Armenia
Yerevan
A pink-stone capital older than Rome, with Mount Ararat on the skyline and monasteries within an hour.
Armenia's capital is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, founded as the Urartian fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC, yet it looks largely Soviet-planned: wide boulevards and squares built from rosy volcanic tuff that earn it the name the Pink City. On clear days snow-capped Mount Ararat, across the border in Turkey, fills the southern skyline. The city runs on cafe terraces, wine bars and long summer evenings, with ancient monasteries an easy drive away.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
Armenian, Russian
Currency
AMD
Timezone
UTC+4
Why you'll love Yerevan
Ararat views the snow-capped volcano hangs over the city on clear days, best seen from the top of the Cascade
Pink stone Soviet-era boulevards and squares built from rose and apricot volcanic tuff glow at sunset
Cafe life terraces, wine bars and fountains keep the centre busy late into warm evenings
Easy monasteries Garni, Geghard, Etchmiadzin and Khor Virap are all short drives from the centre
Best time to visit
Mar-Oct
14-34° days
40.178° N, 44.513° E
UTC+4 · Asia/Yerevan
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Weather & when to go to Yerevan
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Mar-Oct
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Yerevan
December to February is the time to skip: the plain turns cold and grey, with occasional snow, and the terrace and fountain life that defines the city goes quiet. High summer is hot and dry, which sends locals to Lake Sevan and the hills, but the long warm evenings are when the centre is at its liveliest.
Top things to do in Yerevan
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The Cascade - climb the stairway for the Ararat view
culture arts scenic 👍 PopularA giant limestone stairway of terraces and fountains climbing the hill north of the Opera, with the Cafesjian Center for the Arts inside and escalators for the tired. Botero sculptures fill the garden at the foot, and the top looks over the city to Ararat.
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Matenadaran - the ancient manuscript library
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedA hilltop repository holding thousands of illuminated Armenian manuscripts, with a statue of Mesrop Mashtots, creator of the Armenian alphabet, at its door. The exhibition halls show gospels, maps and scientific texts spanning more than a thousand years.
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Armenian Genocide Memorial (Tsitsernakaberd) - the eternal flame and museum
historyOn a hill above the Hrazdan gorge, twelve inward-leaning basalt slabs circle an eternal flame beside a tall split spire, with a museum set into the hillside. A sombre, essential visit for understanding the city and its people.
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Republic Square - the evening fountains
culture arts 👍 PopularThe oval heart of the city, framed by tuff government buildings and the History Museum of Armenia. On warm evenings crowds gather for the musical fountain show in the pool in front of the museum.
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Vernissage - the weekend open-air market
shopping culture arts 👍 PopularRows of stalls near Republic Square selling rugs, wood-carved backgammon boards, obsidian jewellery, paintings and Soviet bric-a-brac. At its biggest and busiest at weekends.
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Sergei Parajanov Museum - the film director's collages
culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedA house on the edge of the Hrazdan gorge filled with the surreal collages, assemblages and dolls of the Soviet-era filmmaker behind The Color of Pomegranates. Playful, strange and unlike anything else in the city.
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Erebuni Fortress - where the city was founded
historyThe excavated hilltop citadel of the Urartian king Argishti I on the south-east edge of the city, with a cuneiform stone recording the founding in 782 BC, restored wall paintings and a museum of finds.
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Yerevan Brandy Company - Ararat brandy cellars
foodThe brick distillery above the Hrazdan near Victory Bridge, home of the Ararat brand. Guided tours walk through barrel cellars and end with a tasting of aged brandies.
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Khorovats, lavash and Armenian wine
foodGrilled meat skewers with paper-thin lavash bread and herbs are the national meal, alongside dolma and pastries. Wine bars along Saryan Street pour local reds from the Areni grape, and the covered GUM market is the place for dried fruit and walnut sweets.
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Blue Mosque - the city's Persian-era mosque
history culture artsAn eighteenth-century mosque on Mashtots Avenue with a tiled blue dome, a quiet courtyard garden and a minaret, a rare survivor of the city's centuries under Persian rule.
Best areas to stay in Yerevan
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Kentron - Republic Square and Northern Avenue
First-time visitors $$Central, pedestrian, busy day and night
Explore hotels in Kentron - Republic Square and Northern Avenue →
Opera and the Cascade
Food and nightlife $$$Leafy, arty, wine bars and cafes
Explore hotels in Opera and the Cascade →
Arabkir
Longer stays $Residential, quieter, local everyday life
Explore hotels in Arabkir →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Yerevan
Getting to & around Yerevan
Getting there
Fly into Zvartnots (EVN), about 25 min by taxi to the centre; overland, trains and minibuses run from Tbilisi
Flight
Zvartnots International (EVN)
Zvartnots sits west of the city; a ride-hail or taxi reaches the centre in about 20-30 min, and an airport bus runs into town more slowly.
