Tbilisi, Georgia (4 nights). Arrival in the Georgian capital, met by your tour guide for the Georgian leg, then transfer to the hotel, near the Tsminda Sameba cathedral, the symbol of the city.

Tbilisi: the old town. A day in the old town, where the soul of the historic centre contrasts with the rejuvenated architecture of the bath quarter and its houses with colourful wooden balconies. The guided walk crosses nearly fifteen hundred years of history: Meidan square, Sioni cathedral seen from outside, Erekle II street, the Anchiskhati basilica, the Bridge of Peace, the Gabriadze clock tower and the Abanotubani bath quarter. A cable car ride from Rike park to the Sololaki ridge, with the old town below and the Tsminda Sameba cathedral on the far bank of the Kura, along with the Mother Georgia statue, twenty metres of aluminium, and the Narikala fortress, of Persian origin, dated to the fourth century. Dinner with a folk show. (B, D)

Tbilisi: the modern city. A second day on foot in the capital. A walk along the historic Shota Rustaveli avenue, between Freedom Square and Rustaveli metro station, past the old Soviet-era parliament, the Georgian National Museum and the opera and ballet theatre. The metro, payable locally, leads to Davit Aghmashenebeli avenue, in the Chugureti quarter. Lunch on your own, then across the Saarbrücken bridge to the Dry Bridge flea market, where artists lay out their paintings on the ground beside antiques and period objects. Back to the hotel by metro and free time. (B)

Tbilisi, Mtskheta and Mukhrani castle. Two UNESCO World Heritage sites, in the town of Mtskheta, the first capital of the unified Georgian kingdom between the third century BCE and the fifth century CE. The church of Jvari stands on a hill at the confluence of the Kura and the Aragvi, where the king of the day planted a wooden cross after adopting Christianity as the state religion; on a clear day the view reaches the Greater Caucasus. Then, in the town centre, the fortified cathedral of Svetitskhoveli and its fresco of Christ Pantocrator, in the smell of candles. After lunch on your own, Mukhrani castle for a cellar visit and a tasting with snacks; the estate ferments partly in kvevri, the large buried jars of the Kartli tradition. Back to Tbilisi and dinner in a restaurant. (B, D)

Tbilisi, Haghpat monastery and Yerevan, Armenia (4 nights). A morning drive to Armenia and the border crossing at Sadakhlo. Change of coach and meeting with your Armenian tour guide. The road winds along the Debed canyon to Alaverdi, for the high-perched monastery of Haghpat, on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a masterpiece of Armenian monastic architecture from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries and once a renowned centre of science and manuscript illumination. Views over the rolling landscapes of Lori province. Lunch on your own in a restaurant by the Debed river. In the afternoon, on to Yerevan with a stop at the Armenian Alphabet monument. Dinner in a local restaurant with traditional dance and instruments. (B, D)

Yerevan. In the morning, the pink city, so named for its buildings of volcanic tuff. The guided walk takes in Republic Square and its singing fountains, Charles Aznavour square and its La Bohème statue, the Opera, Martiros Sarian park and its artisans, then North avenue and its terrace cafés. In the late morning, the Matenadaran, the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, one of the richest repositories of medieval documents in the world, at once a national library, a museum and a research centre. In the afternoon, the climb up the Cascade, a monumental stairway of 572 steps, from which the view reaches the city centre and, in the distance, the snow-capped cone of Mount Ararat, at 5,137 metres. The sculpture garden at the foot of the stairway includes works by Fernando Botero. Then a meeting with a master player of the duduk, the Armenian wind instrument carved from apricot wood, its history, its making and tea shared with the family. Free time at the Vernissage market. In the evening, a table is reserved in a restaurant known for its Charles Aznavour songs played on the piano; the meal is payable locally. (B)

