"Երևան" a Yerevan Travel Page by kr_en

All (or most) other Armenian towns are rather depressing and look like big villages. But Yerevan is different. Although at least 3 millenia old (ruins of Erebuni fortress from the 8th century BC are well preserved) it wasn't particularly important all until 1918 when it suddenly became the capital of the First Armenian Republic and later the capital of the Armenian SSR. In 20's of the 20th century Alexandr Tamanyan (the man from 500 dr. bank notes) was allowed to completely redesign the downtown which got the Republic Square (former Lenin Square) with majestic buildings around, wide avenues and a belt of green parks.
The population quickly jumped from 50,000 to over 1e+6 (so every third Armenian lives here) and typical socialist suburbs extended far beyond hills around the downtown.
Compared to other towns it looks quite modern and pleasant. Due to lack of infrastructure elsewhere you'll have to spend most of nights here.The only minus was midsummer VERY hot weather and very polluted "air" (if it deserves this name) as a consequence of way too many cars. So trips to other Armenian places during the day is a good and refreshing idea.