Train
Yerevan Railway Station
An overnight sleeper train links Tbilisi and Yerevan, arriving at the station by Sasuntsi David metro, south of the centre.
Coach
Shared minibuses and cars run between Tbilisi and Yerevan through the day, a road trip of around 5-6 hours via the northern border crossing.
Getting around
Walking
The centre inside the Ring Park is compact and flat enough to cover on foot, from the Cascade down to Republic Square.
Free
Metro
A single Soviet-era line with grand stations, useful for Republic Square, Yeritasardakan, the railway station and Arabkir.
TBC
Bus and minibus
A wide bus network covers the city; routes are hard to read without a map app, so most visitors lean on taxis instead.
TBC
Ride-hail taxi
App taxis are plentiful and inexpensive and the easiest way to reach the memorial, Erebuni or the brandy factory.
TBC
Day trips from Yerevan
Garni and Geghard
Half dayTemple and cave monastery
Garni is a colonnaded Greco-Roman temple on a gorge rim, with the basalt columns of the Symphony of Stones in the canyon below. Further up the valley, Geghard is a monastery partly carved into the cliff, its rock-hewn chambers lit by shafts from the roof.
Getting there
car | tour
About 45 min by car or tour east of the city
Etchmiadzin and Zvartnots
Half dayMother Cathedral
The seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, whose Mother Cathedral is among the oldest cathedrals in the world, surrounded by other early churches. The ruins of the seventh-century Zvartnots cathedral sit on the way back, near the airport.
Getting there
car | bus
About 30 min by car or minibus west of the city
Khor Virap and Noravank
Full dayArarat monasteries
Khor Virap stands on a hillock directly beneath Ararat, the closest view of the mountain in Armenia, over the pit where Saint Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned. Continue south through the Areni wine villages to Noravank in its red-rock gorge.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1 hr by car or tour to Khor Virap, 2 hr to Noravank
Lake Sevan and Sevanavank
Full dayHigh mountain lake
A vast blue lake high in the mountains, with the small monastery of Sevanavank on its peninsula looking over the water. Often paired with the forested resort town of Dilijan further on.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1 hr by car or tour north-east
A little history of Yerevan
Yerevan began as Erebuni, a fortress founded by the Urartian king Argishti I in 782 BC, and the city counts its age from that stone inscription. Through the following centuries it was a frontier town traded between Persian and Ottoman empires, with Armenia's spiritual centre at nearby Etchmiadzin. A severe earthquake in 1679 levelled much of it, and in 1827 Russian forces took the Persian fortress and the city passed to the Russian Empire.
The Armenian Genocide of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire sent waves of survivors to the region, and Yerevan became capital of a short-lived republic in 1918 before joining the Soviet Union. The architect Alexander Tamanyan's plan of the 1920s gave the city its radial boulevards and pink tuff facades, turning a small provincial town into a large capital. Armenia became independent in 1991.
King Argishti I of Urartu founds the fortress of Erebuni
Armenia adopts Christianity as its state religion, with its church centred at nearby Etchmiadzin
An earthquake destroys much of the city
Russian forces capture the Yerevan fortress from Persia
The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire; survivors arrive in the region as refugees
Yerevan becomes capital of the First Republic of Armenia
Armenia becomes a Soviet republic with Yerevan as its capital
Alexander Tamanyan's master plan begins reshaping the city in pink tuff
Armenia becomes independent, with Yerevan as its capital
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Limited
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+374
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
FAQs about Yerevan
▸ When is the best time to visit Yerevan?
March to October is the good window. Spring brings blossom and green hills, high summer is hot and dry with long, lively evenings, and autumn is grape-harvest season in the wine villages south of the city. December to February is cold and grey, and outdoor life slows right down.
▸ Can you see Mount Ararat from Yerevan?
Yes, on clear days it dominates the southern skyline, most reliably in the morning before haze builds. The mountain lies across the border in Turkey. The best viewpoints are the top of the Cascade and, closer still, the monastery of Khor Virap.
▸ Is Yerevan safe?
Yerevan is generally regarded as a very safe city, with busy streets late into the evening and low street crime. The border areas with Azerbaijan are a separate matter: check your own government's current advice before travelling near the border.
▸ Is Yerevan expensive?
It is good value by European standards: eating out, wine and app taxis are inexpensive, and day tours to the monasteries are easy to arrange. Upscale hotels around the Opera and the Cascade cost more, but most visitors find the city easy on the budget.
▸ Can you combine Yerevan with Georgia?
Yes, it is one of the most common routes in the region. An overnight train and frequent shared minibuses link Yerevan with Tbilisi, so many travellers do both capitals in one trip.