Fun and entertainment Yerevan

A new, very busy place in the trendy Cascade district. Its shady terrace occupies the entire esplanade between the lower Cascade and the Place de France, at the foot of the Opera. In other words, it can welcome the world, especially children, who are entitled to a games area with slides, swings, sandbox and paint studio on the grass, and at morning especially for them on Saturday and Sunday. The hotel is a little less family-friendly in the evening, since the hotel is open until 2 a. m., with musical shows to provide entertainment. Often crowded, it often takes a dozen minutes for a coffee, and much more for seafood dishes and Japanese specialties on the map. 

Set in the basement of the prestigious Yerevan opera, the club makes the teeth squealing and heurte. Critics cry about blasphemy, believing that the tubes served by the club as its attendance constitute a desecration of the Armenian music and ballet temple, others on the contrary approving this meeting between two musical worlds that are in the air of the time… But the vast parking lot that is going to be built under the soil-from the Opera is causing uncertainty over the future of this club.

This club has made a name for itself, particularly because it is located at the entrance to the brand new Avenue du Nord, a prestigious address among all, which tends to drive prices up a bit. Attended by the golden youth from the local oligarchy, the place is open every day, from 7pm, with a DJ officiating at the turntables on techno and dance rhythms. An opportunity to meet the local clubbers, and also Iranians, who have come to Armenia to let off steam for Newroz.

Located at the beginning of the famous Abovian street, this club with a cellar decor organizes theme evenings, to the sound of "dance" music with oriental sauce sometimes, but also techno and other big international hits that make the room vibrate with an always overheated and friendly atmosphere, which ends if not in the early morning, at least late in the evening, the after parties not yet planned. For the before, a restaurant has been planned, which serves European and Armenian specialties that without being gastronomic, are quite acceptable.

A club such as we did more at one time in Yerevan, dedicated to jazz, as its sign points out, and whose owner, Levon Malkhazian, himself a pianist, is a fan. The biggest names in Armenian jazz, such as the now famous Armenian Navy band, have performed in this club, where it is also possible to eat mezze or other Armenian or international dishes. Atmosphere guaranteed... and not only to the sound of jazz, until very late at night when the clientele, often numerous, is late to go to bed!

The outskirts of Yerevan have hardly been able to attract clubs and discos, which are currently mainly concentrated in the capital's kentron. The Palazzo, which is a discotheque and not a strip club as its name suggests, is an exception, but it is quite far from the centre of Yerevan, on the road to Achtarak, north of the capital. The fluorescent neon lights on its façade illuminate the dark night. An eclectic music, especially for the tastes of the Russian clientele, which is numerous on the dance floor until 6am.

The sign suggests it unambiguously, it is a question of striptease, like most of the establishments in the Armenian capital that claim the name of nightclub. Armenians, like other Caucasians, are fond of it. A male clientele, therefore, especially, but not only, for a show, one suspects it is provided by naked women. The specialty of this large club with a modern decor is the full nude, masked, but not completely of course, behind a water curtain. A wide range of alcoholic beverages fills the glasses.

Located in a rather residential area north-west of the Opera, a cabaret that has long boasted the best stripteaseshow in the capital, and which tries to keep itself afloat by also offering football and other images on giant plasma screens... Normal, since Brazil is in the spotlight in this establishment, as the sign says, with samba, baterilla and sequins and its cuisine, renowned here for its meat dishes, upstairs.

In the luxurious and hushed decor of the lounges of the Marriott Hotel, on Republic Square... You will find the atmosphere of a Viennese café, in the broadest sense of the term, since it serves, with elegance and distinction, some twenty different types of coffee accompanied by as many or more varieties of Viennese pastries, Viennese pastries - like black forest - and international pastries. Ideal for business meetings, or romantic dates later in the evening, in an international atmosphere that will take you away from the hustle and bustle of Yerevan.

Armenia boasts theatrical traditions dating back to ancient times. You will be told that Euripides' coins were represented at the court of the Armenian king in Artachat in the first century BC. This 1,140-seat theatre, housed in a building dating from 1966 and designed by architect Raphaël Alaverdian, attempts to perpetuate the tradition. It is named after the Armenian playwright Soundoukian (1825-1912), author of the Armenian theatre classic Pepo. The theatre is located in the intimate setting of the "English Garden" (Ankliakan Aiki).

Leaning against the National Gallery, at the corner of Republic Square and Abovian Street, where it has its entrance, like many theatres in the capital, it is named after the great composer of the last century Arno Babadjanian, but presents concerts of lighter music, shows of traditional or folk music and dances from Armenia or other countries, as well as variety shows by local or former USSR singers.

In Tsitsernakapert Park, this large futuristic complex (for Soviet Armenia in the 1980s) houses a concert hall where local stars perform, facilities designed for major sports competitions, a cafeteria-restaurant, an open air cinema. Two halls with 5,000 and 1,500 seats, connected by revolving stands, host the Chess Olympiads, the Armenia-Diaspora Forum, the Aurora Prize award ceremony... and in 2018, the Francophonie Summit.

Located on the green belt to the east of the Opera district, this prestigious hall is named after the famous Armenian composer of the early 20th century, who died in France after escaping genocide. There are evenings of organ music, an instrument for which Komitas has composed a lot, and recitals of classical and contemporary music, by Armenian composers such as Arno Babadjanian, or international composers, in a hall with an ultramodern decor.

This grey stone building built by Tamanian in the neo-Armenian style (for which he won first prize at the 1936 Paris Universal Exhibition) has two halls, one for opera and ballet (1,260 seats), the other for concerts by the philharmonic orchestra (1,400 seats). Armen Tigranian's opera Anouche, inspired by Toumanian who has his statue in the square, is one of the classics of Armenian lyric art, along with Donizetti's Polyeucte, which sings about the conversion of the King of Armenia. A classical repertoire, even though Aznavour performed there.

