
Classic Armenia
Garni Temple, Geghard Monastery & Lavash Baking
Armenia's only standing Greco-Roman temple, a monastery carved into solid rock, and bread pulled hot from a clay pit oven.

Yerevan
An evening walk through the city when the tuff turns amber — the singing fountains, a jazz cellar, and three wine bars on Saryan Street.
Duration
4 hours
Group
Small group, max 10
Difficulty
Easy — about 2 km on foot
Languages
EN · RU · DE · FR · IT · ES
Worth knowingOver-eighteens only. The tour ends at the jazz venue in the centre, a short walk or a very cheap taxi from most hotels.
The fountains were converted to synchronised colour and music in 1970 and entirely rebuilt in 2007. The season runs roughly from late May to October, and the square fills up as the light goes.
One short street holds most of the city's wine bars. We visit three, tasting six or seven wines between them — Areni Noir and Voskehat, and usually something odd from a small producer that has just been dropped off that week.
Small plates as we go: cheese, basturma, dolma, and whatever the bar is doing well.
Armenia has taken jazz seriously since the 1930s, and Yerevan still has proper basement venues with live sets most nights. We finish with one, and you are welcome to stay on after the tour ends.
In the price
Not included
Stops in the order we visit them. Distances are indicative, not a driving route.
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Classic Armenia
Armenia's only standing Greco-Roman temple, a monastery carved into solid rock, and bread pulled hot from a clay pit oven.

Classic Armenia
The pit where Armenia's Christianity began, a red-rock canyon monastery, and the valley where wine has been made for six thousand years.

Yerevan
A half day through the pink tuff city Alexander Tamanyan drew in 1924, ending in the cellars where Armenian brandy has been made since 1887.

Want it privately?
Your own vehicle and guide, your own start time, and the freedom to linger where it is worth lingering.