Hello everyone. Welcome to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia! After our vacation in Georgia, we took a direct bus from Tbilisi here. The journey lasted about 6 hours and the ticket cost was 15 Euros per person. We had never been to Armenia before, but from the very beginning, our plans started to go a bit awry.
As soon as we arrived in Yerevan, we were thinking of finding an apartment and settling in for the next month. However, we spent the whole day and evening searching for options and the prices we saw really surprised us. Some of the apartments we looked at had monthly costs of about 400-500 Euros. Honestly, I never expected these apartments to cost 500 Euros. We were expecting them to be around 350-400 Euros and I thought we could find something in better condition for that price. But most of the apartments here had quite old decorations.
I was shocked by the fact that these types of options were being offered at such high prices. In Georgia I could rent a spacious and nice apartment for 350 Euros, but here, we couldn’t even find that for 350 Euros. Since we couldn’t find an apartment for the next month, we rented a hotel for 2-3 days. While staying at the hotel, we thought we could talk to the locals and try to find more affordable and nicer options. At least we wanted to find a place that had been renovated because most of the apartments we saw looked like they hadn’t been renovated in 40 years.
We called a taxi and headed to the hotel. We also planned to buy a SIM card on the way because things can be quite difficult without internet, especially in a new country and city. But we couldn’t find a good place to buy one on the way.
Yes, friends my blog series from Armenia starts from here... We arrived at the hotel and checked in at the reception. The hotel is called Santa Villa, but when we made the reservation, it appeared as IT Hotel. We don’t know why there was this confusion, but it doesn’t really change much.
One night at this hotel with breakfast included cost only 22 Euros. This price really surprised us. We never thought we could find such a nice hotel for 22 Euros. When we entered the room, we noticed that everything was new and modern. The room was very spacious, with a large balcony, a stylish bathroom, clean towels and everything was very organized. I had found this hotel just by chance, half an hour before leaving Georgia.
It was really a discovery. The hotel is about a half-hour walk away. Also there is a small corner in the room with a chair, a fridge and power outlets. The only thing missing is perhaps a small table. But from what I understand, you can use the fridge like a table. There are also things for making tea or coffee.
The biggest advantage of this room is the large balcony! Honestly, if they had put a table and chairs here, it would have been great to have tea or coffee. But for some reason, they didn’t think of that. Also I hadn’t booked a room with a balcony, so I was really surprised and happy when I saw this room. Later I checked and rooms with balconies are normally 4 Euros more expensive, meaning they would cost around 26 Euros instead of 22. I think this was a bonus for us.
The common areas of the hotel are also very nice. It really has an interesting architecture. The balcony of our room is located in the middle of the building. It’s also decorated with flowers and cacti, which created a very pleasant view. You can immediately tell that the hotel is well-maintained. It was very enjoyable to stay here.
We went downstairs for breakfast and headed to the restaurant area. Since breakfast was included, this was a nice bonus. There was a buffet breakfast with options like tea, coffee, pizza, cheese, salami, eggs, sausages, oatmeal, cream, fried zucchini and various types of bread. It was quite sufficient. We decided to have our breakfast on the terrace. I had eggs, sausages, an omelet, pizza, salami and salad. My friend had similar things. The pizza looked very appetizing. We had our tea and coffee and enjoyed a nice breakfast.
The building resembles an old Armenian-style structure. Maybe those who know about this can share their thoughts in the comments. This old building has been renovated into a hotel and has been made very nice. There are flowers and cacti on the balcony. It’s really a well-maintained and pleasant place.
Finally we reached the heart of Yerevan: Republic Square. The surrounding architecture is beautiful. The other evening, I wanted to go out and grab a snack. I was surprised to notice that the prices were quite reasonable. I got a hot dog with four sausages for 1.5 Euros. It was a large hot dog and the price was incredibly cheap. A small wrap was 1.5 Euros and a large wrap was 3 Euros. So the food prices are really reasonable. I think this place might even be cheaper than Georgia. Although rental prices are expensive, food prices are quite affordable. We also went to a supermarket and saw that the prices were quite reasonable. This made us very happy.
Republic Square is full of greenery and the architecture is very impressive. Around the square, there are hotels, restaurants and scooter rental places.
