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Yerevan Walking Tour – Matenadaran, Genocide Memorial & Vernissage Market

Excellent
Duration

5-6 hours

Tour Type

Daily Tour

Group size: 1-3 people (same price)

Languages

Armenian, English, Russian

Overview

This Yerevan walking tour with Matenadaran, Genocide Museum & Vernissage takes you through key cultural and historical sites of Armenia’s capital. The tour usually lasts 5 to 6 hours and includes visits to two museums.

Highlights of the Yerevan Walking Tour.

1. The first stop is Matenadaran, a museum of ancient manuscripts, which houses over 23,000 manuscripts and approximately 500,000 archival documents. These manuscripts date back from the 5th century up to the 19th century.

2. The next stop is the Armenian Genocide Museum, built in 1969. First, you will visit the memorial complex of Tsitsernakaberd, where the eternal flame is dedicated to the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide. Surrounding the flame are twelve stele structures that symbolize the provinces where the genocide took place. Next to it is the Resurrection Monument: a stele divided into two parts – the larger part represents Western Armenia, which was lost, and the smaller part represents present-day Armenia.

3. The next stop is Vernissage, an open-air bazaar offering handcrafted souvenirs, silver, carpets, and more.

4. Afterward, the tour continues with a walking tour that includes the Cascade, Opera and Ballet House, and Republic Square – all built according to the plan of the general architect of Armenia, Alexander Tamanyan. 

All private tours can be changed upon request.

Why Choose This Walking Tour?

This walking tour lets you explore Yerevan’s main cultural landmarks, including Matenadaran, the Genocide Museum and Vernissage, all in one easy route.

 


Yerevan Walking Tour – Matenadaran, Genocide Memorial & Vernissage Market

Matenadaran

 


Matenadaran Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts building on Mashtots Avenue Yerevan

Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Museum

 


Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial eternal flame with 12 basalt slabs at dusk Yerevan Armenia

Vernissage Market

 

Highlights

  • ✔ Free cancellation
  • ✔ 24/7 support
  • ✔ Best price guarantee
  • ✔ Instant confirmation

Itinerary

10:00 Pick up at the hotel

Your private guide meets you at your hotel in Yerevan for a walking and driving tour of the city's most historically significant sites.

10:30 Matenadaran

Begin at the Matenadaran - the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts - one of the world's most important repositories of medieval written culture. The collection holds over 23,000 handwritten manuscripts and 100,000 archival documents, including illuminated Armenian gospels of extraordinary beauty dating back to the 5th century, as well as rare texts in Arabic, Persian, Georgian, Latin and Ethiopian. Many of these works survive nowhere else on earth. Your guide will explain the significance of Mesrop Mashtots - the 5th-century scholar who invented the Armenian alphabet - and the role this institution plays in preserving Armenian identity.

12:00 Armenian Genocide Memorial - Tsitsernakaberd

Drive to Tsitsernakaberd Hill - the Fortress of Swallows - and visit Armenia's official memorial to the 1.5 million Armenians killed in the 1915 genocide. The eternal flame burns at the center of 12 basalt slabs leaning inward, surrounded by a park where a tree has been planted for each commemorated community. The adjacent Armenian Genocide Museum tells the full story through photographs, documents, eyewitness testimonies and archival film. This is one of the most important and moving sites in Armenia, essential for understanding modern Armenian identity. Free entrance. Open Tuesday to Sunday.

14:00 Lunch break

Optional lunch at a local restaurant recommended by your guide in central Yerevan.

15:00 Vernissage Open-Air Market

Finish at Yerevan's famous Vernissage market - an open-air bazaar in the heart of the city where local artists, craftspeople and antique dealers have gathered every weekend for generations. Handmade jewelry, traditional carpets, painted miniatures, carved wooden objects, Soviet-era curiosities and authentic Armenian souvenirs. The best place in Armenia to find something genuinely made by hand and to understand the living craft traditions of the city.

16:30 End of tour

Included/Excluded

  • Professional driver
  • Professional tour guide services
  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • Free pick-up and drop-off in Yerevan
  • Additional stops during the tour upon request
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Wi-Fi in the vehicle

Tour's Location

Reviews

4.9/5
Excellent
Based on 3 reviews
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Sergey
09/13/2025

noisy Yerevan

This city has become really noisy. I love Yerevan, I truly do, but oh my God — compared to our last visit six or seven years ago, it feels much louder. And the traffic… it’s definitely better to stay in the city center and walk everywhere, because driving is just awful. But I really appreciated the way Happy Holidays organized everything for us — they knew exactly what time was best to leave, so we could avoid the worst of the traffic. I highly recommend taking private tours, so you can fully enjoy your trip.
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Michael
09/13/2025
Our guide was so funny, and we really enjoyed the city through his stories and legends. We had so much fun! Of course, after visiting the Genocide Museum we felt a bit sad — it’s heartbreaking to see the pictures and hear about everything the Armenian people went through. But later we visited the Matenadaran and Vernissage Market, which really cheered us up. Vernissage was especially great for shopping for unique Armenian crafts and antiques. I enjoyed it very much!
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Алеся
09/13/2025

Must visit

Всем любителям истории. Конечно, всегда тяжело смотреть на мемориалы, связанные с геноцидом, Холокостом и подобными трагедиями. Но если вы хотите по-настоящему понять этот город, обязательно посетите Музей геноцида армян и Матенадаран — там хранится самая маленькая книга в мире. Меня особенно впечатлил Матенадаран, а в музее я даже прослезилась. Всё-таки я очень рекомендую такой тур.
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