What are Marjanishvili and Chughureti?
Marjanishvili and Chughureti form the old quarter on the left bank of the Mtkvari, across the river from Rustaveli Avenue. Its spine is Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue, laid out by German settlers two centuries ago and now lined with restored 19th-century houses, cafes and Italian courtyards; around it stand Stalin-era blocks, the Marjanishvili Theatre, the Fabrika creative hub and, at the northern end, Station Square and the central railway station. Two metro lines meet here, the right bank is one stop away, and flats range from old courtyard houses to Soviet blocks.
Officially this is Chughureti district, one of Tbilisi's 10, with 65,230 residents on 14.3 km² at the 2014 census, about twice the city's average density. Tbilisi City Council's decision No 16-35 of 2014 splits it into two units: unit 23, Kvemo Chughureti, the riverside strip between the Mtkvari and the railway from Tamar Mepe Avenue down to the Baratashvili bridge, and unit 22, Zemo Chughureti, Station Square and everything east of the railway, including the area around Kukia cemetery. By our reading of the boundaries and the map, Marjanishvili Square, the avenue, Fabrika and Saarbrücken Square are all in unit 23; "Marjanishvili" itself is not an official unit name.
Map and boundaries
The area runs along the left bank of the Mtkvari from Tamar Mepe Avenue in the north to Saarbrücken Square and the Baratashvili bridge in the south, with the railway along its eastern side and Kukia and the Makhata slopes beyond.
Open the mapTamar Mepe Avenue is the line with Didube, and OpenStreetMap places the Dezertirebi market and the Mushtaidi garden on the Didube side; the Dry Bridge flea market is across the river in Mtatsminda. Nadzaladevi begins at the central station, and at the southern tip Chughureti meets Avlabari. Streets you will see in listings include Aghmashenebeli, Marjanishvili, Tsinamdzgvrishvili, Uznadze, Bako, Ninoshvili and Chitaia. For the area across the bridge, see our guide to Avlabari.
Who Marjanishvili and Chughureti suit
Suits
- Buyers who want old-town character and a metro station within a short walk.
- Short-stay owners who want a location visitors already know.
- Commuters who use both metro lines or the railway.
Does not suit
- Anyone who needs a modern block with a lift and parking.
- Anyone unwilling to check the structure of an old house.
- Buyers who need quiet streets and clean air above all.
From Neu-Tiflis to Aghmashenebeli Avenue
According to the national tourism portal, Swabian Germans from Württemberg founded the colony of Neu-Tiflis here around 1818, near the villages of Kukia and Chughureti, and it officially joined the city in 1862. The main street was called Mikheil Street from 1851, later Plekhanov Street, and today honours King David the Builder. The city's first hospital, built on the avenue in 1868, now houses the Museum of Modern Art, and a Lutheran church of 1897 on today's Marjanishvili Square was demolished after the Second World War.
The Marjanishvili Theatre, founded in Kutaisi in 1928, moved in 1930 into the former Zubalov People's House, an Art Nouveau building, and reopened after renovation in 2006. On 29 January 2010 the city presented a full rehabilitation of the avenue covering about 70 houses to be reconstructed and some 30 repaired; part of it is now a pedestrian street of just over 500 metres. Fabrika, a former Soviet sewing factory on Egnate Ninoshvili Street turned into a hostel, cafes, bars and co-working space, opened around 2016, according to travel sources.
What flats cost and rent for
Galt & Taggart treats Chughureti as one zone, but it warns that the sample of new flats is small and leaves the zone out of its main price chart, so read its average as a rough guide.
