georgia’s early cinema culture. Built in the early 20th century, it once hosted glamorous premieres and brought the newest films to Tbilisi’s growing urban crowd. Its façade and interior still carry touches of that era – arched details, vintage proportions and a sense of classic charm – beautiful example of Tbilisi’s Art Nevuo architecture. 

Though it no longer operates as a cinema, Apollo remains a recognizable landmark on Aghmashenebeli avenue. The building often appears in discussions about preserving Tbilisi’s architectural heritage, standing as a reminder of how lively and elegant the city’s cultural scene once was. In Soviet times, cinema was called “October” but in 90ies it regained its old name – Apollo. It’s beautiful decorations and spacious hall will take you to the fantasy of beautiful balls and celebrations. Unfortunately till now it stands untouched, abandoned and barely holding. More photos here

Thermobaric Camera of Geophysics Institute

Georgia founded its first Geophysics Institute in 1933. Until then, the country had almost no research on seismic activity, and the growing need for this knowledge pushed the creation of the institute and secured strong state support. Its first director was N. Nikiforov, and from 1939 the role was taken over by Michael Nodia, whose work became fundamental for Georgian seismology.

In 1964, a new observatory dedicated to studying Earth’s movements was added to the institute. It includes a rare underground tunnel used for long-term monitoring of how the planet shifts and deforms. This observatory became a major research center within the Soviet republics. Around the same period, the institute received an experimental thermobarochamber – considered unique in the USSR at the time – used to study atmospheric processes. Today, the institute employs around 147 people. More photos here

Hotel London opened in 1875 at 21 Madatovi Street (currently 31 Atoneli St). The property first belonged to Alexander Zubalashvili and later passed to his brother Constantine and then to Constantine’s son Peter. The hotel was relatively small – 28 rooms in 1896 – and the nightly rate ranged from 1 to 10 rubles. Two rooms were added in 1914. The hotel’s peak years were the 1880s–90s, when wealthy travelers and high-ranking guests from Russia and Europe stayed there. Among its well-known visitors were composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1888), George Curzon (1892), and writer Knut Hamsun (1892).

Traveler Grigor Moskvich described it in 1915 as one of the best hotels in Georgia, though by then it had already closed. During World War I, the building was converted into a hospital for wounded soldiers and donated 20,000 rubles to support the effort. 

After the war, the hotel never reopened. Under Soviet rule, the building was turned into a peasant committee office in 1925, then a police station in 1950, and later into apartments in the 1960s. Today, its ornate entrance hall has become famous among visitors and photographers, and it’s common to see people waiting in line to take pictures inside.

The Kojori cottage complex dates back to the early 20th century. The blue house – now often seen online – once served high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and could only be accessed with a special permit. A short walk away stood Lavrenti Beria’s own retreat, an eight-room cottage hidden within the same fenced compound. In 1926 a kindergarten opened nearby, attracting well-known writers and artists who visited regularly. After the Soviet collapse, the area was turned into a children’s camp, and today the site sits abandoned and in ruins.

Chronicles of Georgia Monument

Often nicknamed “Tbilisi’s Stonehenge,” this monumental complex was created by sculptor Zurab Tsereteli and took shape between 1985 and 2003. Sixteen massive columns – each rising 35 meters – tell episodes from Georgian history. The lower sections show carved scenes, the mid-levels portray important figures, and the upper tiers depict everyday life in high relief. A wide staircase framed by classical columns leads uphill to the site. Only when you reach the top do the towering figures and scale of the monument fully reveal themselves.

Nutsibudze Bridged blocks

In the 1970s the research institute “ВНИИТМЕ” (today the Patriarchate’s TV station) began building three apartment towers on the slopes of Nutsubidze. The project finished in 1987, resulting in three identical 16-storey blocks connected by an elevated walkway. The bridge links to the 14th floor of the lowest building, passes through the 12th floor of the middle block, enters the 10th floor of the uppermost building, and continues all the way out to Emilie Bedia Street. The idea was simple: to spare residents from a steep daily climb. One of the lifts in the first building is dedicated solely to reaching the bridge. The concept was designed by Otar Kalandarishvili. More photos here