In front of us was the Government Building, along with its clocks. Right next to it was the famous square we had come to. There is a giant beautiful fountain here. My friend read that there are 2750 small fountains in it. Also the National History Museum of Armenia is located in this central square. Honestly I can’t forget that hot dog with four sausages because it reminded me of my student days when I used to have one every day. Back then, it was my favorite food and I would buy a big hot dog every lunch break. Here in Yerevan, I had that taste again and it really reminded me of my old, beautiful student days.
The fountain is really beautiful, but friends, we had trouble finding a store for cell phones here. We were told that the best options were a little further up. We hadn’t had internet since the night before. the weather was really hot, 32 degrees in the shade and maybe 35 or 37 degrees in the sun. We were still searching for an apartment. In the evening we tried to find something else, but unfortunately, the only options were the same ones we had seen earlier. I didn’t want to stay in a house from the 1960s with carpeted walls. We thought that if we found something from the 2000s, that would be enough. Hotel options weren’t appealing either.They were crowded.
Here in the center, the environment was quite clean and organized. There were places selling ice cream, tea, coffee and freshly squeezed juice. The architecture is really nice and everything is very neat and beautifully made. There are cobblestone streets everywhere and walking is very pleasant. The center is very large and there are many tourist spots here.
Finally we got our SIM cards with internet. We got them from Ucom for 12 Euros, with unlimited internet. I think the price is quite reasonable. Also local calls are included in this price. These SIM cards are sold in the pedestrian street, which is busy with tourists. There are also big brand stores here, so I can fully call this street Shopping street.
We reached the beginning of the street and started walking. There are also places where you can rent scooters. On the first floor, there is a huge restaurant, a place like McDonald's instead of Cinnabon. At the very beginning of the street, there are places where you can get information about tourist tours. This street is very beautiful and it reminds me a bit of Europe, especially some of the streets in Barcelona. There are also many hotels here. If you want to live right in the center on the main street, you can stay in one of the hotels here. Maybe it’s possible to rent daily or monthly, but I think it would be quite expensive. Daily prices would probably be at least 100 dollars or 100 Euros. This street is called North Boulevard and continues all the way to the Opera House, about half a kilometer long. You can walk along this street, shop and explore the surrounding restaurants.
There are fountains and an underground parking lot. You can see the Norce Avenue hotel, a very nice option right in the center. It’s new and well-maintained. Also, I was very curious about Armenian cuisine. On the way to our hotel, I saw ads for delicious meals and meat kebabs. We had learned a bit about what we could eat here, but we figured out exactly what to order once we got to the restaurant. My friends in Yerevan had recommended a tavern. They serve authentic Armenian cuisine there. I had never tried Armenian cuisine, so it would be very interesting to try. I generally love meat dishes, so there might be shish kebab or something similar here.
Everything here is in a very convenient location, with small supermarkets, ATMs, currency exchange places, Italian restaurants, pizzerias and cafes. While walking down the street, everything is within reach. Also, we got our SIM card right in the center. We were told that the shops here are open 24/7. There are also apartments here and I could see balconies, but I didn’t know if they were lived in or just for rent.
Yes, it’s really a beautiful and enjoyable place. There are many spots here, with small fountains where you can drink water. We tried one near our hotel and the water was really delicious. The water here is very fresh and cool, so you don’t need to buy bottled water. The fountains are everywhere. You just go and drink, then continue your walk. There is no metallic taste at all, which is often the case in places like this, but not here. Drinking water in Yerevan is really enjoyable.
Apart from that food prices in Yerevan are quite reasonable. For example, on the tourist street, desserts are 2200 dram, which is about 5 Euros. An English breakfast is around 10 Euros and Eggs Benedict with bacon is about 7 Euros. Usually, prices are very high on such tourist streets, but here, the prices are really reasonable. And there are many shops and souvenir stores here. If you want to have a portrait painted, there are street artists who can do that for you. There are many services like tea, coffee, ice cream and car rentals here. It’s a very developed city and open to tourists.
By the way there are many small döner shops in Yerevan. A large döner in the center costs around 4 Euros, which is very affordable. The hot dog we had the other day is still on my mind. It was very delicious. Looking back döner in Georgia was a bit expensive and not very tasty. But here the döner is really delicious. Even the restaurants in Georgia were still on our minds, especially with large bottles of wine when you enter, the restaurants were very interesting. However, we preferred Armenian restaurants in Armenia because the ones in Georgia were enough for us.
