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Tips & Traps
Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
- TipA place or a move worth it
- TrapWhat to avoid, and how
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Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
Join RALF to share your own tips and traps
New this weekPicks from our Local GurusCommunity picksrefreshed every Monday
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If your trip falls in October, check whether it overlaps the Yerevan Marathon. In the 2019 edition the municipality closed Republic Square, Saryan Street and the Victory Bridge, with many other central streets, from early morning to mid-afternoon. Plan the morning on foot and leave extra time for any airport or…
Yerevan celebrates its birthday as Erebuni-Yerevan every October, with concerts and city decorations; one recent municipal edition dressed streets and bridges in red and apricot colors. The scale changes from year to year, from a single modest day to a larger program, so check the municipality website shortly before…
The round Alexander Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet Theatre, designed by Alexander Tamanyan, stages opera, ballet and concerts through autumn and winter. The official site lists the repertoire in English and sells tickets online. Seats are usually gone well before the performance, so buy early. Go in the evening, when…
Malkhas Jazz Club on Pushkin Street is an intimate room with live jazz every night, and jam sessions give it a looser side. Pianist Levon Malkhasyan, who founded it in 2006, usually plays with his band late, after midnight, so come for a late set rather than an early dinner. In summer his band has also played on the…
Khor Virap monastery, south of Yerevan on the Ararat plain, is the classic place to photograph Mount Ararat rising behind a church. A local forum poster calls the view even better than the city viewpoints, and a visitor tip says early morning gives the best view. Check the forecast the day before, because the mountain…
For handmade gifts without haggling, try Dalan, a shop and gallery on Abovyan Street selling wood, ceramic, leather, textile and metal pieces by Armenian artists. Shops have set prices, so keep bargaining for open-air markets. If origin matters to you, ask staff who made the piece, because a guide notes that not every…
Walk past the Cascade to Victory Park, where the Mother Armenia statue stands over the city and its base houses a military history museum. The park's observation point is a good place for Ararat and city views, but only in clear, sunny weather, so check the sky before you climb. Paths run through trees, and there are…
Do not plan the Armenian Genocide Museum and memorial for a Monday: the museum is closed that day and on official holidays, and Sunday hours are shorter. Entry is free, but guided tours must be reserved by phone in advance and start on time, so arriving more than ten minutes late can lose your slot. Allow about 90…
The Sergei Parajanov Museum on Dzoragyugh Street holds about 1,400 exhibits by the filmmaker: collages, dolls, hats, drawings and behind-the-scenes material from Sayat-Nova, The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors and The Legend of Suram Fortress. Watch one of the films first, because the objects make more sense with the…
The UK government warns that hailing a taxi on the street can mean a high fare, and it names the GG app as a reputable service. GG, Yandex Go and UVO all work in Yerevan, so install one on arrival and enter your destination in the app. Foreign cards often cannot be linked, so carry small dram notes because drivers may…
Yerevan Zipline crosses the Hrazdan Gorge, and its first line is about 870 metres long and passes under a bridge. On a clear day riders can see Mount Ararat. Riders must be at least 130 cm tall and weigh between 30 and 130 kg, and pregnant guests and anyone who has been drinking cannot fly. Confirm the season and book…
Head to GUM market, the covered market behind St Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, for dried and candied fruit, nuts and sujukh at the front stalls. Everything is sold by weight, so ask for a sample and check the weight before you pay, because candied fruit is heavier than it looks. The fresh produce and pickles are…
Locals escape the traffic by dropping into the Hrazdan Gorge through a pedestrian tunnel from a downtown park. It is lit but covered in graffiti, so do not expect polish. Follow the riverside path, popular with runners and walkers, and look up at the Victory, Kievyan and Davitashen bridges, which give gorge views at…
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