The oldest shoes and the oldest winery in the world have been discovered here. And despite the fact that the country is located in three climatic zones at once, most of the Yarmians live outside of it. Welcome to Armenia! From the article you will learn about the most popular souvenirs, the most famous shopping centers, the most popular bazaars, share and interesting facts. Let’s go!
- Top 5 tips for shopping in Armenia
- Sales in Armenia
- Clothes and shoes
- Leather goods
- Natural cosmetics
- National jewelry
- Traditional carpets
- Ceramic products
- Edible souvenirs
- What else can you bring from Armenia?
- Where to change money in Armenia?
- How does the Tax Free system work in Armenia?
Top 5 tips for shopping in Armenia
- In Armenia, pay attention to local supermarkets like “Yerevan City”, “Parma”, “Sas”, “Rock Four”, “Nor Zovq”, “Moskvichka Supermarket”, “Carrefour”, ‘Kaiser’, “Zambyugh market”, “Einar Supermarket” and other stores with food and non-food items. In “Parma” market there are more and more local Armenian products, in ‘Carrefour’ and “Moskvichka Supermarket” boutiques there are goods from European countries, and in “Yerevan City” network there are also familiar dumplings, pickles, pies, dairy products – a whole section is given to Russian products.
- It is unlikely that you will be able to get an additional discount in hypermarkets, but in bazaars and souvenir shops bargain – persistently and at the same time kindly. Imagine, some buyers are so lucky that their goods are twice as cheap. Can you do that?
- The working hours of Armenian markets are from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; on Saturdays and Sundays bazaars are closed after lunch: at 3:00-16:00 p.m. Traditionally, shopping centers and local supermarkets operate from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. The latter, by the way, most often work until late evening or around the clock.
- The national currency of Armenia is the Armenian Dram. You can change dollars and euros in Yerevan, Gyumri, Ijevan, Dilijan and Alaverdi at every corner. For example, in a bank, in exchange offices in stores or at train stations. In the text, the prices of goods will be indicated in Armenian currency.
- And now what concerns the bans on export of Armenian products. The prohibition lies, let’s say, on coins, precious stones, unfinished paintings, manuscripts and other undated (the term of limitation should not exceed 76 years) and cultural values and works of art. It will not be possible to take home wine and spirits in plastic containers. The tourist is also obliged to declare currency at the entry and exit if it exceeds 10 000 dollars, but local Armenian dramas are strictly prohibited to take out of Armenia and import into the country. It will be possible to bring into the country no more than 50 kilograms of luggage, the total cost of which should not exceed $ 1,700.
Sales in Armenia
And now about sales: Armenia looks towards Europe and smoothly passes to sales with two seasons of discounts. In winter, prices drop right after the New Year holidays, while the summer price drop can be felt from July through August. You will be able to buy shoes, clothes, cosmetics, perfumes and traditional carpets at a profit of up to 70 percent.
What can I buy in Armenia?
Earrings with obsidian, leather jacket, carved chess, a saber made of high quality copper, cream based on Caucasian herbs, churchkhela with cinnamon. And this is not the whole list of traditional souvenirs. There are also high-quality ceramics, expensive carpets, decent alcohol… But let’s talk about everything in order.
Clothes and shoes
In Armenia, stores not only hold sales in the European style, but also offer European clothing and shoe brands. Premium collections such as Tom Tailor, Kenzo, Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, Escada, Burberry, DKNY, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Dior are displayed in shopping centers. You can also find mass-market brands like Vero Moda, New Balance, Zara, Miss Sixty, Sasch, Bershka, Nike, H&M, Mango, United Colors of Benetton, Puma, Sisley, Trussardi, Adidas, Koton, Levi’s, Mexx, and New Yorker.
Most of these stores are located in Yerevan, in malls such as Dalma Garden Mall, Yerevan Mall, and Tashir Trade Center. Mass brands also appear in smaller cities, including Ijevan, Dilijan, and Gyumri. For example, jeans cost around 20,200 Armenian drams, a summer dress about 15,300 drams, sneakers 28,500 drams, and a pair of leather shoes 24,000 drams.
