A short walk down Rustaveli from the hotel stands the country's principal museum, and an hour inside it explains a great deal about the city around you. Two collections in particular are worth the visit.
The first is below ground: the Treasury, a darkened vault of pre-Christian goldwork unearthed at Vani and elsewhere in ancient Colchis — the land the Greeks sent Jason and the Argonauts to plunder for the Golden Fleece. The craftsmanship is astonishing, delicate diadems and ornaments more than two thousand years old, and it makes the legend feel suddenly plausible.
The second is upstairs: the Museum of Soviet Occupation, a spare and sobering account of the decades between 1921 and 1991, when Georgia was absorbed into the Soviet Union. It is not an easy room, but it is an honest one, and it gives weight to the independence the country now holds.
Between the two — the gold of the deep past and the hard recent century — much of Georgia's long story is laid out. There is more besides, including some of the oldest human remains found outside Africa.
Go on a hot afternoon or between sights. The concierge can confirm opening days, as the museum closes on Mondays.
