Yerevan

What you actually see

Republic Square, the Cascade complex climbing the hillside with sculpture on every terrace, and the Vernissage market at weekends. The city is built largely from local pink and cream tufa, which gives the whole centre a colour you do not get anywhere else.

Everything is a day trip

Garni and Geghard are half an hour east. Khor Virap, the monastery directly under Ararat, is an hour south. Lake Sevan is an hour north. This is the rare country where you can unpack once and still see most of it, which is why our shorter Armenia trips do not move hotel at all.

Ararat

The mountain is the national symbol and sits inside Türkiye. You see it constantly and cannot go. Understanding that before you arrive changes how you read the country.

How long to give it

Two to three nights. Almost everything worth seeing in Armenia is a day trip from here.

When to go

Average daytime high, night-time low and rain days for Yerevan, from five years of recorded observations rather than a forecast or a brochure.

Comfortable months: Apr, Jun, Sep to Oct.