Yerevan runs cheap without trying: 100-dram metro rides, shawarma that costs less than a coffee, and whole hillsides of parks, churches and viewpoints that charge nothing. Three days here work out at roughly 8,000 AMD a day, food included.
Yerevan's oldest surviving neighbourhood sits on a tuff outcrop above Saryan Street: crooked lanes, 19th-century stone houses, carved doorways and large murals painted straight onto crumbling walls. No gates, no ticket, residents still living there.
The only working mosque in Armenia, built in 1765 under Persian rule and restored with Iranian funding in the 1990s. Turquoise-tiled dome, 24 arched niches and a rose-garden courtyard that stays cool at midday. Open 10:00–13:00 and 15:00–18:00.
Consecrated in 2001 for the 1,700th anniversary of Armenian Christianity, this is the largest Armenian Apostolic church in the world, seating 1,700 under a bare concrete dome. Relics of St Gregory rest in the side chapel. Daily 07:00–20:00.
A Soviet hilltop park reached by free stairs from Azatutyan Avenue, crowned by the 51 m Mother Armenia statue standing on the plinth that once held Stalin. Rusting fairground rides, parked tanks and the widest no-cost panorama in the city.
The covered produce hall on Movses Khorenatsi Street: mountains of dried apricots, walnut sujukh strings, spiced basturma, mulberry vodka and barrel pickles. Vendors push free samples relentlessly, so you can graze a full breakfast while walking.
A permanently queued counter on Tumanyan Street wrapping pork or chicken in lavash with pickles, herbs and fries tucked inside. The small size defeats most people at around 1,200 AMD, and the grill runs from late morning past midnight.
Weekend market sprawling across several blocks behind Republic Square: khachkar carvings, Soviet cameras and medals, duduks, obsidian jewellery, hand-knitted socks and secondhand books. Browsing costs nothing and Saturday has the fullest stalls.
A homegrown chain serving Armenian home cooking at canteen prices: khashlama, tolma in grape leaves, ghapama, lavash-wrapped grills and hot jingalov hats, most plates landing between 1,200 and 2,600 AMD with bread and herbs brought free.
Urartian king Argishti I founded Yerevan on this hill in 782 BC. Basalt citadel walls, the temple of Khaldi and frescoed palace rooms sit above a small museum of cuneiform tablets and bronze finds. Ticket 1,000 AMD, closed Mondays.
The banned filmmaker's house on the lip of the Hrazdan Gorge, packed with collages, dolls and assemblages he built from junk and foil while imprisoned, plus his own furniture moved from Tbilisi. Entry 1,000 AMD, students 300, open 10:30–17:00.
Basalt cliff-front institute on upper Mashtots Avenue holding over 17,000 Armenian manuscripts. On display: illuminated gospels, medieval medical treatises and a church calendar weighing a few grams. Entry 2,000 AMD, students 500, closed Sun–Mon.
The 1945 Haghtanak Bridge arcs high across the Hrazdan Gorge below the brandy factories. Walk out at dusk for the sheer tuff cliffs, the green riverbed far underneath and Ararat's twin cones lining up straight down the valley. Open at all hours.