Georgia is one of those places where you actually want to fill your suitcase on the way home, and the good news is that the best Tbilisi souvenirs are things you’ll genuinely use: a bottle of qvevri wine for a dinner party, a bag of blue fenugreek for your next pot of stew, a little enamel pendant that catches the light. This isn’t fridge-magnet territory (though those exist too) — Georgian craft and food culture runs deep, and the capital is the easiest place in the country to buy it all in one trip.
This guide covers the souvenirs worth your luggage allowance — what each is, roughly what to pay in Georgian lari (₾), and where to buy it — plus what to skip, how to haggle politely, and the airline liquid and customs rules that trip up first-timers carrying wine and chacha home.
Best Tbilisi souvenirs at a glance
- Wine & chacha — qvevri wine from 15–40₾ (~$5.50–15) a bottle; a good keepsake and cheap by Western standards.
- Churchkhela & spices — Svaneti salt and blue fenugreek for a few lari; edible, packable, unmistakably Georgian.
- Minankari enamel jewellery — hand-made cloisonné pendants from ~40₾ (~$15); the classic quality gift.
- Ceramics & kantsi horns — drinking horns and hand-painted bowls from 20–100₾+ (~$7–37).
- Dry Bridge Market — the single best spot for antiques, Soviet-era curios and haggling.
Georgian wine and chacha
Georgia claims 8,000 years of winemaking, and the traditional method — fermenting in buried clay qvevri — has UNESCO status, so a bottle is the most meaningful thing you can carry home. Look for amber (skin-contact) whites from Rkatsiteli grapes, or a deep Saperavi red. Expect 15–25₾ (~$5.50–9) for a solid everyday bottle and 30–40₾+ (~$11–15) from a boutique natural producer.
Chacha is the local grape spirit — a fiery pomace brandy at 40–65% ABV. Bottled versions start around 20–30₾ (~$7–11); the homemade stuff in plastic bottles at markets is cheaper and stronger but harder to fly with. For both, skip the supermarket and airport and buy from a dedicated wine shop where staff let you taste. Vinoteca-style shops around Rustaveli and near Meidan are reliable, and many bubble-wrap bottles for hold luggage. For styles and regions, see our Georgian wine guide.
Churchkhela and Georgian spices
Churchkhela is the “Georgian Snickers” — walnuts threaded on string and dipped repeatedly in thickened grape juice (tatara) until they form a chewy, candle-shaped bar. It keeps for weeks and costs 3–8₾ (~$1–3) a piece at markets; just pack it flat so it doesn’t crush.
Georgian spices are the sleeper hit of any souvenir haul because they’re light, cheap and genuinely hard to buy back home:
- Svaneti salt — a moist, herby garlic-and-spice blend from the mountains; ~5–10₾ (~$2–4) a bag. Brilliant on roast potatoes and grilled meat.
- Blue fenugreek (utskho suneli) — the nutty, earthy backbone of Georgian cooking; a few lari a bag.
- Khmeli suneli — the all-purpose spice mix used in stews like chakhokhbili.
- Dried marigold (“Imeretian saffron”) — for colour and mild aroma in sauces.
Buy spices loose from a market stall where you can smell them first — Dezerter Bazaar near the central station is the workhorse local market, and Meidan bazaar in the Old Town is more tourist-friendly. If you want to know what to actually cook with all of it, our Georgian food guide is a good next read.
Minankari (cloisonné enamel) jewellery
If you buy one “proper” gift in Tbilisi, make it minankari. This is Georgian cloisonné enamel — tiny gold or silver wires bent into patterns and filled with coloured glass paste, then fired. The results are jewel-bright pendants, earrings and icons, often in deep blues and reds with religious or folk motifs. Because each piece is hand-made, no two are quite the same.
Small silver-set pendants start around 40–80₾ (~$15–30); larger or gold pieces climb into the hundreds. Buy from workshop-galleries rather than kiosks — the artisan shops in the Old Town’s creative lanes carry the real thing, and the design shops inside Fabrika stock modern takes. Ask whether it’s genuine fired enamel; painted imitations exist at a fraction of the quality.
Ceramics and kantsi drinking horns
Hand-painted ceramics — bowls, plates and the little wine cups used at a supra (feast) — make lovely, useful souvenirs. A single decorated cup runs 15–30₾ (~$5.50–11); a good bowl or plate 40–100₾+ (~$15–37). Look for pieces glazed in the deep Georgian palette rather than mass-produced whiteware.
The kantsi is the traditional drinking horn — a real animal horn, often silver- or brass-mounted, that you can’t put down until it’s empty, which is the whole point at a toast-heavy feast. Simple horns start around 20–40₾ (~$7–15); ornate ones cost far more. Two warnings: cheap horns can smell if poorly cured, so sniff before you buy, and check your country’s rules on importing animal products. Dry Bridge and the Old Town souvenir streets have plenty of choice.
Felt and wool: Caucasian hats and papakha
Highland wool shows up in Tbilisi’s markets as felt slippers, bags and hats. The most photogenic is the papakha — the tall shaggy sheepskin hat worn across the Caucasus — alongside flatter felt shepherd’s hats and warm felted-wool house shoes. Felt hats run 20–50₾ (~$7–18); slippers and small felt animals a few lari each. They’re light and squash into a corner of your bag. Dry Bridge and Meidan bazaar are the easiest places to find them.
Carpets and textiles
Caucasian rugs are a serious souvenir with a serious price tag. Antique and kilim-style carpets show up at Dry Bridge and in specialist Old Town shops, from a few hundred lari for a small newer piece to several thousand for a genuine antique. If you’re spending real money, buy from an established dealer who can talk you through age and origin, and be wary of “antique” claims at a flea-market stall. For lower stakes, embroidered runners, felt wall hangings and printed tea towels make cheap, packable gifts.
