Dedaena Park
A riverside park by the Dry Bridge — the Mother Tongue monument, a skatepark and the epicentre of Tbilisi's young bar scene.
- Time needed
- 1 h
- From Tbilisi
- 2 km · 0:10
- Road
- Paved
- Car needed
- Economy class
- Season
- All year
- Entry
- free
Dedaena Park is where Tbilisi's history and its youngest scene share one riverbank — on the right bank of the Mtkvari, between the Dry Bridge and Baratashvili Bridge.
The name is no accident. On 14 April 1978, tens of thousands took to the streets here when the Soviet authorities tried to strip Georgian of its status as the state language — and Moscow backed down. The Deda Ena (Mother Tongue) monument, erected in 1983 by Elguja Amashukeli and Nodar Mgaloblishvili, keeps the memory of that victory, and 14 April is still marked as Mother Language Day.
Today the park runs to a different rhythm:
- A concrete skatepark built to international standard — the only one of its kind in the region
- Riverside bars, including the well-known Dedaena Bar
- The Dry Bridge flea market directly above the park
- Festivals and open-air concerts through the warm season
On a weekend you'll see skaters, antique dealers and the evening cocktail crowd all at once — Tbilisi in all its variety on a few hundred metres of embankment.
Practical advice
The park is always open and free. The Dry Bridge market runs in daytime (traders pack up early in bad weather), while the bars wake up after sunset — an afternoon-into-evening visit catches both. The skatepark has no rental gear, so bring your own. Toilets are in the bars. With children, mind the embankment railings — they are low in places.
How to get there from Tbilisi
From the centre it's 2 km — head for Baratashvili Bridge and stay on the right bank, ten minutes at most. Parking is the weak point here: stopping on the embankment is restricted, so leave the car in the zonal paid spaces on the streets around Saarbrücken Square (Tbilisi Parking app) and walk across the bridge. If you're coming for the bars in the evening, leave the car at your hotel altogether — taxis are cheap. An economy car is entirely sufficient.
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Nearby places
Dry Bridge Market
An open-air flea market where two centuries of the country's household objects are laid out on folding tables.
Fabrika and the Marjanishvili District
A Soviet sewing factory turned into a courtyard of bars and studios, and the old German quarter around it.
Bridge of Peace and Rike Park
A glass and steel footbridge over the Mtkvari and the park at its far end, with the cable car station.
Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre
The Zakaria Paliashvili State Opera and Ballet Theatre on Rustaveli Avenue.
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 — 1 km (straight line)