How to Surprise a Girl in Tbilisi — Flower Surprises

In short: Tbilisi is a city where a surprise is easier to arrange than anywhere else in the Caucasus, because its very geography works for you: hills with views, cable cars, the painted entrance halls of Sololaki, wooden balconies above the Mtkvari and "Italian courtyards" where the neighbours know everyone. Ten ideas that only work here: a bouquet waiting at the upper cable-car station by Narikala; flowers and ponchiki doughnuts from Mtatsminda with the morning coffee; a card with "მიყვარხარ" (miqvarkhar — "I love you") in Georgian; a surprise on 15 April — Georgia's own Day of Love; an antique vase from the Dry Bridge market with fresh flowers in it; a bouquet in a painted Sololaki stairwell; a proposal by the Mother of Georgia at sunset. Three evening scenarios — the Old Town, Mtatsminda, Vake and Turtle Lake; six proposal spots with an hour-by-hour timeline; what to know about flower etiquette in Georgia (odd numbers, 8 March and 3 March); how to arrange it all if you are not in Tbilisi. Bouquets delivered across Tbilisi from $82, medium $262–472, premium up to $1,017; delivery in 1–2 hours or at an agreed time, photo before departure.

Catalogue and prices are on the flower delivery in Tbilisi page; by area: Old Town, Mtatsminda, Rustaveli, Vake, Saburtalo. How to sign the card if the surprise is anonymous — a separate article.

Why Tbilisi Is a City Where a Surprise Is Easy to Make and Easy to Spoil

Three features to know before you plan.

Height. Tbilisi lies in the valley of the Mtkvari, and almost every route ends in a climb: the cable car from Rike Park to Narikala, the 1905 funicular to Mtatsminda, the cable car from Vake Park to Turtle Lake. That means you have three "stages" with a view of the whole city where a bouquet can be brought in advance — and where it waits at the top instead of riding up in the cabin in your hands.

Courtyards and stairwells. Old Tbilisi, Sololaki and Mtatsminda are "Italian courtyards" (ezo) with wooden galleries where the neighbours know who lives in which flat, and painted early-twentieth-century entrance halls with stucco and stained glass. For a surprise this is a gift: the courier arranges things with a neighbour and the bouquet waits on the gallery by the door. For delivery it is a test: house numbers do not run in order, the entrance is often from the yard, there are no intercoms. So for the old town we ask not for an address but for a map pin and the phone number of whoever will open the door.

Neighbours. In Tbilisi a surprise cannot be hidden from the courtyard — and it does not need to be. A bouquet carried through an ezo is seen by everyone, and by evening the whole street knows. That is part of the effect: the city itself becomes an accomplice.

What to Know About Flowers in Georgia Before a Surprise

Odd numbers. In Georgia, as in most post-Soviet countries, an even number of flowers is brought to funerals. You give 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 25, 51, 101 — never 10, 12 or 20. Every bouquet in our Tbilisi catalogue is made with this in mind.
8 March is the main flower day. In Georgia it is a public holiday, and on the morning of 8 March a bouquet goes to every woman in the house; by 7 March the tulips and mimosa in the city are gone. Order 2–3 days ahead.
3 March is Mother's Day. A Georgian holiday celebrated separately from 8 March: flowers for mother and grandmother are a must. If you want to surprise a girl, send a bouquet to her mother on 3 March as well — that is remembered.
15 April is the Day of Love. Since 1994 Georgia has celebrated its own Day of Love, "Siqvarulis dghe", in addition to 14 February. It is the most underrated occasion for a surprise: nobody expects it, the flowers are in town, prices are calm.
Words. A card with "მიყვარხარ" (miqvarkhar — "I love you") or "ჩემო სიცოცხლევ" (chemo sitsotskhlev — "my life") in Georgian works harder than any Russian or English text — even if neither of you is Georgian. We will write it for you and check the spelling.
Roses, peonies, hydrangeas. Tbilisi loves large, lush bouquets and baskets; flowers come from the Netherlands and Ecuador via Tbilisi airport, local ones are carnations, tulips in spring and lilac in May from the suburbs. Peonies — May–June, tulips — February–April.

