Tbilisi: The Solo City Everyone Underrates

Tbilisi doesn't show up on most people's European trip lists, which is strange given how easy and cheap it actually is to visit. The old town is a mess of balconies, hidden courtyards, and steep cobblestone streets that dead-end into unexpectedly good wine bars.

Base yourself near Freedom Square or in the old town itself, both are walkable to everything that matters and feel comfortable to wander at night. The cable car up to Narikala Fortress is worth the small fee just for the sunset view over the city and the river.

Georgian food is reason enough to come. Khachapuri (cheese-filled bread, the Adjarian version comes with a raw egg cracked into a boat-shaped loaf) and khinkali (soup dumplings you eat by hand, holding the twisted top) are everywhere, cheap, and genuinely some of the best food in the region. A full meal with wine at a mid-range restaurant rarely crosses 25 lari, around 9 dollars.

The sulfur bathhouses in the Abanotubani district are a real Tbilisi experience, not a tourist gimmick. A private room with a traditional scrub runs maybe 50 to 80 lari depending on the bathhouse and time of day, and it's one of the better ways to spend an evening alone without it feeling lonely.

Georgian wine is a genuine reason to extend your trip. The country claims the oldest wine-making tradition on earth, 8,000 years and counting, and natural, amber-style wines made in clay qvevri pots are something you won't easily find elsewhere.

Flights into Tbilisi are often surprisingly cheap from both Europe and parts of Asia, which combined with low daily costs makes this one of the better-value solo trips going right now, European or otherwise.