Yerevan and Echmiadzin. A first day outside central Yerevan. First the Armenian Genocide memorial and museum, which honours the victims of the 1915 genocide, with its eternal flame and its underground exhibition. Then Echmiadzin cathedral, seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, considered the oldest Christian cathedral in the world built by a state, in the early fourth century, when Christianity became the state religion. A traditional lunch, with dolma, vine leaves stuffed with herbs and minced meat, and gata pastry. In the afternoon, back to Yerevan and free time. (B, L)

Yerevan, Garni and Geghard monastery. The temple of Garni, in Greco-Roman style, rebuilt in the 1970s but with origins in the first century, along with the ruins of a royal palace and a bath complex with a well-preserved floor mosaic. Then a short workshop making lavash, the traditional Armenian bread baked in a clay oven, the tonir. Lunch. A short drive leads to Geghard monastery, UNESCO-protected, for a performance of polyphonic singing in a room carved from the rock, known for its acoustics; caves that served as monks' cells rise above the complex. The day ends in Yerevan at the cellars of the Ararat brandy distillery and a tasting. Charles Aznavour himself used to give it to his Parisian friends. (B, L)

Yerevan, Areni, Zorats Karer and Goris (2 nights). Departure south into Vayots Dzor province, on a road that climbs steadily. A stop at Areni, one of the centres of Armenian wine, for the Areni-1 cave, site of the oldest known winery, more than six thousand years old, and of the oldest leather shoe found to date, five thousand five hundred years old. Then a meeting with the Ghazaryan family, at the Momik Wine Cube, and a tasting of their Areni wines, the dark red grape emblematic of the country, with a home-made lunch. A short drive to Noravank monastery, perched on a ledge ringed by red cliffs. On to the megalithic site of Zorats Karer, the Armenian Stonehenge, whose exact purpose is still debated. Late-afternoon arrival in Goris, with its long straight streets lined with nineteenth-century stone houses. Dinner in a well-regarded local restaurant. (B, L, D)

Goris, Halidzor and Tatev monastery. Departure for the village of Halidzor to board the Wings of Tatev cable car, Guinness record holder as the longest reversible cable car in the world. It links Halidzor to Tatev monastery over 5.7 kilometres, above the gorge of the Vorotan river and a switchback road. A visit to Tatev monastery, once a major spiritual and intellectual centre where more than six hundred monks lived; in its courtyard, an eight-metre pillar was designed to detect seismic activity and approaching enemies. Back by cable car and lunch in a restaurant with panoramic views. In the afternoon, back to Goris and a visit to Goris Crochet, a social enterprise that supports local women and preserves knitting and carpet-weaving techniques, with a meeting with the artisans. Free time for the rest of the day, in the cobbled streets of Goris. (B, L)

Goris, the Selim pass, Noratus and Dilijan (2 nights). Departure north towards Lake Sevan on one of the most scenic roads in Armenia, among ochre hills and mountains. Over the Selim pass, at 2,410 metres, once a crossing point on the Silk Road, and a visit to the Selim caravanserai, built in 1332, one of the best preserved basalt buildings in the country. On to Lake Sevan, the Blue Pearl of the Caucasus, one of the largest high-altitude freshwater lakes in the world at 1,242 square kilometres. Near Noratus, the Mikayelyan family farm has spent fifteen years ageing cheeses in wine, brandy and spices: a making workshop, a visit to the ageing cellar and a tasting. After lunch, a walk through the Noratus cemetery and its dense gathering of khachkars, the carved stone crosses that are one of Armenia's symbols. Then the west shore of the lake, the town of Sevan and the Dilijan tunnel, to Dilijan, known as the little Switzerland of Armenia for its alpine climate and its craft traditions. Dinner at the hotel, payable locally. (B, L)

Dilijan. Free day: the hotel pool or spa, a walk by a lake, or time to do nothing at all. In the evening, dinner in a restaurant known for its modern take on Armenian cooking. (B, D)

