Blue Monastery (Lurji Monastery)
A 12th-century church of St Andrew hidden by Vera Park — one of the oldest buildings still standing in Tbilisi.
- Time needed
- 0.5 h
- From Tbilisi
- 2 km · 0:10
- Road
- Paved
- Car needed
- Economy class
- Season
- All year
- Entry
- free
Very little in Tbilisi survives from Queen Tamar's golden age — one piece of it hides between the apartment blocks of Vera. The Blue Monastery was built in the 1180s, during Tamar's reign, and is dedicated to St Andrew the First-Called. The name comes from the glazed blue roof tiles that once covered it, fragments of which survive.
The building's biography is the city's history in miniature. In the 17th century the damaged church was rebuilt as a domeless basilica; in 1873 the Russian administration added a round dome alien to Georgian architecture; next door, in 1898–1901, rose the red-brick Russian church of St John the Theologian — the one you notice first from a distance. Under the Soviets the old church served as a warehouse and even as the Museum of Georgian Medicine; in 1990 it was returned to the Georgian Orthodox Church, and in 1995 the dome was replaced again with a traditional Georgian cone.
Half an hour covers it: ancient stone walls, carved fragments, a hushed courtyard under the trees. The place sits outside every standard tourist route, so what you get is genuine Tbilisi quiet — five minutes' walk from Rustaveli Avenue.
Practical advice
This is a working church, not a museum: entry is free, but dress rules apply — headscarves for women, long trousers for men; scarves are provided at the entrance. Avoid photographing during morning and evening services. Midday is the quietest time, with the courtyard nearly empty. It combines easily with the cafés of Vera or a walk down Rustaveli.
How to get there from Tbilisi
The monastery stands above Vera Park on Niko Nikoladze Street — five minutes by car from Rustaveli Avenue, ten on foot. Driving in is slightly awkward: Vera's narrow one-way streets tangle into each other and the navigator sometimes sends you the long way round. Park in the paid zone on Kiacheli or Nikoladze Street wherever you find a space and walk the last hundred metres. An economy car is more than enough; frankly, if you are staying centrally, this is a walking destination.
Click a marker for details. Coloured lines are ready-made road trips.
Nearby places
Rustaveli Avenue
Tbilisi's main street: a kilometre and a half of plane trees, opera, parliament and political memory.
Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre
The Zakaria Paliashvili State Opera and Ballet Theatre on Rustaveli Avenue.
Mtatsminda Pantheon
The terraced cemetery around the church of St David, where Georgia's writers and public figures are buried.
Best car for this trip
Guides
- Driving in Georgia: What the Distances Actually Cost You Georgia is a small country with slow roads. Here is what 267 measured drives from Tbilisi say about how long y
Pickup locations
Car Rental in Tbilisi — 2 km (straight line)