10 Must-See Places In Yerevan, The Pink City Of The Caucasus

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When I travel, I always have this driving force behind that wills me on to go where people normally don’t for one reason or another. The thirst for knowledge and curiosity for the unknown are the main forces that are pushing me to keep doing this and could be your key ingredient to visiting Armenia. When it comes to its formation and geographical history, Armenia has had a rough past. The Greeks, Romans, and Ottomans have all at one time, or another owned this small piece of land.

However, since its declaration of independence in 1918, Armenia has been proudly standing on its own. The pride and joy of this small but beautiful country is the capital; a city that’s not on most peoples’ travel list for one reason or another and I hope to change this with this article through this ultimate list of must-see places in Yerevan

Did you know that Yerevan is actually one of the oldest capitals in Europe and even the entire world, dating back to 782 BC? Needless to say, you will find a lot of historic sites and must-see places in Yerevan, also known as the ‘Pink City’. The Soviet-era buildings made of naturally colored volcanic rocks from the surrounding landscape give the sunset in Yerevan an iconic pink shade. That’s where the nickname comes from…

Getting to Yerevan

Yerevan has only one airport: Zvartnots International Airport, located 12 km outside of the city and for the cheapest flights to Yerevan, use this special offer by Qatar Airways. Unfortunately, there aren’t any public transport options leading to the city so the only way to get out of it is via taxi or rental car (use this special offer to get 15% off).

A ride to the city center will cost roughly 6,000 drams ($10 euros). Once you settle, don’t expect to cover Yerevan in a day. The city is home to more than one million people and covers roughly 230 square kilometers. You can try to discover Yerevan in 48 hours (0r so) but it’s far better to stay at least a few days to see as much as possible.

In such a big city, the location is incredibly important because getting to places can be more time-consuming than the actual sightseeing. And one of the best locations in the center of the capital is the Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan which is not too far from most of the interesting sites in the city. With that being said, let’s see which are the 10 must-see places in Yerevan you really shouldn’t miss while visiting.

If you’re traveling around the Caucasus, you should also check my guide to visiting Georgia or my list of favorite things you can only do in Georgia.

Must-see places in Yerevan: Matendaran

The Matenadaran is the world’s richest source of medieval manuscripts. Here, you can find some very old artifacts and manuscripts, as well as the first printed books in the region. The subjects are very varied with arts, literature, medicine, philosophy, history, religion, and the very early mapping techniques. The building itself is a rather fascinating architectural piece.

Many of the manuscripts date far back over 1,000 years which is incredible seeing as the pieces on show are in a very good condition. You can really get a sense of what were the key areas of concern for the people back in the medieval times when you read the detailed explanations of certain manuscripts.

2. The Republic Square

The Republic Square is located in the center of the city, surrounded by 7 major tourist sights. The square covers staggering 30,000 square meters and you can literally spend a whole day here. The square hosts some of the most impressive landmarks in the city, such as the National Gallery, the History Museum, the Government, and even the fantastic musical fountains. One fun fact about it is that it took Armenians more than 50 years to complete this impressive square.

3. The Museums of History and the Armenian Genocide Memorial

Yerevan is a very old city with a rich history and one great way to learn about it are its museums. If you read my articles, you know I don’t talk about museums that much but Yerevan certainly has a few seriously worth visiting. One is the National Museum of history that has more than 400,000 artifacts! I can comfortably say that this is the place where you can learn the most about not only Yerevan but Armenia as a country.

Many people tend to forget the horrible Armenian genocide during WWI caused by the Ottomans. At the time Armenia was still under Ottoman rule and in just two years (1915-1917) the Turks killed more than 1.5 million people, which almost half of the country’s population and thousands of Armenians fled across the world in horror. There’s no better place to learn about this dark era of Armenian history than the Tsitsernakaberd: the Armenian Genocide Memorial.

Enjoying this post? Then you ought to discover more underrated spots in Europe.

4. The Parks

Yerevan has a lot of parks spread across the city where you can sit back, relax, and have a picnic. However, the two that left the strongest impression on me were Lovers Park and English Park. Lovers Park was recently transformed and today features a traditional Japanese landscape. It’s by far the most popular park in the city and seems to be the oldest one as well. English Park is another very interesting place, interestingly, located on Italy Street.  This is the biggest park in the city, covering almost 6 hectares of greenery.