Situated in the immediate vicinity of Republic Square, this theatre was for a long time directed by one of the greatest actors of Armenian cinema and theatre, Sos Sarksian, who has now passed away, and to whom it owes its name. The theatre was created in the aftermath of independence by an institution born within the Armenian diaspora and dedicated to the protection and dissemination of Armenian culture and language, Hamaskain, which has many other institutions to its credit.

Named after Hagop Paronian, the great master of the early 20th century Armenian-style boulevard theatre in Constantinople, this theatre located on the immediate vicinity of Republic Square specializes in comedy, but not only. In 1998, it hosted a cycle of French theatre, where Feydau and Labiche, of whom Paronian can be considered an Armenian avatar, were far from being the only authors in an eclectic programme.

This café in the foliage of the Opera esplanade is distinguished by its terrace, the largest, which has a "VIP" square that attracts great success. Fast food, ice creams and various desserts are on the menu of this establishment, which is available in its closed version, or "indoor" under the same name "Djazve" (the container in which Armenian coffee is prepared) in other parts of Yerevan. A coffee therefore, without ambition, but an address to start the day or end it in a cool place with a certain comfort.

This cafe with a cosy, rather lounge-like atmosphere and designer décor with large bay windows, which has another sign on Abovian Street (corner of Sayat Nova Street), is very popular with the youth of Yerevan, who can enjoy a light meal there and still find a wide selection of wine drinks and other cocktails to be sipped in the comfort of an armchair, with a view of the street on the first floor. Hot chocolate is curiously the speciality, so thick that one regrets the absence of churros, compensated by other pastries.

Cinemas in Yerevan are rare and are mainly located in large shopping centres or malls, one of which has replaced the other large cinema dating from the Soviet era, Kino Rossia. Kino Moskva is the most prestigious. Fitted out in a building from the 1930s, the legendary hall is located opposite the Grand Yerevan Hotel on Aznavour Square, decorated with a pool with water jets. Animation is at its peak in mid-July, with the International Film Festival "Golden Apricot" (Voske Dziran) establishing its quarters in the cinema.

Located south of Republic Square, near the Sourp Krikor Lussavoritch Cathedral, this imposing circular circus dating from the Soviet era is trying to restore the stars to the Armenian circus arts, which were in better shape in Soviet Armenia's time. After major renovation work begun in 2012, the dilapidated hard structure is now much more elegant and able to accommodate more decent performances by acrobats, jugglers, trainers and clowns.

Yerevan has more than one venue specializing in puppet theatre, a genre that is very popular in Armenia and not only among children and for which Armenians have acquired a certain reputation. This theatre, named after the great 19th century writer Toumanian, who wrote tales, is one of the most popular. It is frequented by children, but adults are welcome to see the puppets (khamajik) on stage.

Reported on Sayat Nova Avenue by its sign of neon neon forming a pyramid, this latter-born of night clubs in Yerevan is probably also the most daring. If it does not derogate from the rule of modesty that forbids too much thin, at least on the stage, this 700 m ² space on 3 levels, with a podium and steel bars, opened by an Armenian of France, purports to revolutionize the universe of the Armenian striptease and put it to Western standards. It is true that, seen in Armenia, it is'western girls ' (usually Ukrainian) who dévêtent on the podium and in private salons, for the more fortunate, the sound of music.

Day and night, this establishment which opened its doors just a stone's throw from the Opera remains one of the trendiest addresses in the capital. Restaurant during the day and in the evening, it becomes a club (agump) later on. Without proclaiming itself elitist, it cultivates an originality that attracts "the All Yerevan", seduced by its refined specialties of Western and Armenian cuisine (50 seats), served in an ever-changing decor, since the place also serves as a gallery of art and crafts and also as a concert hall, especially jazz.

A bar on the top floor of a building at the beginning of Abovian Street, which already has a lot of bars; enough to move from one to the other by changing floors. In a modern and refined decor, a menu of some nicely presented continental specialities and above all a wide range of drinks and cocktails, with the barmen providing the show against a musical backdrop, guaranteed in the Paparazzi club below. But the "Verev" (from above in Armenian) is especially worth a visit for its rooftop, one of the most popular in Yerevan, with a breathtaking view of Republic Square by night

Created in 2019 at the beginning of Abovian Street, this pleasantly decorated bar, with large hangings, welcomes a young and trendy clientele, who come to savour, to the sound of deep house, the cocktails prepared by the English-speaking barman and nice like the rest of the staff. You can forget that not so long ago, when the head barman of a big hotel served you a red piña colada, telling you, in the whites of your eyes, that this is how they prepare them in Yerevan! For a change of scenery, but not of building, the 2nd Floor, another trendy bar with vinyl walls and music.

Located on the first floor of the famous Aprikian House, a historic pink building in Yerevan, it is a place with a versatile concept. Atmosphere and cosy decor, to make you feel at home, with a welcome in tune, in these guest "rooms" which are at the same time restaurant, serving a planetary cuisine, bar, with a wine list of Armenian and other wines, but also pastry shop and boutique, where you can find original products and items, all with a background of music, with a DJ providing the theoretical programming every Friday.

Ideally located at the top of Abovian Street, on the edge of the green space of the Opera esplanade and its lively district, this large establishment, nicely decorated with a brewery atmosphere and wood panelling, offers a wide range of coffees, accompanied by various sweets and pastries and other drinks. Perfect for breakfast, but also, if you're feeling hungry, it will satisfy a small hunger with a few dishes presented with taste, and sometimes humour, such as this plate of fried eggs in the shape of a smiley face, which can also be enjoyed on the terrace.