Armenia

Yerevan

Away-day guide

unverified draft

Yerevan is a pink-tuff city of café terraces, cheap brandy and very cheap taxis, built around one enormous square with Mount Ararat sitting on the skyline behind it. Crowds at Armenian club games are small and tickets are a couple of quid, so this is an away trip about the city rather than the football.

🚺 To Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium

The national stadium sits just outside the city centre — around half an hour on foot from Republic Square, or a taxi of 700–1,200 AMD that takes ten minutes. Given the July heat and the late kick-offs, most people take the taxi out and walk back.

Walk from centre: 30 min
Parking: Street parking around the ground is free and rarely full for club matches.

🚺 To Alashkert Stadium

Important: this Yerevan ground is now called Nairi Stadium, and FC Alashkert’s tenancy reportedly ended in 2024. Check the venue on your ticket before travelling; the club’s current stadium is in Armavir. For the former Alashkert Stadium at 2 Bagratunyats Street, take the Yerevan Metro from Republic Square southbound to Garegin Nzhdeh Square, five stops with no change. Leave towards Bagratunyats Avenue, walk northwest along Bagratunyats, then turn west towards the stadium beside Yerevan Lake. Allow 12–15 minutes from the metro; redevelopment may affect the available entrance.

Nearest stop: Alashkert Stadium – B; nearest metro station: Garegin Nzhdeh Square
Lines: Bus 15 serves Alashkert Stadium – B. Garegin Nzhdeh Square is served by the main Yerevan Metro line.
Walk from centre: 60 min
Parking: Do not rely on parking at the stadium: there is no current official guidance for general supporter parking, and redevelopment may restrict access. Confirm arrangements with the match organiser or use public transport.

Public transport

Metro · Yerevan Metro (Karen Demirchyan Line) Bus · Yerevan city buses

Almost everything a visitor wants is inside a 25-minute walk of Republic Square, so you will walk more than you ride. The single metro line is clean, cheap and fast but only really useful north–south; the bus network was overhauled with a modern fleet and covers the rest. A ride is around 100 AMD — a matter of pence — paid by card or in cash. In practice most visitors use the GG or Yandex Go apps: a taxi across the centre is 700–1,200 AMD, so it is barely worth waiting for a bus. Marshrutka minibuses still run some routes but are being retired.

Typical prices

Beer (0.5L): AMD 900
Coffee: AMD 800
Meal, mid-range: AMD 6,000
Taxi from airport: AMD 4,000
Single transit ticket: AMD 100

✈ Airports & cheaper alternatives

Zvartnots International Airport EVN primary 12 km The airport bus (route 201) runs to the centre for the standard city fare, taking 30–40 minutes. A GG or Yandex Go taxi is 3,000–5,000 AMD and about 20 minutes; the drivers waiting at the terminal door will ask for far more. Wizz Air's Armenian base and the only realistic airport for the city. Flights from the UK are usually via a hub or on a night schedule.

🍺 Supporters' pubs

Pyunik FC

Home fans: Armenian club football draws small, family crowds and there is no pub culture around it — supporters meet at the ground rather than in a bar beforehand. The nearest thing to a pre-match scene is the café terraces in the centre.

Away fans: The whole of central Yerevan is neutral ground: Saryan Street for wine, Tumanyan and Pushkin for beer, all a short taxi from the stadium.

The most successful club in Armenian history and the usual champions. Home European ties are at the Republican Stadium.

FC Ararat-Armenia

Home fans: As with Pyunik, no established pub scene — the support is small and gathers at the ground.

Away fans: Drink in the centre before kick-off; a taxi to the stadium is a few hundred dram and takes minutes.

League champions in recent seasons and regulars in qualifying, also playing home ties at the Republican Stadium.

Sourced from supporters' forums — always follow your club's and police advice for the fixture.

Nightlife

Saryan Street is the wine street — In Vino and Wine Republic started it and the whole block is now terraces serving Armenian wine by the glass until late. Around the corner, the bars on Tumanyan and Pushkin are busy and cheap; the Mirzoyan Library courtyard is a lovely spot for a beer among photography books, and Calumet is the long-standing backpacker-and-locals bar. The Cascade steps are where everyone ends up on a warm evening. Nothing is expensive and nothing starts early.

Food & drink

Khorovats — Armenian barbecue — is the national dish and comes with lavash bread baked in a clay oven, herbs and pickles. Try dolma, harissa (a slow-cooked wheat and chicken porridge), and spas, a warm yoghurt soup. Fruit here is exceptional in summer: apricots, peaches and pomegranates from the Gum market. Drink Kilikia or Gyumri beer, Armenian wine (increasingly good), and at least one glass of Ararat brandy — the thing the country is famous for, and much better value bought here than at duty free.

Cheap eats & beer

Shawarma is the local street food and Yerevan takes it seriously — the Tumanyan Shaurma joints are the cheap, busy standard at around 1,200–1,500 AMD. Bakeries sell lahmajun and cheese-filled lavash for a few hundred dram, and the Gum market is the place to graze on dried fruit and cheese for nothing. A half-litre of local beer in a bar is 700–1,000 AMD and a bottle from a shop half that; house wine by the glass starts around 1,200 AMD. A big khorovats spread with drinks for two rarely tops 12,000 AMD.

Staying safe

Yerevan has very low street crime and is comfortable to walk around at night. The real hazards are traffic — drivers treat crossings as decorative — and uneven pavements. Take a taxi through the GG or Yandex Go apps rather than flagging one down, so the fare is fixed. Carry some cash: cards are fine in the centre but not in markets or on the older buses. Armenia is a conservative country outside the bar streets; loud drunken behaviour will not go down well, and the region's politics are best not debated in bars.

On matchday

Both Yerevan clubs in Europe this season play at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, the national ground on the edge of the centre. Crowds for qualifiers are usually a few thousand at most, tickets are cheap and available on the day, and there is no segregation drama — visiting fans are a novelty and are treated as such. Note that FC Noah, the third Armenian side in Europe, stage home ties out at Abovyan, half an hour north-east of the city, so check the venue before you travel. Kick-offs are late because of the heat, and the stadium sells little more than water and soft drinks inside.

This city guide is still being fact-checked — some details may be inaccurate.

← Back to all cities