Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

The basics

As an important religious site and landmark that stands well clear of Mtskheta’s rooftops, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is the city’s main attraction and is hard to miss. Give yourself roughly 30 minutes to see inside its church and wander the grounds. Many tours from Tbilisi include Svetitskhoveli Cathedral as they head into Georgia’s north and allow more time than that, but that’s to allow people time to explore the rest of Mtskheta. Restaurants and a street market can be found outside the cathedral’s walls on the southside.

Things to know before you go

• Access to the main gate of the cathedral requires negotiating steps regardless of which direction you approach from, except for one single ramp near the street market on the cathedral’s southwest side.

• Immediately inside the cathedral walls, there is a platform lift for wheelchairs to bypass the only staircase in the complex.

• Remember to dress conservatively and respectfully, as this is a place of worship.

• Have some coins or small notes on hand if you’d like to purchase a candle or donate inside.

How to get there

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is located in the historical center of Mtskheta, close to the tourism information center. To get there from Tbilisi, take a shared minivan known as a marshrutka from the Didube bus station and find one heading to Mtskheta. Taking a taxi or using a ride-share service is another way to make the 20-minute trip to save time waiting on timetables and finding the bus station.

When to get there

Mtskheta and its attractions, such as Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, can be visited any time of the year, but it gets scorching in summer, around July and August. Tour groups tend to arrive at the cathedral in the late morning and late afternoon, so visit in the early morning and afternoon for fewer people to be around. Weekends also tend to be busier than weekdays when Tbilisi locals visit.

Where to find the largest church in Georgia

While Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is the second largest church in Georgia, the honor of the largest church in the country goes to the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. However, it’s slightly less impressive when you realize that this cathedral in the Avlabari neighborhood of Tbilisi was built between 1995 and 2004, while the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was built almost a thousand years earlier.