Yerevan

2,750 fountains of Shahumyan Park

When Yerevan celebrated its 2,750th birthday, this park opened a water feature with a fountain for each year of Yerevan's history.

Abovian street

Աբովյան Փողոց

It's home to very few remaining Belle Époque period structures of Republican Armenia. Some gems of Art Nouveau, early Modern (constructivist and the like), and Moorish Revival style can be found in the backyards of Abovian, Nalbandian and Hanrapetutian streets. Most often they are in a very poor condition due to neglect. Hanrapetutian st. might get a special attention if you are not time constrained.

Aram Khachaturyan House Museum

The home of late composer Aram Khachaturyan (1903-1978) has been turned into a museum. Things like his manuscripts and piano are on display here, and the building also has a concert hall.

Armenian Genocide Memorial (Genocide Museum & Tsitsernakaberd Monument)

Ցեղասպանության զոհերի հուշարձան

An austere monument & museum commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide. The permanent collection documents the 19th C community, then its ruthless destruction circa 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Tsitsernakaberd (meaning "Fortress of Swallows") is probably best reached by taxi. Walking from town, follow Athens St past the Hrazdan Stadium to Brazil Square roundabout, where a little lane branches north up the hill.

Monument always open, museum Tue-Sun 11:00-16:00·Free

Armenian Railways Museum

Museum of Railway Transport of Armenia

Presents the history of the Armenian railway, from 1895. Exhibits are labelled in Armenian and Russian, but not English. Several large exhibits are in an adjacent garden, accessible from the museum. A steam locomotive and carriage stand in the station, and are accessed by crossing the tracks at the Yerevan end of the platforms.

Closed Mondays·Free

Blue Mosque

An 18th-century Shia Islamic Mosque, one of the few surviving structures of a once (before Soviet secularisation) prospering Muslim community of Yerevan.

Cafesjian Museum of Modern Art

Cafesjian Centre for the Arts

A modern art museum, housing the collection of Gerard Cafesjian. It has Arshile Gorky, Andy Warhol, Marc Chagall and other big names on display. The collection is very rich in Glass Art, has many pieces of the Libenský-Brychtová couple, including specially made 'For Armenia' series. Special galleries display monumental tryptichons or reliefs focusing on Armenian history. Entry can be made at any level, but information desk, shop, study center and facilities are at the bottom. In front of the cascades, there is a sculpture park with some Boteros and other plastics.

Escalators gallery daily 08:00-20:00; special galleries Fri-Sun 10:00-20:00·Free

Cascade Memorial to the Victims of Soviet Repression

Cascade Memorial

Monument dedicated to the memory of the victims of Soviet-era murders and deportations, atop the Yerevan Cascade, next to the obelisk that commemorates 50 years of Soviet Armenia. The Cascade Memorial was designed by Jim Torosyan, Yerevan's chief architect between 1971 and 1981, and was constructed in the late 1980s and completed around 2008. Inside the large concrete structure, a memorial slab has the inscription of "To All Your Souls on Fire", from the "Frenzied Masses" poem by Yeghishe Charents who himself fell victim to the repressions in 1937. So far, this monument often has been neglected, but it connects to a major part of Armenia's recent history.

Cascades, Sculpture Park and Cafesjian Museum

Cafesjian Centre for the Arts

The Sculpture Park is a small green zone in the immediate North of the Opera. Sculptures from Botero and other artists of international fame decorate the park. The park is part of Cafesjian Museum - the Armenian version of Guggenheim. The main part of the museum is in the Cascades - an Art Deco version of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon stretching nearly the height of the Empire State Building. It's a massive white stairway up a hillside of central Yerevan, decorated with green stretches, fountains and waterfalls. Higher level of the Cascades give a spectacular view of Mount Ararat and panorama of central Yerevan with its hilariously multi-colour roofs. The first floor and the bookstore of the museum as well as the indoor escalators to the top of the Cascades are free of charge.

Tue-Thu 10:00-17:00, Fri-Sun 10:00-20:00·Adults 1,000 dram, children under 12 - free

Eduard Isabekyan Gallery

Small but good art museum, commemorating the eponymous artist. Housed in an interesting round building in Brutalist style.

500 dram

Erebuni Fortress

The excavations, recreations and museum of the nearly 3,000-year-old fortress that established Yerevan. Fairly well- (and maybe the best-) preserved fortress of Urartian Period in Armenia.

1,000 dram

Erebuni Museum of History

Էրեբունու թանգարան

The museum stands at the foot of the Arin Berd hill, on top of which the Urartian Fortress Erebouni has stood since 782 BCE. The City-Fortress was excavated, some parts of the structure were reinforced and restored, and the fortress was turned into an outdoor museum. The city was built by Argishti I the King of Urartu in 782 BCE. The temple of God Khaldi occupied an important place in the fortress. The walls of the temple were decorated with numerous frescos. The museum houses 12,235 exhibits. It has two branches in Shengavit and Karmir Blur with 5,288 and 1,620 exhibits respectively in stock.

Tue-Sun 10:30-16:30·1,000 dram for museum and site; 500 dram for site only. Tour in foreign language 2,500 dram

Fountains of Saryan Post Park

Saryan-Mashtots Park

Tons of fountains - including a huge splash pad that kids love to run through in the summer.

