Brandy, Wine and Manuscripts in Yerevan

October 30, 2026

Yerevan’s best activities are tastings, museum visits and market mornings in a compact centre, plus a few longer outings that need a whole day. Pay for the metro and buses with a contactless bank card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, a QR ticket or the transport card, because cash and tokens ended on 1 February 2025. A single ride is about 150 AMD.

Travel advice as of October 2026: the UK FCDO advises against all travel within 5 km of Armenia’s eastern border with Azerbaijan and along the M16/H26 road between Ijevan and Noyemberyan, and the US lists Armenia at Level 2. Yerevan lies outside those areas. Read the current notices on gov.uk and travel.state.gov , and stay on main roads if you leave the capital.

Brandy tours

The Yerevan Brandy Company (ARARAT) is at 2 Admiral Isakov Avenue and has produced brandy since 1887. Tours run by advance booking in English, Russian, French and German, and tasters must be 18 or older. Booking listings show roughly $30 to $70 per person depending on the tasting package, so confirm the price and the time for your language before you go.

The Noy Brandy-wine-vodka Factory Museum at Argisht Street 9 opens Monday to Friday 09:00 to 18:00 and Saturday 11:00 to 16:00. Entry without tasting is 3,000 AMD, and tasting tickets cost 5,000, 10,000 or 15,000 AMD depending on the age of the brandy. Children up to 9 enter free, under-18s cannot taste, and tours run in Armenian, English and Russian. The museum occupies a 19th-century administrative building from the Shustov era and opened in 2004.

Wine evenings on Saryan Street

In Vino, at 6 Martiros Saryan Street, was the first wine bar and shop on the street and is said to stock over 1,000 labels. Other bars line the same block, so walk it and pick one with a table free. Fridays and Saturdays fill early. Yerevan Wine Days are held in early June, and the Areni Wine Festival follows in early October.

Manuscripts and the Cascade

The Matenadaran, at 53 Mashtots Avenue, opens Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:50 and costs 2,000 AMD for adults. The Cascade and its sculpture garden are free, and the outdoor steps stay open at all times. The Cafesjian Center galleries inside are open Friday to Sunday 10:00 to 20:00. Read the official details on the Matenadaran tickets page and the Cafesjian Center site .

Vernissage market

Vernissage is an open-air crafts and souvenir market at Buzand and Aram streets near Republic Square. It is listed as open daily from about 10:00 to 18:00, but the full range of stalls appears only on Saturday and Sunday. Bargaining is normal, and you pay in cash AMD.

Wings of Tatev cable car

The Wings of Tatev cable car at Halidzor in Syunik is 5,752 m long and the ride takes about 12 minutes. It runs Tuesday to Sunday and closes on Mondays and in bad weather. From March to November a one-way ticket costs 6,500 AMD and a return costs 9,000 AMD. Tatev is a long drive from Yerevan, so most visitors sleep in Goris and use the main M2 road. See tatever.am for current hours.

Rafting on the Debed

The only commercial rafting is on the Debed River in Lori, about 3 hours from Yerevan. Rafting Armenia runs an 11 km trip of 1.5 to 2 hours for about 12,000 AMD per person, with a minimum age of 14. Details are at tumanyan.town/rafting . Plan it as a separate day or a stop on a northern loop, not as a half-day outing.

Staying cool

Late June to August often reaches 35 to 40 C. Keep walks out of the 12:00 to 16:00 window in summer and refill at the pulpulaks, the public drinking fountains found across the centre.

Compare tasting options: Yerevan brandy tastings on GetYourGuide .