From manuscript culture and Urartu to modern art, Yerevan offers a wide range of cultural themes. The main museums, parks, cafés and cultural centers are located in the city center, making the city especially easy to explore on foot. Yerevan's tourist information and citizen service centers offer a first overview: visitors can get free multilingual maps and guidebooks there, along with information about museums, excursion programs, the Yerevan City Tour and municipal services.
An Overview of the City's History and Culture
If you're looking for a clearly defined introduction, the 90-minute Yerevan City Tour introduces the city's history, culture and architecture. It also covers the city's historical and cultural monuments and attractions. For a different, more in-depth perspective, a guided tour at the Armenian Genocide Museum covers the entire exhibition, including all twelve halls, and lasts 40 minutes to one hour. Tours are offered in Armenian, Russian, English and French. Check visitor information again before your trip.
The Erebuni Museum focuses on the history of Urartu. Its permanent exhibition covers architecture, fine arts, irrigation and fortification systems, wall paintings and ceramics. The Yerevan History Museum looks at the city's development from antiquity to the present day. Its collection includes around 100,000 archaeological, ethnographic, numismatic, craft, applied art and documentary works. It thus provides a broad historical perspective alongside the specific themes of individual museums.
Manuscripts, Maps and Printed Works
The Matenadaran Museum presents the history of Armenian manuscript culture and its development from the early Middle Ages to modern times. A dedicated map hall adds another perspective: it displays cartographic and geographic materials related to the history of Armenia and the wider region. Manuscripts and maps thus offer two distinct perspectives on inherited knowledge.
The Museum of Printing brings the history of printed works to life through selected exhibits. These include “Urbatagirk” (“Friday Book”), the first book printed in Armenian, published in Venice in 1512. The Voskanyan Bible, printed in Amsterdam in 1666–1668, is also on display. Other exhibits include the first printed map, “Hamatarats Ashkharhatsoyts” (“General Geographic Atlas”), printed in Amsterdam in 1695, as well as the first printed journal, “Azdarar,” published in Madras in 1794–1796.
Art and City Life at the Cascade
The Cascade brings together art, architecture, vibrant city life and green spaces. Within the Cascade complex, the Cafesjian Sculpture Park displays works by renowned artists. The Cafesjian Center for the Arts offers a variety of exhibitions, including significant works from the Cafesjian Art Trust. The Yerevan Museum of Modern Art offers a different focus: it displays significant works by famous Armenian artists of the 1960s and was the first modern art museum in the former Soviet Union.
The rooftop terrace of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute also offers a distinctive view of the city, with a panorama stretching across Mount Ararat and Yerevan. Visitors interested in exploring architecture, sculpture and exhibitions as different ways of experiencing the city's culture will find a range of subjects at the Cascade and in the museums.
Festivals and Events
Yerevan Wine Days has been held in Yerevan since 2017. At the festival, visitors can taste wines made from local grapes; the program may vary from one edition to another. It's therefore worth checking the dates and program in advance when planning your trip.
The Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival was founded in Yerevan in 2004. Its Armenian Panorama competition section has a pan-Armenian focus and showcases films by filmmakers of Armenian origin. The Fridtjof Nansen Museum complements these cultural themes with regular book discussions, presentations, conferences and film screenings, as well as educational programs.
Discover more destinations: Yerevan, Tavush, Aragatsotn, Kotayk, Vayots Dzor, Shirak, Ararat, Syunik.
For the main travel overview: Armenia.