Freedom (or Theatrical) Square

On the north the square is bordered by the Opera House, followed by a park with a lake and full of open air cafés on the east, and from south it borders the Northern Avenue

History Museum of Armenia

A roundup of the nation's history from early settlements to the 20th century. Lots of archaeological exhibits and pieces of art give an impression of each period. If you would like to move along the timeline then start at the top of the building. The early periods are amply annotated, but the English (and Russian) tags thin out considerably by mid-19th century, reappear in the exhibit dedicated to the Great Catastrophe of 1915 (though it's very disturbing even without a single word), and are missing completely for the Soviet era, so if you're interested in the more modern history of the country and don't speak Armenian, a guided tour may be advisable. A "strictly no photography" policy applies. As of October 2022, the majority of the exhibition is under renovation and according to staff, this will hopefully be finished in 2023. For this time, the price is reduced to 1,000 dram.

Tue-Sat 11:00-18:00, Sun 11:00-17:00·2,000 dram, usual discounts apply

Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum

Dedicated to renowned prominent thinker, writer, poet, fabulist and humanist Hovhannes Toumanian, with 18,000 exhibited items. Rooms of the Apartment are: Study Room, Guest Room, Dining Room, Children’s Room, Nvard Toumanian’s Room, Balcony, Olga’s Room,

Katoghike

Holy Mother of God Kathoghike Church, Սուրբ Աստվածածին Կաթողիկէ Եկեղեցի

A tiny structure constructed in typical Armenian style. Katoghike means "cathedral"; the reason for the incongruity is that the original 13th century church had a much larger basilica attached to it in the 17th century - but that addition was demolished in 1936. In 2015 a new and much larger separate church was built next to Kathoghike, the cream colored St. Anna church.

Katoghike Tsiranavor Church of Avan

Ավանի Սուրբ Աստվածածին Կաթողիկե Եկեղեցի, Katoghike Tsiranavor church, later renamed Surp Hovhannes

This is the city's oldest surviving church, which was completed in the 6th century.

Levon's Divine Underground

Levon Arakelyan's Magical Cave

Levon Arakelyan's wife asked him to dig a potato storage cellar, but instead of this he created a complex structure of stairs, corridors and rooms inside a rock. It took him 23 years to do this until he died in 2007. His wife now organises excursions showing these undergrounds.

Martiros Saryan House-Museum

If you are a lover of bright colours and enjoy Impressionist art then the House Museum of Martiros Saryan is a place for you. It's a 3-floor structure, designed by the artist and built during his lifetime, both as his home and a house for his heritage after his death.

Fri-Wed 11:00-18:00·1,000 dram. Tour in Russian, English, French 2,500 dram

Mashtots avenue

It's the 8-lane highway of the city which somehow also accommodates a pedestrian zones on the sides (result of standard Soviet planning of main 'Prospekts'). It is overly noisy because of the heavy traffic (mostly unorganised public transportation) but the parts close to The Opera is a favourite hangout place for the locals. There are three buildings on the avenue which are well worth attention - Matenadaran, the covered market (the interior is now a modern supermarket and mall, but the highly-decorated original exterior survives) and Blue Mosque.

Matenadaran

Houses the world's largest collection of Armenian illuminated manuscripts, and one of the largest such collections of any kind in the world. A display room has a sampling of some of the finest works, and the additional cost of the guided tour is worthwhile. The building is dug into the hill and can withstand a nuclear attack. The white stone statue in front is of Mesrop Mashtots, teaching the Armenian alphabet, his invention, to a rapt disciple (Koryun, Armenia's first historian and biographer), and looking down at the street of his name.

Modern Art Museum of Yerevan

Houses quite a selection of contemporary art by mostly Armenian artists. On the opposite side of the street, there is the newly opened HayArt cultural center as well as the Eduard Isabekyan Gallery.

Tue-Sun 11:00-18:00·1,500 dram

Mother Armenia

Մայր Հայաստան հուշարձան

Erected in 1967, replacing the monumental statue of Joseph Stalin.

Museum of Woodwork

Houses some artifacts of Armenian historical wood carving culture (doors, furniture and the like), and wood-based sculptures by modern day artists.

National Assembly of Armenia

Yellow brick building, finished in 1950 to house the Supreme Soviet of Armenia. Today it serves as the parliament building.

Northern Avenue

Impossible to miss, this pedestrian avenue was opened in 2008 connecting Opera with Republic Square, the two hubs of central Yerevan. It's a post-modern response to post-World War II Soviet Yerevan architecture. It is emerging as the shopping district, together with Sayat-Nova ave., Terian st., Tumanian st. and Abovian st.

Parajanov Museum

The House-Museum of Sergei Parajanov, a famous Soviet film director. The museum is best known for special Parajanov collages and art that everybody loves and enjoys. It is equally highly appreciated by children, teenagers and the most demanding art critics. Many highest level official informal meetings are conducted here. It is a must-see!

Daily 10:00-17:30·1,000 dram (audio guide 2,000, real guide 5,000 dram)

Republic Square

Armenian: Հանրապետության Հրապարակ Russian: Площадь Республики

The city's main square is a grand example of Soviet public architecture. The early buildings (the Houses of Government, the Ministry of Communications and the Marriott Hotel) are Neo-Classical with Armenian hints. The later buildings (the Foreign Ministry and Art Gallery) are Modernist imitations. Within the square, the Singing Fountains perform most evenings April-Oct, dancing and frothing to classical and contemporary music. In Oct 2018 the city mourned the passing of Charles Aznavour with impromptu shrines, images and sound tracks here and elsewhere: the Singing Fountains danced pretty much the same to his best-known tunes as they'd previously done to Rossini's or Sinatra's.

Saint Sarkis Cathedral

From the Victory Bridge (or alternatively the Brandy Factory building) there is a beautiful view on the church and surroundings (structures of different shades constructed in immediate proximity to the church during the Soviet years of forced secularisation). The church is always crowded. Usually there are also many young people as St Sargis (or St Sergius in Western churches) is the patron saint of young people and of lovers.