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🇦🇲Things to Do in Armenia
From the cliffside Tatev Monastery to the shores of Lake Sevan - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.
Travel guide - last updated September 2026
Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion, in the early 4th century, and its landscape holds the monastic architecture to show for it - churches and monasteries carved into cliffs and mountainsides across the country. Yerevan, one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities, anchors most trips. Here are 6 places worth building a trip around.
Top attractions
The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.
Tatev Monastery
A 9th-century monastery perched on a cliff edge, reached by the Wings of Tatev cable car - one of the longest reversible aerial tramways in the world, covering the gorge in under 15 minutes.
📍 Syunik Province
🚉 There is no railway south: marshrutkas from Yerevan reach Goris in four hours, then a taxi to Halidzor for the Wings of Tatev, the world's longest reversible cable car, which crosses the gorge in 12 minutes.
Lake Sevan
One of the largest high-altitude lakes in the world, at over 1,900 meters, with the Sevanavank Monastery on a small peninsula jutting into the water.
📍 Gegharkunik Province
🚉 Marshrutkas leave Yerevan's Northern bus station for Sevan town hourly, about an hour, with the peninsula and its monastery a 20-minute walk or short taxi from the stop.
Geghard Monastery
A UNESCO World Heritage monastery partially carved directly into an adjoining mountain, with chambers cut entirely from solid rock rather than built up from stone blocks.
📍 Kotayk Province, near Yerevan
🚉 There is no scheduled bus: shared taxis from Yerevan's Gai station or a hired driver cover the 40km, and Geghard is normally combined with Garni on the same trip.
Yerevan
Armenia's capital and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities, with the Cascade's outdoor staircase and modern art installations, and Mount Ararat visible on clear days across the border in Turkey.
📍 Yerevan
🚉 The city has a single short metro line - Republic Square and Yeritasardakan are the useful stops, and the Cascade, the Opera and the museums are all walkable from them.
Garni Temple
The only Greco-Roman colonnaded temple surviving in Armenia or the wider Caucasus region, rebuilt after being destroyed in a 17th-century earthquake.
📍 Kotayk Province, near Yerevan
🚉 Marshrutka 284 from Yerevan's Gai bus station runs to Garni village in about 45 minutes, leaving a 15-minute walk down to the Hellenistic temple above the gorge.
Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial
A memorial and museum in Yerevan documenting the Armenian Genocide of 1915, a sobering but historically significant stop central to understanding modern Armenian identity.
📍 Yerevan
🚉 The memorial stands on a hill west of the centre with no bus to the top - taxis take 10 minutes from Republic Square, and the walk up from the Kievyan bridge takes about 25.
Mark Armenia, get the stamp
In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.
Open MyPassportStoryPlanning questions
How many days do you need in Armenia?
4-5 days covers Yerevan, Geghard and Garni well. A week lets you add Tatev Monastery and Lake Sevan without rushing.
What's the best time to visit Armenia?
May-June and September-October have the most comfortable weather. Summer can be hot in Yerevan; winters are cold with skiing available in the surrounding mountains.
Is Armenia good for a first-time visit?
Yes - Yerevan is compact and walkable, and marshrutka (shared minivan) transport or a hired driver makes day trips to the monasteries and Lake Sevan straightforward.
Do I need a visa to visit Armenia?
Many nationalities, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the EU, can visit visa-free for short tourist stays; other nationalities need a visa arranged in advance. Check the official visa information for your nationality: mfa.am.
What are some things to do in Armenia on a tight budget?
Armenian food is inexpensive by European standards, walking Yerevan's Cascade and central squares costs nothing, and shared marshrutka minivans are a cheap way to reach Tatev or Lake Sevan compared to a private driver.
Can I rent a car in Armenia, and what licence do I need?
Yes, and it is the practical way to reach Tatev, Noravank and the southern monasteries, which marshrutkas serve slowly if at all. A foreign licence is accepted alongside an International Driving Permit; EU and Vienna Convention licences are recognised directly. Minimum age is usually 21 to 23 with a credit card. Mountain roads are narrow and the southern route to Tatev crosses high passes that close in winter, and the border road near Azerbaijan should be checked against current advice before you set out. Official information is published by the Road Police at police.am, with visitor guidance at armenia.travel.