5. The Cascade and the best view of Yerevan

The Cascade is a giant stairwell that was built in 1971 and completely renovated in 2009. Today, Cascade is one of the key landmarks of the city that offers the most iconic view of Yerevan. This monument has over 700 steps and eight levels, out of which every next one has different monuments, fountains, and even gardens. If you’re feeling lazy and 700 steps are just too much, don’t worry, you can use some of the elevators. Additionally, every last Friday of the month, Karin, a local folk dance group organizes FREE traditional dance lessons just outside of the Cascade.

6. Erebuni Fortress & Museum

Sitting on the top of the hill, the Erebuni Fortress is one of the oldest sites in Yerevan, dating back to 782 BC, when the city was founded. It was one of the several fortresses erected in order to protect the borders of the ancient Urartu Kingdom. Successive Urartian kings chose Erebuni as a place of their residence and despite the numerous bloody invasions, the city surrounding the fort remained constantly inhabited. Obviously, this is a place full of history, one you mustn’t miss out on when visiting Yerevan.

7. The Victory Park and Mother Armenia

The Victory Park was built in Yerevan in 1950 to celebrate the end of WWII. Interestingly, the park initially featured a big statue of Joseph Stalin. However, after hid dead Stalin’s statue was replaced with an even bigger statue, known as Mother Armenia. This symbolized Armenia’s distantiation from the Soviet Union and the statue is a really important piece of the Armenian national identity. Mother Armenia is 50 meters tall and she has a sword in her hand, constantly watching over Armenia’s capital. Next to her, you will find The Grave of the Unknown Soldier, devoted to the eternal memory of the soldiers who died in WWII and the Nagorno-Karabakh War.

8. The Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque is the only surviving mosque in Yerevan. It dates back to the 18^th century when Armenia was still a part of Persia. That’s why the mosque is built in a predominately Persian style. Before the Russian invasion, Yerevan had 10 mosques. However, after Armenia became a part of the Russian Empire the only one that survived was the Blue Mosque. The only reason for this is because it served as the official Museum of Yerevan from 1931 to 1999.

If you’re traveling around this region, you should also check out my article about traveling in Turkey.

9. Saint Gregory

In Armenia, you will find a lot of old churches, as the country was one of the first on to accept Christianity. However, St. Gregory is a fascinating piece of architecture and the biggest cathedral in Armenia and has a great historical significance. The cathedral houses the relics of St. Gregory, who was the founder of Christianity in Armenia.

This cathedral is so massive that it has three churches within. One is the main church, and the other two are the chapels of St. Tiridates the King, and St. Ashken the Queen. This also has a symbolic meaning because Tiridates and Ashken were champions of Christianity and the greatest supporters of St. Gregory. Even more impressive, the cross on the top of the church is 54 meters from the ground, which makes it visible from every part of Yerevan.  The cathedral also has 30 arches and enough room to accommodate 1,700 people at a time.

10. Geghard

Talking about must-see places in Yerevan, I can’t forget to mention Geghard Monastery. Geghard is a UNESCO-protected medieval monastery that is literally carved into the rocks and is a perfect demonstration of the stunning medieval Armenian architecture. The main chapel in the monastery was built in the 1200s’ but the complex was founded in the 4^th century. If you want to explore the surroundings of Yerevan, this place would be a perfect opportunity for a one-day trip.

Bonus: You have to try Vardavar

If you happen to visit Armenia in July, you have to try this holiday. Vardavar is an Armenian pagan holiday where people go out in the streets with buckets of water, looking for victims to splash. People of all age groups participate in this event, which makes it even more fun!

Helpful resources for visiting Yerevan

Get the cheapest flights to Yerevan through Qatar Airways’s special offer. Yes, it’s an affiliate link, but the deals are so good even I use it to book my flights.

For the best travel insurance deals for your trip to Yerevan, check out SafetyWing. I use them for all of my trips and claim that they offer the best travel insurance on the market.

If you’re looking to rent a car for your trip to Yerevan, this AutoEurope coupon will get you 15% off on all car rentals.

Save 15% on all booking.com rentals in Armenia with my discount code.

And last but not least, don’t forget to check whether you need a visa for Armenia. If you do, you can easily obtain it through Ivisa (for more info, check out our iVisa review). 

Have you ever visited the Armenian capital or have some other must-see places in Yerevan you think I didn’t mention in this list? Let me know in the comments below.

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