We walked towards the Opera House and at the end, we reached it. There is a beautiful park, banks and a pond here, probably an artificial pond. You can sit in a nice café and enjoy the view. It might not be very pleasant in the heat, but sitting in a shaded spot would be wonderful.
Generally people here are taking photos and these places near the Opera House and Rich café look very beautiful with an interesting building in the background.
We arrived at the Opera house to see the atmosphere. On the first day we toured Yerevan, then went to other regions of Armenia. We also visited the mountains and Lake Sevan, which were highly recommended to us. There are so many places to visit here.
We passed by the Opera house and on the other side was one of the popular tourist spots, the Cascades. In front of the Cascades, there is a small park and it seems like there is a park at every corner. Wherever you go in the center there are parks, sculptures and beauties.
The Cascades is a structure that adorns the city, connecting the residential area to the city center. It has five panoramic points and from here, you can see the view of mount Ararat. I think Ararat is visible when the air is clearer. This Cascades also reminds me of the Babylonian Pyramid. There is a lion statue here, which I didn’t understand at first, but it reminds me of a lion. Maybe it suggests something different to someone else, but for me, it’s a lion.
Mostly people come here for walks in the evenings. Many of the sculptures we saw here were illuminated, maybe even all the steps are lit up. Everything seems very green. There are cafés and restaurants right next to the Cascades.
We climbed up the Cascades and there were five different platforms. We reached the second platform and there, we saw some museums and exhibitions. I was slowly looking for Ararat, but it wasn’t visible yet. Ararat is also a popular Armenian brandy. I think I’ve tried it once. If you like brandy, maybe many of you like Ararat. The weather was very hot, around 40 degrees Celsius. But maybe it’s cooler in the mountains. Finally we reached the top and Yerevan city was right in front of us, everything was clearly visible.
We couldn’t see Ararat, only a bit of its silhouette, but still, it was worth climbing this high to see the city. When we went down, we suddenly found a pub, which was a great place to drink something in the shade. Since it was so hot, we decided to rest here. We returned to Yerevan and went to a restaurant called Gata Tavern. It was only two blocks away. We walked for 5 minutes and reached our destination.
When we entered we were greeted by many interesting paintings. There were cave-like rooms here. We sat at the table at the very end, but first, we wanted to see the room that looked like a cave. The light wasn’t very good there, so we sat in the main hall. If you come here, a cave room for four people might be very suitable.
This restaurant is a great place to try the flavors of Armenian cuisine. Gata is a very famous local dessert here. We saw Gata on the menu, but it turns out Gata is just a dessert. Our meals arrived. First, we tried homemade Armenian compote, then vegetable burgers with eggplant, cheese and tomato. There was also a platter full of cheese varieties and lavash bread. Lavash is an important part of Armenian cuisine. Actually we ate a lot of it when we were in Turkey. I think Turkish and Armenian cuisines are similar.
The cheese platters were really delicious. After finishing the cheese, we moved on to the next dish. We tried Armenian pomegranate wine, which was semi-sweet. Its color was a bit like tea, like black tea or cola. It was really interesting and it tasted like homemade compote, with dried fruit inside. It didn’t taste alcoholic, more like a non-alcoholic beverage. It was really original and unique wine.
Our main course was the restaurant’s special dish and everyone had recommended it. It was a very large meatball, with plenty of cheese inside. The combination of meat and cheese was exactly what I like. It was really delicious. I’ve never seen a dish with meat this large before. It pairs perfectly with pomegranate wine.
Gata is a traditional Armenian dessert and it has a lot of walnuts in it. It was really delicious a bit sweet, but with plenty of walnuts. This dessert was also very nice. We also drank mountain tea, which went perfectly with the dessert. We left the restaurant and I was so full that walking was hard. But everything was very tasty. The portions were really large and we didn’t expect this much. Since we couldn’t finish everything, we packed the leftovers and took them back to the hotel. The total cost of the meal was 62 Euros. If we exclude the wine, everything from starters to dessert was very delicious. The restaurant was really beautiful and we really liked the local cuisine.
We called a taxi and went back to the hotel. I will continue sharing our experiences of Armenia. See you soon!