| Indicator | Figure | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Chughureti zone, new flats | USD 2,323 per m² | July 2026, small sample, range USD 1,100 to 3,000 |
| Chughureti zone, 2025 average | USD 1,973 per m² | 1,155 sales in the year |
| Chughureti zone, rent | USD 9.9 per m² a month | July 2026 and 2025 |
| New flats, district median, asking | GEL 4,268 per m² | Geostat, first quarter of 2026, 5th of 10 districts |
| Flats listed on ss.ge | GEL 2,625 to 7,715 per m² | 14 ads, median about GEL 4,000 |
The listings show the range of stock. On Aghmashenebeli Avenue, a 97 m² flat on the 4th of 5 floors of an older building with 3.2-metre ceilings asked GEL 455,000, about GEL 4,691 per m², and a 33 m² ground-floor unit in an Italian courtyard, usable as a shop, GEL 205,000. A renovated 35 m² flat on Bako Street, described as used for short stays, asked GEL 270,000, the highest per m² in our sample, while a 108 m² flat in a Stalin-era building with a lift on Tamar Mepe Avenue asked GEL 442,000. We found no named developer project in the area with public data, and Galt & Taggart counts only about 22,000 m² of residential permits in the zone in the first seven months of 2026, so little new supply is coming.
Rents range widely: small studios on Chitaia and Pirosmani streets asked GEL 600 to 900 a month, furnished flats of 38 to 80 m² on Marjanishvili, Tsinamdzgvrishvili and Aghmashenebeli about GEL 1,820, and 120 to 140 m² flats on Marjanishvili Street GEL 3,640 to 5,450. By our arithmetic, Galt & Taggart's zone rent against its price gives a gross yield of only about 5.1%, well below the city's 8.5%, though the small sample makes that figure fragile. District comparisons are in our page on rents by district.
Getting around
Marjanishvili station on Line 1 opened on 11 January 1966 as part of the city's first metro section; Rustaveli is the next stop, across the river, about 900 metres away in a straight line by our measurement. Station Square, about 1.4 km north, is the only interchange between Lines 1 and 2 and sits under the central railway station, which is inside the district. The Galaktion Tabidze bridge by Marjanishvili and the Dry Bridge by Saarbrücken Square lead to the right bank. Check bus routes in the Tbilisi Transport Company planner.
On 18 August 2026 City Hall announced a rehabilitation of Aghmashenebeli Avenue from Tamar Mepe Avenue to Marjanishvili Square, with new drainage, asphalt in place of damaged paving, a cycle lane and LED lighting; the tender closed on 3 September, with no budget or dates published, so expect road works. A 2010 plan to move the railway out of the centre on a bypass, which would have freed over 70 hectares, stalled; the city's 2026 railway study uses the existing lines, and we found no current plan to move the central station.
Schools, universities and clinics
- Schools. OpenStreetMap lists more than a dozen public schools in the district, among them No 23 on Uznadze Street and No 29 on Ninoshvili Street; check places directly.
- Universities. Caucasus University, St King Tamar University and the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film University are mapped in the district.
- Clinics. The Aladashvili clinic, the American Hospital Tbilisi and other clinics are mapped on Uznadze and Ushangi Chkheidze streets.
- Markets. The Dezertirebi and Central bazaars are about 1.3 km from Marjanishvili metro, mapped just across Tamar Mepe Avenue.
Old buildings and heritage
Many buildings on the avenue date from the 19th and early 20th centuries. We could not find a published map of the heritage protection zone for Chughureti or a list of which buildings on the avenue are listed monuments, so check any specific address with the heritage agency before buying; the fines for unauthorised work in protection zones are covered in our Sololaki guide.
Old structures carry real risk. On 14 July 2025 part of a five-storey building near Station Square collapsed onto a market, killing two people; the mayor said it was in the worst, fifth category of dilapidation and that the city's replacement programme needs every owner's consent. In 2022 Chughureti residents blocked a road to demand limits on heavy trucks and buses, saying the traffic was damaging their houses. Ask whether a building is on the city's list of dilapidated buildings and in which category.
Air and noise
One of Tbilisi's five automatic air stations stands in Ilia garden at 73a Aghmashenebeli Avenue, about 250 metres from Marjanishvili metro. The state air plan for 2024 to 2026 records annual coarse-particle (PM10) peaks of around 50 to 60 µg/m³ there and about 100 days a year above the daily level of 50, but it says exhaust from nearby cooking and heating affects the station and leaves its fine-particle results out of its evaluation. Across the city, nitrogen dioxide runs at roughly 40 to 45 µg/m³, which is at or over the national limit. We found no noise measurements; the avenue, Station Square and the railway are the obvious sources.
