The Bridge of Peace: Tbilisi's Modern Landmark Crossing

The Bridge of Peace opened in May 2010 and has become one of the most debated — and most photographed — structures in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia (the country in the South Caucasus). A pedestrian crossing over the Mtkvari River, it provoked strong opinions when it was built, and has since settled into the city's visual identity in a way that now feels almost inevitable. Designed by the Italian architect Michele De Lucchi, it's a curved steel-and-glass canopy roughly 150 meters long, its translucent, wave-like roof arcing above the walkway and lit at night by thousands of LEDs programmed to send shifting patterns across the surface. It links the Old Town with Rike Park, and it's both a genuinely useful crossing and one of the reliable set-piece views of the city.

What is the Bridge of Peace?

The Bridge of Peace is a bow-shaped pedestrian bridge over the Mtkvari (Kura) River in central Tbilisi, opened in May 2010. Designed by Italian architect Michele De Lucchi, with lighting by French designer Philippe Martinaud, it's a roughly 150-meter steel-and-glass canopy lit by thousands of LEDs that switch on about 90 minutes before sunset. It connects the Old Town riverfront with Rike Park (and the cable car up to Narikala) on the opposite bank, making it both a scenic landmark and a practical crossing. Its sharply modern design against the medieval backdrop made it controversial when built; it's now one of the city's most recognizable sights — best seen at dusk.

A modern bridge in a historic setting

The Bridge of Peace occupies one of the most visually loaded spots in the city. Looking upstream from the bridge, the Metekhi Church stands on its cliff above the left bank with the Vakhtang Gorgasali statue beside it, Narikala Fortress rises on the ridge behind the Old Town, and the domes of Abanotubani show through the gap in the buildings to the south. The modern glass and steel in the foreground against the medieval and 19th-century architecture behind it produces the old-versus-new contrast that Tbilisi's recent development has created across the city — concentrated here in a single frame.

That contrast is exactly why the bridge was divisive. When it opened, a number of locals and public figures criticized its assertively contemporary design as out of place against the historic skyline (it picked up some unflattering nicknames along the way). Others welcomed it as a sign of a modernizing city. More than a decade on, the argument has largely subsided into familiarity — the bridge has become one of Tbilisi's defining images, whatever one's view of the aesthetics.

There's also a concept embedded in it. De Lucchi designed the LED lighting (realized by lighting designer Philippe Martinaud) to do more than shimmer: the lights pulse a message in Morse code — the names of the chemical elements that make up the human body — intended as, in the architect's words, a message of life and peace between people and nations. Hence the name: the Bridge of Peace. (The steel-and-glass structure itself was prefabricated in Italy and shipped to Tbilisi for assembly.)

The bridge and its setting

The southern end connects to the Old Town riverfront, where the streets into the historic district begin their climb through the traditional neighborhoods toward Abanotubani and Narikala. The northern end opens onto Rike Park, the long riverside park along the left bank, which runs to the cable car station at its eastern end (the cable car climbs to Narikala Fortress). This makes the Bridge of Peace not just a scenic crossing but a genuinely useful urban connector — the most direct pedestrian route between the Old Town, the park, the cable car, and the left-bank neighborhoods.

Crossing takes only a few minutes, but the views from the midpoint are worth a pause. Looking east toward the Old Town bend of the river, the Metekhi cliff, the water, and the historic buildings above make one of the more complete river-level panoramas of historic Tbilisi. Looking west toward the newer center, the glass facades of recent development against the forested hills behind give a sense of how rapidly — and unevenly — the city has been changing.

At night

The LED lighting is the bridge's most spectacular feature, and the reason most photographers time their visit for after dark. The lights cover the whole underside and structure of the canopy, switching on about 90 minutes before sunset, and are programmed into slowly shifting patterns that illuminate the bridge from within and reflect off the river below. In the surrounding darkness the lit structure seems to float above the water, and the combination of the glowing bridge, the floodlit Metekhi Church on its cliff upstream, and the wider nighttime skyline makes one of the most reliably photogenic compositions in Tbilisi. It's at its best in the hour after sunset, when enough light remains in the sky to give the surroundings depth and color while the LEDs are already fully active.

Getting there and visiting

• Location: Over the Mtkvari River, central Tbilisi — connecting the Old Town (south/right bank) with Rike Park (north/left bank).
• Hours: Open 24 hours, freely accessible at all times; the lights come on about 90 minutes before sunset.
• Admission: Free.
• Best time: The hour around dusk (for the light and the sky together); good by day for the views in both directions.
• Combine with: Rike Park and the cable car up to Narikala Fortress (on the Rike side); the Old Town, Abanotubani, Metekhi Church, and the Vakhtang Gorgasali statue (on the Old Town side). It's the natural link between the two riverbanks.