Museums

Getting Around the City

April 24, 2019

Narek Barseghyan

April 28, 2019

Sometimes it’s super tricky to pin down an indoor attraction in Yerevan that you want to visit when the weather is great and all you do is to enjoy a glass of wine sitting in an outdoor cafe.

But here’s the thing. No matter how good the weather, visiting Yerevan's museums is essential. Among the city’s best things to do, our museums rival those in other capitals - without a doubt. To get you started we’ve listed the essentials. Locals, consider this your must-see list (and if you’ve already visited them all, check out these great off-the-beaten-path museums). If you plan your day trip wisely, you’ll be hopping about a few small museums with ease.

National Gallery of Armenia: The National Gallery of Armenia is the country’s major art gallery. Its collection is displayed in 56 galleries, which allow the Gallery to tell the story of national visual arts, decorative-applied arts as well as world culture from ancient times to our days. In the galleries of European, Russian, Armenian and Oriental art the visitors are introduced to the art of Aivazovsky, Saryan, Kandinsky, Donatello and other distinguished artists.

Admission: 1000 AMD

Hours: 11:00 - 17:30

Current Exhibition: From Renaissance to Rococo

National Gallery of Armenia

Martiros Saryan Museum A very well organized and curated small museum in the center of the city that hosts an outstanding collection of works by Martiros Saryan. The painter's works are grouped and shown in galleries on two floors along with some personal belongings, clothes, furniture, letters, etc. The museum has a gift shop where you can buy a replica of your favorite Saryan painting.

Admission: 1000-3000 AMD

Hours: 11:00 - 18:00

Martiros Saryan Museum

Ervand Kochar Museum One of the most interesting and perhaps least known museums in Yerevan, despite its central location. By visiting this museum you will discover the unique talent and inventions of Maestro Kochar whose works are also exhibited in the collection of the Centre Georges Pompidou.

Admission: 800-3.000 AMD

Hours: 11:00 - 17:00

Ervand Kochar Museum

Cafesjian Center for the Arts is dedicated to bringing the best of contemporary art to Armenia and presenting the best of Armenian culture to the world. Inspired by the vision of its founder, Gerard L. Cafesjian, the Center offers a wide variety of exhibitions, including a selection of important work from the Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection of contemporary art. Having celebrated its grand opening in November 2009, CCA continues to exhibit unique works of modern and contemporary art and offers a diverse program of lectures, films, concerts, and numerous educational initiatives for adults and children. Over one million people have visited the Center annually since its opening.

Admission: 800-1000 AMD

Hours: 10:00-20:00

Cafesjian Center for the Arts

Modern Art Museum Visiting a museum which occupies the ground floor of a residential building may be a bit bizarre experience but it's absolutely worth the time. The museum houses a great collection of modern and surrealist paintings, sculptures and installations by Armenian artists. Make sure to purchase permission to photograph the artworks as once inside you'll be snapping photos right and left.

Admission: 500-2500 AMD

Hours: 11:00 - 18:00

Modern Art Museum

Komitas Museum-Institute Officially, Komitas Museum-Institute is an art and biographical museum in Yerevan, Armenia, devoted to the renowned Armenian musicologist and composer Komitas. It is located adjacent to the pantheon at the Komitas Park of Shengavit district. The museum opened in January 2015 and has become an essential stop for lovers of Armenian music and the art of Komitas.

Admission: 1000 AMD

Hours 10:00 - 16:30

Komitas Museum-Institute

Matenadaran Before the invention of the printing press, books were hand-written and hand illustrated, most commonly on leather. While many larger libraries have some ancient manuscripts on hand, Matenadaran distinguishes itself as having an exceptional collection of Armenian books and manuscripts. The sheer number of outstanding manuscripts and their stories will leave you in awe.

Admission: 1500-3000 AMD

Hours: 11:00 - 16:00

Matenadaran

Armenian Genocide Museum No trip to Armenia is complete without visiting the museum. The Armenian Genocide memorial complex is Armenia's official memorial dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, built in 1967 on the hill of Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan.

Admission is free of charge but donations are welcomed.

Hours: 10.00-17.00

Armenian Genocide Museum

Armenian Geological museum on Baghramyan Avenue is a wonderful small museum. It houses thousands of minerals and rocks from all over the world. It also has a mammoth skeleton which was discovered in Gyumri.

Admission: 1500-2000 AMD

Hours: 11:00 - 16:00

Armenian Geological Museum

Lusik Aguleci House-Museum Lusik Aguletsi was an artist, art and antique collector, and lover of everything that was hand-made and hand-carved by ethnic Armenian masters. The house-museum has some very rare artifacts that are beautifully displayed in various rooms according to their theme. The house-museum is not very big, but plan on staying there for 2-3 hours because there's a lot to see. You can also sit in the beautiful garden and enjoy homemade meals at the museum cafe after your visit.

Admission: 500-3.000 AMD

Hours: 11:00 - 19:00