Prepared by Sakhva Travel Georgia Guide, a tours and travel platform for Georgia. Sakhva Travel office: 14 Merab Kostava St, Tbilisi.
Tour on this topic: Sighnaghi tour from Tbilisi — from ₾175
What kind of town
The wall around Sighnaghi was built by King Erekle II in the second half of the 18th century so that people from the surrounding villages could take shelter from raids. More than 20 towers and several kilometres of wall survive — you can walk along the top of part of it.
In the 2000s the town was restored: tiled roofs, wooden balconies and cobbled streets made it the most photogenic town in Kakheti.
Why the «city of love»
The local House of Justice registers marriages around the clock, and couples come here to get married in a single day. Hence the nickname. Nearby, in the village of Mirzaani, the painter Pirosmani was born — legend has it that he sold everything for the actress Margarita, and the song «A Million Scarlet Roses» retells this story.
What to see
Walk along the wall from the tower by the town cemetery: from there you get the best view of the valley. In the centre is the Sighnaghi Museum with a hall of Pirosmani's works.
2 km from the town is Bodbe Monastery, where Saint Nino, the enlightener of Georgia, is buried. From the monastery a steep staircase leads down to the spring.
Wine and food
Sighnaghi stands in the middle of wine country: in and around the town there are dozens of maranis where you can taste qvevri wine and chacha. In the evening people dine on terraces overlooking the valley — order mtsvadi, pkhali and local saperavi.
How to get there
By car — about 2 hours along the highway via Sagarejo. Marshrutkas leave Samgori bus station several times a day. The easiest way is to combine Sighnaghi, Bodbe and a winery on a day tour of Kakheti.
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