Sighnaghi, Georgia: The Quiet Village of Potential

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We started our exploration of Georgian wine country by spending the day in Sighnaghi. It seems to be an obligatory stop for anyone visiting Georgia’s wine country and it had been labeled ‘The City of Love,” so why not.



The ancient walled city sits high on a ridge with incredible views across the Alazani Valley and the Caucasus Mountains. With its high walls and towers, Sighnaghi used to be a trading center on the Silk Road. I find this quite ironic since we couldn’t even find one cute boutique for shopping.



Like many old cities, Sighnaghi offers a quaint little city center, cobblestone streets and winding alleys.



As we continued to find a proper generalized label for how to describe Georgia, this little village sitting upon the mountain ridges added another complication. Many might describe Sighnaghi as reminiscent of an Italian hill town—especially when you catch views of the many Cyprus trees that dot the landscape and the grapevines framing the 18th and 19th century buildings.



I found myself lost in my thoughts and the alleyways as I could not soak up enough of the architecture and incredible details of the buildings. Even the gutters and downspouts had artistic details, just for the fabulousness of it.



As with much of Georgia, we were taken aback by the gorgeous old buildings that stood in haggard disarray. They reeked of neglect, but oozed with potential. We walked the narrow, aged streets and played the game “if I were a billionaire” as we reimagined the crumbling buildings being brought back to their glory or transformed into something wonderfully useful and aesthetically fantastic. But do not get me wrong, there is still much beauty in Sighnaghi that is not in need of a little love or dusting off.



Sighnaghi is a very quiet city that lends itself to mindless wandering, lengthy coffee breaks turned wine breaks and moments of just being mindful that you are not at home. The restaurant options were endless and, as with every meal in Georgia, we ate with complete gluttony. We sampled several wines at the infamous Pheasants’ Tears winery and took copious amount of photos—that is what happens when you are surrounded by colorful, unique architecture.


**For more stories and photos about our travels, please follow along on Facebook at Valeri Crenshaw and on Instagram at Valerispassport!***

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Comments

[Patty Reece]

My Kind of Place
Love this! Thanks for posting, Valerie!

[David Ray Brock]

Italy in Georgia
Makes a person think about staying for a while! Beautiful