Ten Flower Surprises That Only Work in Tbilisi

A bouquet at the upper cable-car station by Narikala. You ride up together from Rike Park, and at the top, by the fortress wall, the courier hands you the flowers — and you walk to the Mother of Georgia already holding a bouquet. She never saw where it came from.
Ponchiki from Mtatsminda and flowers with the morning coffee. The doughnuts from the funicular restaurant are a Tbilisi legend; we bring a box of warm ponchiki and a compact "Spring Box" ($120) to the door before she wakes.
A card in Georgian. "მიყვარხარ" by hand — and the bouquet stops being "just flowers".
15 April instead of 14 February. Flowers on Georgia's Day of Love — a surprise nobody expects.
A vase from the Dry Bridge. In the morning at the Dry Bridge flea market — Soviet glass, Georgian ceramics, brass; you buy a vase for 20–40 lari, and by evening "Peony Silk" ($284) is standing in it. A gift with a history.
A bouquet in a painted Sololaki stairwell. The entrance halls on Machabeli, Asatiani and Lado Asatiani streets have early-twentieth-century frescoes and stained glass. The courier places the bouquet on the landing windowsill by her door (by arrangement with the neighbours) — she finds it coming home.
A surprise at the Gabriadze clock. The tower of Rezo Gabriadze's puppet theatre on Shavteli: at noon and at seven in the evening an angel comes out of a little door and strikes the bell. Meeting at the tower at seven — with flowers in hand — is a simple and very Tbilisi gesture.
Sulphur baths for two with flowers in the room. In Abanotubani private rooms with a pool are booked for an hour or two; we arrange with the manager, and the flowers are in the room before you arrive.
Flowers on the gallery of an Italian courtyard. For a flat in an old house — the bouquet waits on the wooden gallery by the door, a neighbour keeps an eye on it.
101 roses on a day when nothing is being celebrated. "101 Roses" ($894) on an ordinary Tuesday — because in Tbilisi big bouquets are given not "for something" but "just because".

How to Arrange an Evening for Two in Tbilisi: Three Scenarios

Scenario 1 — the Old Town. Start in Abanotubani by the domes of the sulphur baths, walk up the gorge to the Leghvtakhevi waterfall (five minutes from the baths and you are in silence under the cliff), climb through the Botanical Garden or take the cable car from Rike to Narikala, reach the Mother of Georgia for sunset, come down to the Bridge of Peace as the lights come on, dinner — khinkali at one of the khinkali houses by Meidan or on Chardin Street. Flowers: the meeting at Narikala (idea 1) or a bouquet to the table.

Scenario 2 — Mtatsminda. The funicular from Chonkadze Street to the top (the car takes seven minutes, passing the Pantheon where Griboyedov and Nino Chavchavadze are buried — the most famous love story in Tbilisi), the park at the summit with the Ferris wheel and a view of the whole city, ponchiki and khachapuri at the funicular restaurant, the descent in the dark over the lights. Flowers: the bouquet waits by the restaurant at the top — the courier goes up in advance.

Scenario 3 — Vake and Turtle Lake. The cable car from Vake Park to Kus Tba, a walk around the lake (forty minutes), sunset from the terrace above the water, the descent, dinner in Vake on Abashidze or Chavchavadze. The calmest scenario — for those who live in Vake or Saburtalo and do not want the tourist centre. Flowers: delivery to the flat for your return, or to the table.

For any scenario: go out half an hour before sunset (around 20:30 in summer, around 17:30 in winter), take a sweater — it is windy at the top — and book a table at weekends.

A Marriage Proposal in Tbilisi: Six Places and How to Get the Bouquet There

The Mother of Georgia (Narikala) at sunset. The most obvious and the strongest: the whole city below. The courier brings the bouquet to the upper cable-car station in advance and hands it to you by the wall, recognising you from a photo; behind you the Mtkvari and Sololaki, beyond them Mtatsminda lit up.
The Bridge of Peace at night. A glass bridge with changing lights; from it you see Metekhi and Narikala. Crowded, so — late on a weekday evening; the bouquet into your hands at Rike five minutes before.
The Ferris wheel on Mtatsminda. An enclosed cabin, the city at 360°, seven minutes at the top. A compact bouquet — "Tender Kiss" ($122) — fits in the cabin; a large arrangement meets you below.
Turtle Lake. Quiet, water, forest — for those who do not want an audience. The courier hands over the bouquet at the upper cable-car station.
Jvari above Mtskheta. Twenty kilometres from the city: a sixth-century monastery on a hill above the confluence of the Mtkvari and the Aragvi — the very place from Lermontov's "Mtsyri". A weekday morning, empty. The bouquet travels with the courier to Mtskheta by arrangement a day ahead.
A painted stairwell or a balcony in Sololaki. For those renting a flat in an old house: a proposal at home, on the wooden balcony above the courtyard, with "Cloud of Tenderness" ($430) or "Sea of Tulips" ($466) that has been waiting on the gallery.

