UNLESS YOU CLAIM ARMENIAN ANCESTRY, have a fascination with Eastern Orthodoxy or, like us, are running short of new countries to visit, there is little to recommend Armenia. There’s nothing wrong with Yerevan per se, but like, say Dayton or Tulsa, there isn’t much there there.
A breath of fresh air
Things center on Republic Square with its luxury hotels like Marriott and Hyatt. The square is actually more of a circle with shaded parks and upscale pedestrian malls radiating off like spokes on a wheel. Our haunt, Europe Hotel, only a few hundred meters away and a fraction of the cost, is convenient to a supermarket and restaurants including — ta da! — Pizza Hut. The staff is helpful, breakfast is tasty, wifi is fast and we get both BBC and CNN.
Republic Square Opera House
It was searingly hot in the sun, a bit cooler under the trees, as we explored a bit, from City Hall to the Opera House. Yerevan lacks the historic charm of Tbilisi, the ambiance of Baku and the energy of Kiev. But we would never have know if we hadn’t visited.
