Discover Yerevan: Museums, Art and City Experiences

Explore the city center on foot

Yerevan’s most important museums, parks, cafés and cultural centers are in the city center, making the city especially easy to explore on foot. Yerevan’s tourist information and public service centers provide free multilingual maps and travel guides. Visitors can also get information there about museums, excursion programs, the Yerevan City Tour and municipal services.

Manuscripts, city history and printing

The Matenadaran explores Armenian manuscript culture and its development from the early Middle Ages to the modern era. The map hall complements this focus with cartographic and geographic materials on the history of Armenia and the wider region. Those interested in historical documents and maps will find two related but distinct perspectives here: the history of manuscript culture and the depiction of countries and regions on maps.

The Yerevan History Museum explores the city’s development from antiquity to the present. Its collection comprises around 100,000 archaeological, ethnographic, numismatic, craft, applied art and documentary works. This allows you to combine a city-history perspective with the specialized subjects of other museums when choosing cultural stops. The Erebuni Museum dedicates its permanent exhibition to the history of Urartu and features architecture, fine arts, irrigation and fortification systems, mural paintings and ceramics.

The Museum of Printing offers a distinct perspective on the history of printing. On display is the first book printed in Armenian, “Urbatagirk” (“The Friday Book”), printed in Venice in 1512. Also included are the Voskanyan Bible, printed in Amsterdam between 1666 and 1668, and the first printed map, “Hamatarats Ashkharhatsoyts” (“General Geographical Atlas”), also printed in Amsterdam in 1695. The first printed periodical, “Azdarar,” published in Madras from 1794 to 1796, is also part of the collection. Together, these works offer a concrete insight into different forms of print culture and the places where they originated.

Art in the city and in museums

At the Cascade, art, architecture, lively urban life and green spaces come together. The Cafesjian Sculpture Garden in the Cascade complex features works by renowned artists. The Cafesjian Center for the Arts offers a wide range of exhibitions, including important works from the Cafesjian Art Trust. If you want to include sculpture and exhibitions in your trip, you can take these different art offerings into account when planning without treating them as a single museum experience.

The Yerevan Museum of Modern Art offers a different perspective on time, exhibiting important works by famous Armenian artists of the 1960s. It was the first museum of modern art in the former Soviet Union. For travelers interested in Armenian art history, this provides a clearly defined focus alongside the exhibitions at the Cafesjian Center.

Tours, city sightseeing and events

The Armenian Genocide Museum offers guided tours in Armenian, Russian, English and French. A tour covers the entire exhibition across 12 halls and lasts from 40 minutes to one hour. The stated duration helps you plan the timing of your museum visit; the Yerevan City Tour offers a different focus. It lasts 90 minutes and introduces visitors to Yerevan’s history, culture and architecture, as well as its historical and cultural monuments and sights.

The Fridtjof Nansen Museum also regularly hosts events, book discussions, presentations, conferences and film screenings, and offers educational programs. If you like to include a variety of cultural formats in your travel plans, you can therefore consider events as well as exhibitions.

Wine culture and film

Yerevan Wine Days has been held in Yerevan since 2017. The festival offers the chance to taste wines made from local grapes. This is a distinct way to experience the city alongside its museums and art: here, the focus is on tasting regional wines. The Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival was founded in Yerevan in 2004. Its program includes Armenian Panorama, a pan-Armenian competition section for films by filmmakers of Armenian descent. If you are interested in film, this competition section offers a special perspective on filmmakers of Armenian descent.

For a focus on the city itself, read more about Yerevan. More regional pages: Vayots Dzor, Tavush, Syunik, Shirak, Gegharkunik, Lori and Vayots Dzor.

For the broader travel overview: Armenia.