Yerevan

Whether your interest lies in art, architecture, language, religion or simply good food and wine, Yerevan has a unique range of attractions to offer. Along with its status as the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion, Armenia’s greatest pride is its ancient language, one of the first to appear in written form. The Matenadaran Manuscript Museum, home to over 12,000 beautifully illustrated manuscripts dating back to 887 AD, is unmissable. Views of Mount Ararat, rising out of clouds to the west, are best from Erebuni Fortress Museum set on hills overlooking the city. A drive through the green hills, east of Yerevan, will lead you to the spectacularly situated pagan temple of the sun at Garni. In cliffs further up the wooded river valley, Armenia’s Christian heritage is reflected in the extraordinary acoustics of the 7th-century Gerghard Cave Monastery.