Tbilisi

Stations worth a stop

• Akhmeteli Theatre ახმეტელის თეატრი

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  The northern terminus of Line 1 lies in Gldani, a large district of Soviet-era apartment blocks on the city's northern edge. The station opened in 1989 under the name Gldani and now takes its name from the nearby Akhmeteli Theatre, named after the stage director Sandro Akhmeteli.

• Ghrmaghele ღრმაღელე

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  Ghrmaghele opened in 1985 as part of the northern extension of Line 1 beyond Didube and serves the residential neighbourhood of the same name. Its hall carries high reliefs dedicated to the workers who built the Tbilisi Metro.

• Didube დიდუბე

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  Didube was one of the six stations opened on 11 January 1966, when Tbilisi became the fourth city in the Soviet Union with a metro. It sits at ground level and is among the busiest stops on the network, with market stalls crowding the streets outside. Next to it is Didube bus station, where minibuses leave for towns to the north and west, including Mtskheta and Stepantsminda (Kazbegi).

• Gotsiridze გოცირიძე

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  Gotsiridze and Didube are the only two stations on the network built at ground level rather than underground. Known as Elektrodepo until 2011, the station was renamed after Viktor Gotsiridze (1910–1995), the civil engineer who led Tbilmetromsheni, the organisation that built the metro.

• Station Square სადგურის მოედანი

  Akhmeteli–Varketili LineSaburtalo Line

  Station Square lies beneath Tbilisi Central railway station and is the only transfer point between the two lines; it was called Vagzlis Moedani until 2011. The main hall is divided by arches on marble-clad pylons, and above the arch leading from the escalators a high relief of a sword and a cup marks the 1,500th anniversary of Tbilisi. Long-distance and suburban trains leave from the railway station above.

• Marjanishvili მარჯანიშვილი

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  Marjanishvili sits on Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue, a long 19th-century street whose central section has been restored and partly pedestrianised, with cafes and restaurants in its old houses. The Marjanishvili Theatre is a few steps away, and Fabrika, a former Soviet sewing factory turned into a hostel and creative courtyard, is a short walk east. The station's escalator is the oldest on the network.

• Rustaveli რუსთაველი

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  Rustaveli, opened in 1966, is the deepest station of the Tbilisi Metro at about 60 metres, reached by an escalator roughly 120 metres long. Its hall is lined with red marble and decorated with reliefs on themes from Shota Rustaveli's epic poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin. Above ground is Rustaveli Square with the poet's statue, at the northern end of Rustaveli Avenue, which leads past the Academy of Sciences, the Opera and the Parliament.

• Liberty Square თავისუფლების მოედანი

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  Liberty Square station, called Lenin Square before 1991, is one of the deepest on the network, with a vaulted hall of white marble columns; its entrance building is now surrounded by the Galleria Tbilisi shopping centre. Freedom Square, with its column topped by a statue of Saint George, marks the southern end of Rustaveli Avenue. From here Kote Abkhazi Street leads downhill into the old town towards the sulphur baths of Abanotubani and the path up to Narikala Fortress, and the Dry Bridge flea market is a short walk towards the river.

• Avlabari ავლაბარი

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  Avlabari, on the left bank of the Mtkvari, opened in 1967 and was named 26 Komisari until 1992; its vaulted hall rests on piers faced with black marble. Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba), the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church, stands on the hill a short walk north. Downhill to the west are Metekhi Church on its cliff above the river, Rike Park and the glass-roofed Bridge of Peace, which crosses to the old town.

• 300 Aragveli 300 არაგველი

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  The station is named after the 300 warriors from the Aragvi valley who fell defending Tbilisi at the Battle of Krtsanisi in 1795, against the army of Agha Mohammad Khan. Opened in 1967 as the eastern terminus of the second stretch of Line 1, it serves the Isani district on the left bank.

• Samgori სამგორი

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  Samgori, opened in 1971, stands beside Samgori (Navtlughi) railway junction and serves the district of the same name. Its two main entrances, from Moscow Avenue and from the Kakheti Highway, are joined by a long pedestrian tunnel, and its walls carry relief images.

• Varketili ვარკეთილი

  Akhmeteli–Varketili Line

  The eastern terminus of Line 1 serves Varketili, a residential district of large apartment blocks. It is the metro station closest to Tbilisi International Airport, though the airport is still some distance further east by road.

• Tsereteli წერეთელი

  Saburtalo Line

  Tsereteli is the first stop on the Saburtalo Line after Station Square, on Akaki Tsereteli Avenue. Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, the national football stadium, is a short walk south, and the Didube Pantheon, a cemetery of Georgian writers and public figures, and the old Mushtaidi Garden are also nearby.

• Technical University ტექნიკური უნივერსიტეტი

  Saburtalo Line

  Known as Politeknikuri Instituti until 2011, the station serves the Georgian Technical University and the surrounding part of Vake and Saburtalo. Its eastern entrance on Merab Kostava Street faces the round Tbilisi Sports Palace, and 26 May Square is close by.

• Medical University სამედიცინო უნივერსიტეტი

  Saburtalo Line

  Medical University, a shallow column station opened in 1979 and formerly called Komkavshiri, is named after Tbilisi State Medical University nearby. It lies in the middle of Saburtalo, a district of Soviet-era housing, universities and hospitals.

• Delisi დელისი

  Saburtalo Line

  Delisi, at the corner of Vazha-Pshavela Avenue and Mikheil Tamarashvili Street, was the western terminus of the Saburtalo Line from 1979 until 2000. It is a single-vault station and a bus hub for the hillside neighbourhoods of Vake and Saburtalo.

• Vazha-Pshavela ვაჟა-ფშაველა

  Saburtalo Line

  Opened in 2000 on Vazha-Pshavela Avenue near the statue of the poet Vazha-Pshavela, the station served as the end of the line until 2017 and had only a single track in use until the extension to State University. It serves the apartment blocks of upper Saburtalo.

• State University სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი

  Saburtalo Line

  State University, the newest station of the Tbilisi Metro, opened on 16 October 2017 as the western terminus of the Saburtalo Line. Construction began in 1985 but stopped in 1994 and was completed with support from the Asian Development Bank. It is named after the nearby campus of Tbilisi State University.