The most interesting sites in Shida Kartli are unquestionably the amazing, ancient cave city of Uplistsikhe near Gori, and the Stalin Museum in the center of Gori—a visitor to the region should skip neither. Gori has several other interesting historical sites, including a Roman Empire-era fortress, Gori Jvari a small mountain top monastery, and other Stalin-related sites being, as it is, Stalin's hometown.
Further north, the safest place to visit though it is most certainly not a safe place to visit, is Tskhinvali. Ethnic conflict, vandalism, and even looting have left the city with little to offer a tourist, but the city center has a couple interesting monuments to Ossete historical figures, and to the conflict itself.
