Why absurdly affordable Yerevan deserves a place on your travel wishlist
With Wizz Air poised to launch direct flights from London, there’s never been a better time to discover the vibrant capital of Armenia
It’s late evening in Yerevan, and the pavements are still buzzing. Couples stroll past the fountains on Republic Square, families and young people chat outside late-opening coffee shops. “In summer especially, the streets are busy until late, no matter the day of the week,” says my guide Lusine, who runs tour company Next is Armenia.
Many cafés stay open until 11pm, bars even later – a treat for anyone arriving from London, where finding somewhere nice to sit with a cup of coffee after 5pm can be a genuine challenge if you don’t fancy a drink.
Armenia’s capital is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities – founded in 782 BC by King Argishti I as the fortress of Erebuni, it is 29 years older than Rome – yet it remains remarkably under the radar as a travel destination.
That looks set to change this summer, when Wizz Air launches a direct route from London Luton – the first direct connection in years. And while the price tag is undeniably appealing (we’re talking flights from around £37 one way and pints for barely £1.50), what kept surprising me was just how much this city offers for a long weekend: extraordinary history, bold architecture, superb food and a creative energy that feels genuinely its own.
Deep roots into a distant past
Yerevan sits against a dramatic backdrop. The silhouette of Mount Ararat – sacred to Armenians, though it lies just across the border in Turkey – looms over the city, the mountain where, legend has it, Noah’s Ark came to rest. This is a country that wears its ancient identity proudly: Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion, in 301 AD, and you feel that deep-rootedness everywhere you go.
The city is built from distinctive pink and ochre volcanic tufa stone, lending it a warm, rosy glow in the late-afternoon light. Republic Square, with its grand ring of buildings and illuminated fountains after dark, is the obvious starting point; nearby, the sprawling Vernissage Market is the place to rummage for handmade pottery, traditional carpets and all manner of curios.
One of the first things you notice in Yerevan is the beguiling Armenian script. Its curling, hook-like letters are everywhere, on shopfronts and monuments and menus. To dig deeper into its history, head to the Matenadaran, a remarkable repository of more than 17,000 ancient manuscripts and 100,000 documents – just one of a host of museums that make this city so rewarding.
The History Museum of Armenia – which houses around 400,000 objects, including Iron Age altars and maps from the Russo-Turkish wars – rewards a visit, as does the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex on Tsitsernakaberd hill, a sobering reminder of the mass atrocities committed against Armenians during the First World War.
Then wander down to the Cascade Complex, a vast terraced structure housing the Cafesjian Art Center and a sculpture park with pieces scattered among its gardens and stairways. For cinema lovers, the Sergei Parajanov Museum is a wonderfully eccentric tribute to the visionary director of The Colour of Pomegranates, displaying his artistic and literary heritage from photos to screenplays.
Long lunches and musical grapes
The food scene is a highlight in its own right. At Lavash, you can sample harissa (a slow-cooked wheat and lamb porridge that’s something of a national dish), Armenian trout from Lake Sevan and arishta, a thick local pasta. At Dalan Art Gallery and Restaurant, the garden setting makes for a perfect long lunch. For coffee, head to Lumen, which has the buzzy energy of an East London roastery, or the stylish yet disarmingly friendly NÖNÖ.
It would be churlish not to wash down the sumptuous cuisine with some Armenian drinks. No visit would be complete without the Ararat brandy museum, where an unforgettable aroma hits you the moment you walk through the door – what my guide Ani tells me is called the “angel’s share”, the small percentage that evaporates annually from the ageing barrels. The tour takes you through the history of distillation and barrel-making before culminating in a tasting.
For wine, venture out to the Aragatsotn region to visit Van Ardi, Armenia’s first boutique winery. Founded by the Mouradian family, who uprooted their lives in Los Angeles in 2008 to pursue a dream, it’s a passion project in the truest sense. Varuzhan’s daughter, Arpi, leads tours through vineyards planted in volcanic soil at more than 1,000m above sea level. Sound, she explains, is vital to the health of the vines: classical, jazz and Armenian compositions play to the grapes year-round, and visitors are invited to ring a huge church bell in the on-site tower.
Lunch in their restaurant – fried vine-leaf tacos, an aromatic tarragon salad and roast lamb with garlicky potatoes – is exceptional. And for something stronger, make time for Aharonyan Distillery, where small-batch fruit spirits are triple-distilled from Armenian orchard produce with no sugar or additives. The apricot – Armenia’s national fruit – is outstanding, as are the mulberry and nectarine.
A day trip with a difference
A long weekend in Yerevan all but demands a day trip, and the classic outing is the Garni-Geghard circuit, about an hour’s drive east. Taxis are inexpensive and drivers will cheerfully wait for you, or group tours are widely available. The Temple of Garni is a first-century colonnaded wonder – the only largely intact Hellenistic structure in the former Soviet Union, thought to have been dedicated to the sun god Mihr. It collapsed in a 1679 earthquake but was painstakingly reconstructed in the 1970s; standing among its columns, high on a gorge above the Azat River, is one of those moments that fixes itself in your memory.
Fifteen minutes further into the gorge lies the Unesco World Heritage Site Geghard, a medieval monastery partially carved into the mountainside. Water trickles through the rock-cut chambers; Lusine tells me that many devout visitors come to drink from its spring, which is believed to have healing qualities. The monastery’s name means “spear” – a reference to the lance said to have pierced Christ’s side, which was once kept here among its relics.
At every turn, Yerevan surprised me: grander, livelier, more layered than I’d expected, and far easier on the wallet than almost anywhere in Europe. There is a warmth to the city – in the stone, in the people, in the late-night hum of the streets – that stays with you long after you leave. With direct flights imminent, the secret is unlikely to keep for long.
Essentials
Wizz Air will begin flying direct from London Luton to Yerevan on June 12, 2026, with fares from around £37 one way.
Avenue 30 Hotel has doubles with balconies from £67 per night, including breakfast. Grand Hotel Yerevan has doubles from £148 per night, including breakfast.
Elise Morton visited Yerevan with support from The Armenia Project.