Soviet-era antiques from Dry Bridge Market
Dry Bridge Market (Mshrali Khidi) is the reason many people budget an extra hour for shopping. Spread along a leafy stretch by the river near Saarbrücken Square, it’s an open-air flea market where locals lay out the flotsam of the 20th century: Soviet cameras, enamel pins and medals, old watches, propaganda posters, vinyl, silver cutlery and genuine bric-a-brac.
Prices are negotiable, from a couple of lari for a badge to 50–200₾+ (~$18–75) for cameras, samovars or decent art. It’s best on weekend mornings; come early for the pick of it. This is the one place where haggling is expected, and it’s genuinely fun. Note that exporting real antiques can require paperwork — see the customs section below.
Georgian sweets and tea
Beyond churchkhela, Georgia has a proper sweet tooth. Look for gozinaki (honey-caramel walnuts, traditionally a New Year treat), pelamushi (set grape-juice pudding), and boxed tklapi (thin sheets of dried fruit leather, tart and chewy). Most cost 5–15₾ (~$2–5.50) and sit happily in a suitcase.
Georgian tea is an underrated buy. The country was a major tea grower in Soviet times, and small producers in the west (Guria and Adjara) have revived quality leaf. A tin of loose-leaf black or green runs 15–40₾ (~$5.50–15) at speciality and design stores — light, non-fragile and a nice non-alcoholic gift. Find good tea and sweets at Fabrika and in delis along Rustaveli.
Where to shop in Tbilisi
Dry Bridge Market
Best for antiques, Soviet curios, art and haggling. Open daily but liveliest on weekend mornings. Bring cash and a sense of humour.
Fabrika and design shops
Fabrika, a former Soviet sewing factory turned hostel and creative hub in Chughureti (across the river in the Marjanishvili area), houses a courtyard of independent design studios. This is where to find modern minankari, contemporary ceramics, quality tea, prints and clothing by local makers — fixed prices, better design, a bit pricier. Great if you dislike bargaining.
Rustaveli Avenue
The main boulevard has wine shops, delis and craft galleries, plus the odd souvenir stall. Convenient and central, though prices skew a little higher than the markets.
Meidan bazaar and the Old Town
The underground Meidan bazaar by the Old Town’s main square is a one-stop souvenir shop: enamel, horns, felt, spices, magnets and wine, all in one place. It’s touristy and prices are on the high side, but the range is excellent and it’s handy if you’re short on time. The surrounding Old Town lanes hide the more serious artisan workshops.
What to avoid and how to bargain
A few honest pointers. Skip the airport for anything but a last-minute panic buy — it’s the most expensive place to shop in the country. Be sceptical of “hand-painted” ceramics and “antique” carpets that look mass-produced; if it’s stacked in identical piles, it probably is. Painted enamel sold as fired minankari is common at kiosks. And “homemade” chacha in unlabelled plastic bottles is fun but essentially impossible to fly with.
On bargaining: haggle at flea markets and open-air stalls (Dry Bridge especially), where a friendly counter-offer of 20–30% below the asking price is normal. Do not haggle in fixed-price design shops, wine shops or supermarkets. Carry small cash; many market sellers don’t take cards, though shops in the centre generally do. Prices are already low by European standards, so bargain for fun, not to grind someone down over a couple of lari.
Flying home: liquids, customs and antiques
Wine and chacha are liquids, so they go in your checked luggage, not carry-on — anything over 100ml won’t clear airport security. Wrap bottles in clothes or ask the shop to bubble-wrap them. If you’ve no hold bag, buy sealed bottles airside at Tbilisi airport after security instead. Most airlines allow a reasonable quantity of alcohol in checked baggage; check your carrier’s limit, as very high-ABV chacha (over ~70% proof) can be restricted.
For customs on arrival home, know your own country’s duty-free allowance — the EU, for example, typically allows around 4 litres of still wine and 1 litre of spirits per adult before duty applies, and the UK has similar per-person limits. One important Georgian rule: exporting genuine antiques and cultural items (roughly anything over 50 years old, or of artistic/historical value) may require an export permit from the culture ministry, so ask the seller for documentation on any pricey old carpet, icon or artwork. Everyday souvenirs, wine, food and modern crafts have no such issue.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most typical souvenir from Tbilisi?
Qvevri wine and minankari (cloisonné enamel) jewellery are the two most quintessentially Georgian buys. For something cheaper and edible, churchkhela and a bag of Svaneti salt or blue fenugreek are the classic take-home treats.
Can I bring Georgian wine and chacha on the plane?
Yes, but only in checked luggage — liquids over 100ml can’t go through security in your carry-on. Wrap bottles well, mind your airline’s alcohol limit, and note that very strong chacha may be restricted. Alternatively, buy sealed bottles in the airport shops after security.
Where is the cheapest place to buy souvenirs in Tbilisi?
Local markets like Dezerter Bazaar and Dry Bridge Market beat tourist kiosks and the airport on price, and Dry Bridge is the one place where haggling is expected. Fabrika and Rustaveli shops cost a bit more but offer better design and fixed prices.
Is it rude to haggle in Tbilisi?
Not at flea markets and open-air stalls, where a polite counter-offer is part of the game. But don’t haggle in fixed-price shops, wine stores or supermarkets. Prices are low overall, so keep it good-natured.
Once your bags are full, spend your last hours seeing the city itself — browse our guide to the best things to do in Tbilisi, read up on Georgian wine before you pick your bottles, or explore more market and craft tips in our shopping and markets section. Happy hunting — leave a little suitcase space spare, because you’ll want it.
Leave a Reply