The Proposal Hour by Hour

3 days before: you choose the place and the bouquet, write us the area, the time and the word "proposal" — we agree the hand-over point and take only your phone number, not hers.
The day before: the table booking for the evening, a check of the forecast (in Tbilisi a summer downpour lasts half an hour and passes; in November it stays).
The day, 12:00: a photo of the finished bouquet to you on WhatsApp. Any substitution only with your consent.
40 minutes before sunset: you are at the lower station of the cable car or funicular; the courier is already at the top.
10 minutes before: the bouquet is handed to you by photo — by the Narikala wall, by the funicular restaurant, at the Kus Tba station.
Sunset. The rest is yours.
In the evening: if it is a yes — a second delivery to the table or the room: "Peony Silk" ($284) or a basket, so the evening continues in flowers.

Flowers to the Table: Where to Dine and How the Bouquet Gets There

A Tbilisi dinner for two is khinkali (ordered by the piece in khinkali houses, from five), Imeretian or Megrelian khachapuri, pkhali of spinach and beetroot, aubergines with walnut paste, lobio in a clay pot, ajapsandali in summer, churchkhela and tklapi with tea, Lagidze waters — a Tbilisi invention of 1887, tarragon and cream — and Borjomi. Dinner for two in a khinkali house is $20–30, in a restaurant on Chardin Street or in Vake $40–70.

A bouquet to the table: you name the restaurant and the booking time, we hand the flowers to the manager half an hour before, and the bouquet is on the table when you sit down. For tables people take something stable — "Luxury Basket" ($262), "Honey Dawn" ($153) in a box; tall bouquets in kraft get in the way on narrow tables. The tables in the khinkali houses by Meidan are small — a compact bouquet or an arrangement in a box.

A Surprise When You Are Not in Tbilisi

Half of our Tbilisi surprises are ordered from Moscow, Almaty, Dubai, Berlin and New York. What is needed for it all to work:

For a flat in an old house (Sololaki, Mtatsminda, Avlabari): a map pin, the entrance or courtyard, the floor, the phone number of the recipient or of a neighbour who will open. House numbers in old Tbilisi do not run in order — the pin matters more than the address.
For a new building in Saburtalo or Vake: the name of the complex, block, floor, flat, phone; concierges are not everywhere, intercoms almost everywhere.
For a hotel (Stamba, Rooms, Radisson Blu Iveria, The Biltmore, Paragraph, the Marriott on Rustaveli): the guest's name as in the booking and the check-in date — the bouquet goes to reception or to the room via the concierge.
For an office: the company name and floor in a business centre on Chavchavadze or in Saburtalo; Tbilisi offices love flowers "in front of everyone".
Payment — by a card from any country in dollars, Apple/Google Pay, transfer or crypto; the recipient pays nothing. A photo of the bouquet to you before the courier leaves, a hand-over photo afterwards if the recipient does not mind.
The card — we write it by hand in Russian, English or Georgian; if the surprise is anonymous — what the recipient sees.

Which Bouquets People Choose for a Surprise in Tbilisi — and What They Cost

$82–153 — compact: "Delight and Admiration" ($82), "Heart's Secret" ($100), "Spring Box" ($120), "Tender Kiss" ($122), "Honey Dawn" ($153) — for a cable-car meeting, a morning with ponchiki, a Ferris-wheel cabin.
$186–247 — large first-tier bouquets: "Marshmallow Cloud" ($186), "Sunset Mix" ($219), "Red Carousel" ($247) — for the flat and the table.
$262–472 — medium arrangements: "Luxury Basket" ($262), "Peony Silk" ($284), "Cloud of Tenderness" ($430), "Sea of Tulips" ($466), "Cream Basket" ($472) — a proposal, an anniversary, a balcony in Sololaki.
$523–1,017 — premium: "Powder Garden" ($538), "Bear of Roses" ($753), "101 Roses" ($894), "Hydrangea Queen" ($1,017) — "just because" on a Tuesday, or for a suite at Stamba.

