| Yerevan is the capital of Armenia. It is a very old city, but it has been scarred quite a bit by history. You will still find it the best place to start exploring Armenia, and there are many museums and parks in town. With Yerevan as your base you can easily visit Echmiadzin, the Holy See of the Armenian Church, the Hellenistic temple of Garni and Geghard monastery on daytrips.
Compared with the rest of the country, cultural life is great here. There is a wide choice of restaurants, hotels and bars and there are still quite a few good orchestras playing in Yerevan. People look very modern and while sipping an espresso in some of the hipper bars, you could think you were in San Francisco.
The most important sight in town is probably the Erebuni Fortress, which dates from the 8th century BC. It is from the same period as the fortress in Van in Eastern Turkey (see pictures in Photo Galery). You should also, check out Genocide Museum and Memorial, located in Tsitsernakaberd. Here you will find an amazing sport complex Hamalir. Zangu River, also known as Hrazdan is passing through Tsitsernakaberd and there are several good restaurants at its banks. One of the most popular is Parvana. Always full of tourists and locals. Music non-stop and the food is great. Nav, Monte Cristo and several other restaurants are located next to each other, if you have time check them out, they are beautiful.
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