Georgia in cash.
The vertical Caucasus, Tbilisi with its carved balconies, wine aged in clay for 8'000 years and a table that never ends. The gentle lari turns every supra into a royal banquet.
Helvetica Exchange prepares your GEL travel envelope at Rue Pierre-Fatio 19, 1204 Geneva (Rive district) — the posted rate, no separate commission, Monday–Friday 08:30–18:30 and Saturday 09:00–17:00. Reserve and your rate is held for 3 hours during opening hours; ID from the LBA thresholds.
The cities, chosen.
Tbilisi
Hanging wooden balconies, domed sulphur baths and secret courtyards.
The Abanotubani baths — Brick domes, 40° sulphur water — an invigorating kisa scrub.
Old town & Narikala fortress — Cable car, Mother Georgia and leaning lanes.
Kazbegi (Stepantsminda)
Trinity Church beneath icy Mount Kazbek — the image of the Caucasus.
Gergeti Trinity Church — On foot (1 h 30) or by 4×4 — 2'170 m, a mythic panorama.
The Georgian Military Road — Terek gorges and the Ananuri fortress on its turquoise lake.
Kakheti
Georgia's cellar — qvevri amphora wine and fortified villages.
Sighnaghi — The fortified 'city of love' facing the Great Caucasus.
A family cellar & qvevri tasting — Amber wine macerated six months underground, toasts led by the tamada.
Getting around.
Marshrutka minibuses go everywhere for pennies; a night train reaches Svaneti. Ride-hailing in town. Nearly everything outside hotels settles in counted lari.
Cash & banknotes.
Marvellously affordable: a full feast GEL 40–70, the Tbilisi–Kazbegi marshrutka GEL 15, the baths GEL 50. Liquid lari is indispensable outside the capital; autumn smells of the harvest.
| Rate reservation | held 3 hours, during opening hours |
| Counter hours | Mon–Fri 08:30–18:30 · Sat 09:00–17:00 |
| Commission | none — the margin lives in the posted rate |
Before you go.
Is Georgia inexpensive?
Marvellously: full feast GEL 40–70, marshrutka to Kazbegi GEL 15, baths GEL 50 — liquid lari is essential beyond the capital.
When to go?
May–June and September–October for everything; July–August for high Svaneti; autumn for Kakheti's harvest, when the whole country smells of must.
Indicative amounts — rate reservable for 3 hours · Rue Pierre-Fatio 19, Geneva · Guide complet en français