Delivery across Tbilisi takes 1–2 hours after you confirm the photo, or an agreed time; large arrangements and 101 roses — a day ahead. Delivery across the centre, Vake, Saburtalo, Mtatsminda and Avlabari is included; Mtskheta, Tbilisi Sea and Digomi on request before payment.

Tbilisi Seasons: When It Is +38 °C and When It Snows — and What That Changes

Summer (June–August). Heat up to +38 °C, the city empties by day and comes alive after 19:00. A bouquet into hands — evenings only; to a flat — in thermal wrapping with a request to put it straight into water. Peonies end in June; roses, hydrangeas in an aqua box and orchids hold. Sunset around 20:30.
Autumn (September–November). The best time: warm, dry, in October Tbilisoba, the city festival with fairs at Rike and in the old town (that weekend the centre is closed — we agree deliveries). Persimmons, pomegranates, quince — autumn baskets.
Winter (December–February). +3…+8 °C, occasional snow, Mtatsminda in fog; New Year gozinaki and churchkhela, 14 February — pre-order 2–3 days ahead. Tulips from February.
Spring (March–May). 3 March and 8 March are the peak of the year; lilac in May, peonies from mid-May, 15 April the Day of Love. Sunset moves to 20:00, Turtle Lake and Mtatsminda are in bloom.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I surprise a girl in Tbilisi with flowers? Bring the bouquet where she does not expect it: to the upper cable-car station by Narikala, to the gallery of an Italian courtyard, to a painted Sololaki stairwell, to the table at a khinkali house, to the morning coffee with ponchiki from Mtatsminda — or on 15 April, Georgia's Day of Love.

Where to propose in Tbilisi? By the Mother of Georgia at sunset, on the Bridge of Peace at night, in a Ferris-wheel cabin on Mtatsminda, at Turtle Lake, at Jvari above Mtskheta, or at home on a Sololaki balcony. The courier brings the bouquet to the spot in advance.

How many flowers do you give in Georgia? An odd number — 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 25, 51, 101. An even number in Georgia is brought only to funerals.

Which flower holidays does Georgia have besides 14 February? 3 March — Mother's Day, 8 March — a public holiday and the main flower day, 15 April — Georgia's Day of Love, October — Tbilisoba.

Can a bouquet be delivered to Narikala or Mtatsminda? Yes — the courier goes up by cable car or funicular in advance and hands you the bouquet at the upper station by photo; you board the cabin without flowers.

How do you deliver flowers to an old house in Sololaki with no flat number and no intercom? We need a map pin, the courtyard or entrance, the floor and the phone number of whoever will open — the recipient or a neighbour. The courier sorts it out on the spot and can leave the bouquet on the gallery by the door.

What to write on the card in Georgian? "მიყვარხარ" (miqvarkhar) — "I love you"; "ჩემო სიცოცხლევ" (chemo sitsotskhlev) — "my life"; "გილოცავ" (gilotsav) — "congratulations". We write by hand and check the spelling.

How much does a bouquet with delivery cost in Tbilisi? Compact $82–247, medium $262–472, premium $523–1,017; delivery across the centre, Vake, Saburtalo, Mtatsminda and Avlabari is included, in 1–2 hours or at an agreed time.

Can I order a surprise in Tbilisi from another country? Yes — from anywhere: payment by a card from any country, a photo of the bouquet before departure and a hand-over photo afterwards; you need a map pin, a phone number and a time.

Which flowers are best to give in Tbilisi in summer? Roses, hydrangeas in an aqua box, orchids, lisianthus, anthuriums — they take +35 °C; peonies only until the end of June; hand over in the evening or indoors.

Where Next

Choose a bouquet — flower catalogue in Tbilisi: from $82, photo before the courier leaves.
Recipient in the Old Town, on Mtatsminda, on Rustaveli, in Vake or Saburtalo — area pages.
Travelling on in Georgia — Batumi in the evening and flower delivery in Georgia; ordering from abroad for the first time — how to order flowers from another country.
Send the place, the time and the word "surprise" on WhatsApp — we will agree the hand-over point and send a photo of the bouquet.