Sighnaghi, Georgia in one day on foot: a walking itinerary
This Sighnaghi one day itinerary keeps you on foot from 10:00 to dinner. Sighnaghi (also spelled Signagi) is a hilltop town in Kakheti, Georgia's wine region, ringed by an 18th-century wall with views over the Alazani Valley. The day covers the Sighnaghi Museum and its Pirosmani paintings, the Wedding House, a stretch of the town wall from St. Stephen's church, lunch with qvevri wine, a walk down to Bodbe Monastery and back, and dinner at Pheasant's Tears.
The plan is for a Saturday (every stop is open Wednesday to Sunday). I built the day in Passage AI for Saturday 7 November 2026, added the stops in walking order and ran the Need tickets? scan. Hours and prices are checked against the official sites linked below: the municipal tourism site visitsighnaghi.com, the Georgian National Museum and the venues' own pages.
Last checked: Oct 2026. Hours and prices change. Open the linked official page before you go.
Sighnaghi one day itinerary at a glance
The table lists the day in order for a Saturday, with a suggested time for each stop.
| # | Stop | Suggested time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sighnaghi Museum | 10:00 | 5 GEL adult |
| 2 | Wedding House | 11:30 | Free to look in |
| 3 | St. Stephen's church and the town wall | 12:00 | Free |
| 4 | Okro's Wine (lunch) | 13:15 | Pay as you go |
| 5 | Bodbe Monastery | 15:00 | No ticket listed |
| 6 | St. George's Church | 17:00 | No ticket listed |
| 7 | Pheasant's Tears (dinner) | 18:30 | Pay as you go |
Stops 1 to 4, 6 and 7 are all inside the old town. Bodbe is the one long walk: about 3 km each way by road.
The Passage AI trip holds the six main stops, and the Wedding House fits in as a quick look-in between the museum and the wall.
Stop by stop
1. Sighnaghi Museum, 10:00
The Sighnaghi Historical and Ethnographic Museum, at 8 Tamar Mepe Street, is part of the Georgian National Museum. It holds archaeology from the Stone Age on, ethnographic rooms (musical instruments, weapons, clothing) and medieval finds from across eastern Georgia, including David Gareja. It also has 16 paintings by Niko Pirosmani, who was born in the Kakheti village of Mirzaani. (municipal page)
The museum's page on the Georgian National Museum site lists it as open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30, and closed on Mondays and official public holidays. An adult ticket was listed at 5 GEL (marked as the price until 1 January), and students, pupils and pensioners pay 0.5 GEL. Tickets are also sold online on biletebi.ge. (official page, in Georgian) Check the price before you go if you visit after New Year.
Give it about an hour and a half, which is why it opens the day.
2. The Wedding House, 11:30
Sighnaghi calls itself the city of love, and its Wedding House on Kostava Street registers marriages. The municipal site says anyone can visit during working hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 9:00 to 18:00, closed Monday and Tuesday. (official page) Plan on a short look in.
3. St. Stephen's church and the town wall, 12:00
According to the municipal site, the town wall went up in 1762 under King Erekle II, runs about 4.5 km around some 40 hectares, and has 23 towers, each named after a nearby village. A small section is restored for visitors. (official page)
The easiest way up is at St. Stephen's (Stepantsminda) church, built into the wall the same year. From the highest square, take the road to the left of Hotel Sighnaghi; the church is up the road on the right. Its tower looks out over the town and the valley, and you can walk along the fortifications from there. The municipal site says there is no admission charge for the church or the tower, so ignore anyone asking for a fee. (official page)
The wall is open-air, so there is no opening time to plan around.
4. Lunch at Okro's Wine, 13:15
Okro's Wine on Chavchavadze Street is a family wine cellar and restaurant, open since 2003, with views over the Alazani Valley. It pours five qvevri wines (Georgian wine fermented in buried clay jars) and chacha, the local grape spirit. The municipal listing gives its hours as 11:00 to 21:00. (official listing)
5. Bodbe Monastery, 15:00
Bodbe is the convent of St. Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia in the 4th century. She died here around 338 to 340, and her relics are kept at the monastery, which makes it one of the country's main pilgrimage sites. The St. George basilica dates to the 8th and 9th centuries. Today it's a working nunnery. The municipal site lists it as open every day, 10:00 to 18:00, and lists no ticket. (official page)
The monastery's page puts it 3 km from town by road. The walk there is downhill and the walk back is uphill, so allow more time for the return. St. Nino's Spring, said to have appeared through her prayers, draws pilgrims too, and a small church nearby bears the names of her parents, Saints Zabulon and Sosana. (Georgia Travel)
It's a working convent, so check the dress expectations before you go.
6. St. George's Church, 17:00
Back in town, St. George's sits in the northeastern part of Sighnaghi near the eastern stretch of the wall. It's a 19th-century church of cobblestone and brick. (official page) It makes a quiet last stop before dinner.
