Signagi, the city of love: romance with a view of the Alazani Valley

There are places in Georgia, that are worth visiting together with your soulmate. One of such cities is the ancient Signagi. Here, on the top of the hill, you can find absolute tranquility: cobbled streets, red tiled roofs, quiet and slow paced life. And only after plunging into the history of Signagi, you can find out – passions run really high here!

What Signagi is famous for?

First of all, it is the romantic atmosphere! Did you know that it was Signagi, where Niko Pirosmani, the famous Georgian naive artist, tried to win the heart of the unapproachable beauty, the French actress Margarita de Sevres? This story has long been known to everyone thanks to the song “One Million Crimson Roses” – it was the square in front of the main hotel in Signagi, that Pirosmani covered with roses. However, as eyewitnesses wrote, there were not only roses of all possible shades, but also fragrant lilac, wild hawthorn and lilies, honeysuckle, poppies, anemones, and a dozen different names – there were so many flowers, that the whole street was covered with them!

5 things that must be done in Signagi

• Get married – since there is a Palace of Marriages here functioning 24/7, just like in Los Angeles! Not only Georgian citizens can get married here, but also lovers from all over the world – it is enough to bring notarized copies of passports with you and find witnesses. No application to the registry office, long expectations and expenses – you can become spouses in just one day!
• Feel the atmosphere of the Bodbe monastery – a unique women’s monastery in which the relics of St. Nina are buried (according to the legend, it was her preaching, which convinced Georgians to convert to Christianity). It was here that the kings of the Kakheti princedom were crowned, and the largest repository of religious books in Georgia is located.

In the monastery, or rather, in the cathedral of St. George, there is the most revered icon in Georgia – the Iberian icon of the Mother of God. It was not taken away of Bodbe even during the Soviet times, when the monastery was turned into a hospital.

• Take a panoramic photo of the Alazani valley – Signagi is located in the highlands (about 750 meters), that is why at any time of the year it offers you stunning landscapes! Try to get the Church of St. George in the frame – this is the most popular view, which is printed on local souvenir postcards. But it is even better to climb the highest point of the city – the tower of St. Stephen’s Church on Chavchavadze Street: you will see not only the valley before you, but also a kaleidoscope of colorful Signagi roofs. And if the weather is sunny on this day, you will also see the snow-covered Caucasus range in the distance.
• Drink some real Kakhetian wine from Saperavi, Rkatsiteli or Mtsvane grape sorts, which is tart and rich due to special manufacturing technology.
• Bypass the entire fortress wall of Signagi – an impressive protective structure built under the reign of King Irakli II. Just like the famous Chinese wall, it passes through the terrain of the mountain, repeating their outlines.

When you get down from the wall, be sure to go to Baratashvili Street and find a monument of the doctor on the donkey. Although, perhaps, it is Don Quixote or Benjamin Glonti from the movie “Don’t grieve!” – it’s up to you to decide.

Signagi is not the oldest city in Georgia (it was built in the 18th century), but it is definitely one of the most atmospheric ones! There is a reason for it to be compared with the Italian or Swiss province, where life slows down its pace, and those around you find happiness in small things. Cozy restaurants are good enough to spend long hours there, philosophical thoughts are inspired by the landscapes of the Alazani valley, and the view of the square, where a hundred years ago some creaky arba carriages brought the most beautiful flowers of Georgia, gets you in a romantic mood. And who knows, perhaps it is exactly here that you decide to tell your beloved the most important words in your life!