Dilijan, Fioletovo and Gyumri (2 nights). The road to Gyumri through landscapes of snow-capped peaks. A stop at the village of Fioletovo, home to the Molokans, a Russian spiritual community that settled in Armenia in the nineteenth century, where a local house welcomes you for tea served from a coal samovar. On to Gyumri, the country's second city, known for its architecture in black and apricot volcanic tuff from local quarries. Lunch on your own. In the afternoon, a guided walk: Vardanants square, the Church of the Holy Saviour and its frescoes restored after the 1988 earthquake, and the art gallery of the Aslamazyan sisters, two of the most prominent artists of the Soviet period. In the evening, dinner in a restaurant that recreates the atmosphere of nineteenth-century Gyumri. (B, D)

Gyumri. In the morning, the Museum of National Architecture and Urban Life, set in an 1872 house with finely worked wooden balconies, whose collections cover architecture, ethnography and traditional crafts. Free time for the rest of the day, in the city's cafés and artisan shops. (B)

Gyumri, Vardzia and Akhaltsikhe, Georgia. Departure for the Armenian-Georgian border at Bavra-Ninotsminda, by way of Charles Aznavour square and its bronze statue; the singer came to Gyumri in support of its people after the 1988 earthquake. Past the border, reunion with the Georgian guide and the road to the Kura valley, to the cave monastery of Vardzia. Its thirteen levels of tunnels and dwellings carved into the rock housed more than two thousand monks at their height. A visit to the main church and its rare frescoes of Queen Tamar and her father, King George III, and to one of the monks' secret tunnels. Lunch in an establishment by a river. On to Akhaltsikhe, birthplace of Charles Aznavour's father, and a visit to the Rabati fortress, restored in 2012: the Akhmedie mosque, the madrasa of Haji Ahmed-Pasha Jakeli, the palace of the Jakeli princes and the citadel, with its views over the valley. The grounds are dotted with pools and fountains inspired by Islamic architecture. Dinner on your own at the hotel. (B, L)

Akhaltsikhe, Borjomi and Gori. In the morning, the wooded valley of Borjomi, known for its mineral water and turned into a spa town in the nineteenth century, a favourite of Russian leaders. A walk through the central park, where the mineral water is tasted at the spring. Lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon, inner Kartli to its main town, Gori, famous as the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, who spent his first four years there. You see his family house from the outside, visit the museum devoted to him and step into his personal railway carriage, the one he used travelling to the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences. Dinner at the hotel. (B, L, D)

Gori, Kutaisi and Batumi (4 nights). The road to Kutaisi, the country's third city. A walk through the compact, easy-going centre: the central square and its Colchis fountain, the State Drama Theatre and the National Opera seen from outside, the Green Bazaar and its fresh-produce stalls, the central park and its statue of the Ishkhneli sisters. From the White Bridge, the fast water of the Rioni, which rises in the Greater Caucasus. A visit to the thousand-year-old Bagrati cathedral, which overlooks the city from a hill and whose removal from the UNESCO list stirred a controversy your guide will recount. On to Batumi, capital of the autonomous republic of Adjara, with its subtropical climate. Dinner on your own. (B)

Batumi. In the morning, a walk through Batumi, one of the most popular seaside resorts on the Black Sea. Its architecture stands apart from the rest of the country: Belle Époque buildings around public squares, futuristic towers and a landscaped seafront promenade. You see the Ali and Nino sculpture, the statue of Medea holding the Golden Fleece on Europe Square, the Georgian Alphabet tower and the Piazza. Free afternoon: the seafront promenade, a swim or a bike ride, and the cafés of the historic centre. (B)

Batumi and the botanical garden. In the morning, a short coach ride to Cape Verde for the botanical garden, spread over a headland above the Black Sea, where you walk among species from nine geographic zones, including East Asia, the Himalayas and South America. Free time for the rest of the day: the Ajara Art Museum and its nineteenth and twentieth-century Georgian artists, or the Aquarium and Dolphinarium, near the hotel. (B)

Batumi. Free day. In the evening, a farewell dinner in a local restaurant. (B, D)

Batumi: return. Transfer to Batumi airport and connecting return flights to Montreal. (B)