Letting in Marjanishvili and Chughureti
The tourism portal presents the avenue as a visitor area, and some sellers advertise flats as short-stay units, but we found no short-stay data for the neighbourhood itself, only city-wide figures. Owners letting their own home for short stays may opt, until 1 January 2028, for a fixed monthly tax of GEL 10 for every m² they let; our page on long-term versus short-term rental compares the two strategies.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Two metro lines and the central railway station | Many old buildings need structural checks |
| Restored avenue with cafes and courtyards | Road works on the avenue announced for 2026 |
| Rustaveli one stop away across the river | Air readings among the higher in the city |
| Universities, clinics and markets nearby | Little new supply and few modern buildings |
| Wide rent range from studios to large flats | Gross yield on zone figures only about 5.1% |
To be added by the team: photos for the team to take: the pedestrian part of Aghmashenebeli Avenue, an Italian courtyard, the Marjanishvili Theatre, Marjanishvili Square and the metro entrance, Fabrika's courtyard, Saarbrücken Square and the Dry Bridge, Station Square and a Stalin-era block.
Checking a flat in Chughureti step by step
Place the address
Avenue side, railway side or Kukia.
Check heritage status
Listed building or protection zone.
Ask about dilapidation
City list and category of the building.
Inspect the structure
Walls, beams, roof and stairwell.
Listen at rush hour
Avenue, railway and market noise.
Choose the letting model
Long let or short stay with the fixed tax.
Frequently asked questions
Which district are Marjanishvili and Chughureti in?
Chughureti district; Marjanishvili Square and the avenue are in its unit 23.
How much does a flat in Chughureti cost?
14 ss.ge ads asked GEL 2,625 to 7,715 per m² on 21 October 2026, median about GEL 4,000.
What rent can I get in Chughureti?
From GEL 600 for small studios to about GEL 1,820 for furnished 38 to 80 m² flats.
Which metro stations serve the area?
Marjanishvili on Line 1 and Station Square, where Lines 1 and 2 meet.
Is the railway station moving?
We found no current plan to move the central station.
Is the air bad on Aghmashenebeli Avenue?
The local station shows higher particle readings, though the state plan doubts its fine-particle data.
Is the Dezertirebi market in Chughureti?
OpenStreetMap places it just across Tamar Mepe Avenue, on the Didube side.
Can I let a flat here to tourists?
Yes; the fixed short-stay tax of GEL 10 per m² a month runs until 1 January 2028.
Sources
- Tbilisi City Council decision No 16-35 on territorial units, 5 December 2014, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Air quality management plan for the Tbilisi agglomeration, 2024-2026, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Aghmashenebeli Avenue and Neu-Tiflis, Georgian National Tourism Administration (accessed 21 October 2026)
- David Agmashenebeli Avenue, Marjanishvili Theatre, Marjanishvili station and Station Square station, Wikipedia (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Rehabilitation of Aghmashenebeli Avenue presented, Trend, 29 January 2010, and Fabrika Tbilisi, Wander-Lush (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tbilisi residential real estate reports by Galt & Taggart: 2025 and July 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Residential real estate prices in Tbilisi, first quarter of 2026, 1TV, citing Geostat (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Flats for sale in Chugureti, with the rent section, ss.ge (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Rehabilitation of a section of Aghmashenebeli Avenue, 1TV, 18 August 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tbilisi railway bypass, EBRD, 17 March 2010, and tender for a city railway study, Georgia Today, 1 July 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Building collapse near Station Square, Civil Georgia, 15 July 2025, and Chughureti residents protest heavy traffic, Caucasian Knot, 25 July 2022 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Marjanishvili Square, OpenStreetMap, and journey planner, Tbilisi Transport Company (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tax Code of Georgia, Article 309, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 21 October 2026)
Change log
- - Area guide published from the Tbilisi City Council decision on territorial units, the Tbilisi air quality management plan, the national tourism portal, Wikipedia, Trend, Galt & Taggart and Geostat data, ss.ge listings, 1TV, EBRD, Georgia Today, Civil Georgia and Caucasian Knot reporting.