Tbilisi (from tbili, meaning warm) is well-known for its 30 natural thermal springs, some of which now feed the dome-shaped bath houses in the citys old town.

Legend has it that, whilst out hunting one day, King Gorgasali thought he had killed a deer, only to find that its wound had been cured by the hot healing water. He moved his capital to the site of Tbilisi and his statue now stands outside the Metechi Church, proudly surveying the crowded slopes of the old town.

Tbilisis history is wonderfully diverse and its mix of cultures, at various times, means that you can now choose between a mosque, a synagogue, Armenian or Georgian churches and a new Roman Catholic church. Its National Museum boasts an extraordinary collection of pre-Christian gold and silver, as well as collections of archaeology, history and ethnography.

You may be lucky enough to witness a Georgian Orthodox service at the Sioni Cathedral and a pleasant hour can be spent visiting the Mtatsminda (Holy Mountain) and St Davids Cemetery, where many leading Georgian cultural figures have been buried.