7. Dinner at Pheasant's Tears, 18:30
Pheasant's Tears, at 18 Baratashvili Street, is a wine cellar and restaurant that has been pouring qvevri wine since 2007. Its own website lists Monday to Sunday, 12:00 to 23:00, with the kitchen closing at 22:00. The municipal listing gives different hours (10:00 to 23:00, kitchen until 21:00), so check before you go. (official site, municipal listing)
Building the day in Passage AI
In Passage AI you add the stops, and Optimize can reorder the day for less walking. It shows a preview with each stop's old position, and nothing changes until you tap Apply. For Sighnaghi, the fixed points are the museum opening at 10:00 and Bodbe closing at 18:00, so the museum goes first and Bodbe sits in the afternoon.
When you reach a stop, the Guide opens it with a short story about the place, and Listen reads it aloud. Walk times are straight-line estimates between stops; Directions opens your maps app for the street route. Saved plans open offline.
What to book ahead
Need tickets? in Passage AI scans the trip for stops that usually need booking and links you to the official site. For this day it marked Pheasant's Tears and Okro's Wine as likely worth booking ahead and the museum as a maybe, and listed the churches and Bodbe as walk-in friendly.
The official pages say:
| Stop | Official site says (Oct 2026) | My call |
|---|---|---|
| Sighnaghi Museum | Tickets on site or online at biletebi.ge; closed Mondays | Walk in |
| Bodbe Monastery | Open daily 10:00 to 18:00, no ticket listed | Walk in |
| Town wall and St. Stephen's | Open-air; no charge for church or tower | Walk in |
| Wedding House | Open to visitors Wednesday to Sunday | Walk in |
| Okro's Wine | Open 11:00 to 21:00 | Contact ahead on weekends |
| Pheasant's Tears | Open 12:00 to 23:00, kitchen to 22:00 | Contact ahead on weekends |
Getting to Sighnaghi from Tbilisi
Sighnaghi is 115 km from Tbilisi, according to the municipal tourism site. Minibuses run daily from the Samgori metro station area (Navtlughi bus station) at 9:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00 and 18:00, and back from Sighnaghi bus station at 7:00, 9:00, 11:00, 13:00, 16:00 and 18:00. Each way costs 15 GEL. A private taxi from the Isani metro taxi rank is quoted at around 120 GEL one way or 150 GEL return. (official page)
This walking day assumes you stay the night in Sighnaghi. If you come and go by minibus the same day, the first one leaves Tbilisi at 9:00 and the last one back leaves Sighnaghi at 18:00. In that case start at the museum, then go to the wall and Bodbe, and skip dinner. For a full day in the capital, see Tbilisi in one day on foot.
The Tourism Information Center at 13 Aghmashenebeli Street is open daily (10:00 to 17:30 in winter, 9:30 to 18:00 in summer) and hands out town maps. (official page)
What to skip or swap
- Don't go on a Monday. The museum is closed, and so is the Wedding House (also closed Tuesday). Wednesday to Sunday works for every stop.
- Short on legs? Bodbe is the big walk of the day. A taxi there and back saves the climb; everything else in town is a few minutes apart.
- Want more wine? The municipal site lists more than 20 wine cellars in Sighnaghi. Kerovani on Aghmashenebeli Street lists 10:00 to 22:00. (official listing)
- Only half a day? Do the museum, the wall at St. Stephen's and Bodbe, and eat in between.
FAQ
Is one day enough for Sighnaghi?
Yes. The old town is small, and the museum, the wall and the Wedding House sit within a few minutes of each other. Bodbe Monastery is the only stop outside town, 3 km away by road. One day covers all of it with two sit-down meals.
How do you get from Sighnaghi to Bodbe Monastery?
You can walk it: about 3 km by road, downhill on the way there and uphill on the way back. A taxi is the other option. Bodbe is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00.
Is Sighnaghi the same as Signagi?
Yes. Both spellings are transliterations of the same Georgian name, სიღნაღი. You'll see Sighnaghi, Signagi and sometimes Signaghi on signs and maps.
Do you need to book anything for this day?
Nothing here needs a timed ticket. The museum sells tickets at the door and online, the official pages list no ticket for Bodbe or the churches, and the wall is open-air. If you're set on a table at Pheasant's Tears or Okro's Wine for a weekend meal, contact them ahead.
How much is the minibus from Tbilisi to Sighnaghi?
15 GEL each way, according to the municipal tourism site, with departures from the Samgori metro area (Navtlughi bus station) between 9:00 and 18:00.
How this was made: planned in Passage AI on 29 October 2026, facts checked against visitsighnaghi.com (Sighnaghi Municipality), the Georgian National Museum, Georgia Travel (Georgian National Tourism Administration) and Pheasant's Tears, written by Edward.
Cover photo: Jon Gudorf Photography on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
