Discover Yerevan : Neighborhoods

The Armenian capital owes its creation to Patriarch Noah's vision of the top of the Ararat where his ark dropped anchor, according to Genesis, after the Flood, watching majestically from Turkey over the plain of the Arabian Sea where it lies. Beyond the myth, Yerevan proudly boasts 2,800 years of history, but has left few remains in its various districts, which are home to some 1.2 million Yerevans. Marked by the plans of Soviet town planners and architects who took up the national models in its pink tufa facades, Yerevan has kept this sometimes pompous heritage cohabiting with innovative projects, at the yardstick of a dynamic city, with Mediterranean charm with its many coffee terraces wrapped in greenery that call to discover a country within reach of the capital. The different districts of the city display an ever more pronounced identity of their own.

Place de la République and the south

The Hanrabedoutian Hrabarak, formerly Lenin's Square, is so emblematic that it is called Hrabarak (Square). The heart of the Republic beats in this vast oval square, with pools and water jets, surrounded by pink Soviet buildings in the national style, housing institutions and the Marriott Hotel. It is the venue for major official events and Christmas celebrations. It is the business and commercial district. To the north is Abovian Street, a famous artery that has kept some buildings from the Tsarist era, to the east towards the circular boulevard Khanjian, a green corridor hosting the "Vernissage" flea market, to the south, the popular district of Tigrane Medz Street, which continues past the Krikor Lusavoritch Cathedral towards Sassountsi Tavit Square, and the industrious suburbs leading to the Erebouni citadel.

Place de la Liberté and the North

The former Opera Square, Place de la Liberté(Azadoutian Hrabarak) in homage to the demonstrations of 1988, has regained its serenity, especially since the Opera Park, a Soviet grey basalt building, was emptied of its cafés in 2019. This cultural and youthful district continues to the north, at the foot of the "Cascade" monument that runs down the slopes of Hakhtanak Park, where a space for artistic and cultural events is being developed, with the trendiest bars. The statue of Tamanian turns its back on it, looking out from the Place de France, the Place de la République, linked since 2007 to the Opera by the Avenue du Nord. Another cultural landmark is the Maténadaran, a library of ancient manuscripts. To the north-west, the rue Sarian with its wine bars continues along the avenue Baghramian, with the presidential palace and the neo-classical parliament, a residential and green district heralding the Hrazdan gorges.

Hrazdan River Gorge

If Tsarist Yerevan occupied the present Republic Square, it cohabited for a long time with the old Persian city, coiled around the Hrazdan Gorge(Hrazdani Kirj). Only a few stone and mud houses leaning against the river gorges, the Karmir Kamurj bridge, the Goy or Blue Mosque on Mashtots Avenue where the bazaar was replaced by the Soviet covered market, remain. The palace of the Persian sardars gave way to the wine and brandy factories built by the Soviets as fortresses on either side of the gorge. The Erevantsi people appreciate the parks, including one with a children's train, and a place of meditation, with the genocide memorial, in Tsitsernakaberd Park on the west bank. A stop for gourmets too, with its khorovadz stands and typical restaurants.

Periphery

Consisting of 9 massiv or districts, a suburb that doesn't say its name. Cities inherited from the Soviets, with dilapidated buildings, laundry hanging from rusty windows, typical of the former USSR, which are being restored, bordered by small shantytowns and architectural innovations as in Arabkir (north). These popular cities alternate with residential areas, in the northeast, towards Sevan, around the zoo and the botanical garden, where luxurious villas are nestled in the greenery. A very discreet charm, but still, the superb scenery of the Ararat plain, especially in the south-west, at the Yeraplour pantheon, and around the Yerevanian artificial lake, an area for leisure and relaxation. The advantages of calm and clean air have not escaped the bourgeoisie, who are building villas on the outskirts, where hotels and restaurants are also located.