Dry Bridge Market

The Dry Bridge Market is Tbilisi's best-known flea market, spread across the Dry Bridge and the small park beside it, between Rustaveli Avenue and the river. Sellers lay out their goods on blankets, folding tables and railings: Soviet medals and badges, old film cameras, enamel signs, vinyl records, silver jewellery, daggers, drinking horns, porcelain, books and household objects that look straight out of a 1970s flat. In the park next to it, local artists sell paintings of Old Tbilisi and the mountains, along with scarves and handmade crafts.

Prices are not fixed, so look around before buying and bargain politely. Many sellers speak some English or Russian, and most deal only in cash. Stalls are set out most days and the market is busiest at weekends, but it thins out in bad weather. If you are buying antiques, icons or old art, ask about export rules first, since items of cultural value may need a certificate to leave Georgia.

The Dry Bridge was built in 1847–1851 over a branch of the Mtkvari. In the 20th century that channel was filled in, leaving the bridge spanning dry ground, which gave it its name. Locals have sold their belongings here for decades, and the market grew especially in the hard years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when many families sold heirlooms to get by.