Armenia also has many local brands. The brand z.G.e.s.t. offers structured and deconstructed clothing that can transform shirts into dresses, pants into skirts, and jackets into trench coats. The youth brand Light Affect, founded by Levon Lalayan, amazes with unusual inscriptions, ambiguous drawings, and reimagined national patterns. Soncess designs dresses that let you look both elegant and playful at the same time, thanks to unbuttonable sleeves. Ara the Rat prints Mount Ararat, the Armenian alphabet, local soccer motifs, and the Blue Eye for protection on its sweatshirts.
The modern Armenian brand Ruzane adds a unique touch to every gray dress, using scents, bright spots, or asymmetric sleeves. Artuyt specializes in scarves, printing works of Armenian artists on polyester or silk scarves. You can wear them on your head, around your neck, hang them on the wall, or attach them to a bag—any creative use is welcome. Loom Weaving produces warm, soft knitted sweaters, while the brand Ariga To creates conceptual asymmetrical dresses.
If you want to look like a real Armenian mountaineer or a mountaineer’s wife, buy a national costume. These costumes cost about 50,000 drams, but they are colorful, beautiful, and richly ethnic. A man’s outfit includes an open caftan (Chuha), shirt, pants, sharovars, a belt decorated with coins, coarse leather Treh boots, and a cotton or fur skullcap (papakha). A woman’s costume includes a dress, sleeveless shirt, vest, apron, Posha headdress, warm Golpa socks, and Chmushk shoes with long curved toes.
You can find traditional attire in souvenir shops across Yerevan, Gyumri, Alaverdi, Ijevan, or Dilijan. For the best selection, visit the exhibition and sale of national costumes on Northern Avenue in Yerevan on July 11.
Leather goods
You can find shoes, jackets, raincoats, bags, rucksacks, barsets, purses, clutches, wallets, belts, and other accessories in Armenia. Armenian leather goods stand out for their quality and originality. The factory-shop Armos, located at 5 Northern Avenue in Yerevan, produces excellent items. Most of the shoes are handmade and meet high standards of quality and comfort.
Other notable stores include the Alex salon on 17 Kievyan Street, Pati Boutique on 2 Hakob Hakobyan Street, Ermenegildo Zegna gallery on 5 Northern Avenue, Castoria department store on 7 Komitas Avenue, and Boutique Fashion Armenia on 36 Pushkin Street. All of these boutiques are in Yerevan.
Local leather products are quite affordable. For example, a shopper costs around AMD 10,200, a clutch AMD 18,700, a reticule AMD 20,650, a backpack AMD 26,700, a bag AMD 34,100, and a valise AMD 55,550. Leather made from snakeskin or crocodile, however, carries a six-figure price tag.
Natural cosmetics
Armenian brands focus on healing herbs and flowers that grow in ecologically clean mountainous areas. We recommend taking a closer look at the Nazeli company. They use only natural ingredients: beeswax, pomegranate extract, salicylic acid, camphor, cocoa and avocado oil, and olive oil. In branded cosmetic boutiques, customers fill out a special questionnaire before buying. The questionnaire identifies their skin type. After consultation with a dermatologist, the staff gives personalized recommendations for choosing cosmetics. Prices start at AMD 12,000 per product.
The Nairian brand presents itself as “100% Armenian origin.” Ara and Anahit Markosyan revived the long-forgotten practice of herbal medicine. They combined traditional knowledge of phytotherapy with modern scientific methods to create their cosmetics. Nairian offers over 50 products, from soaps to anti-aging creams. Prices start at AMD 14,500 per product.
Aloe Lab is another popular brand gaining recognition in Armenia and abroad. In 2013, businessman Karapet Avagyan resumed aloe cultivation in the village of Gai, bringing seedlings directly from Iran. Today, Aloe Lab produces more than 40 skin care products. Prices start at AMD 7,000 per product.
Other options include shampoos, balms, shower gels, and soaps from RUSARM, and aromatic oils from Vaki Pharm. For example:
- Pomegranate seed oil smooths the first wrinkles — AMD 14,000 per 100 ml.
- Almond oil soothes rashes and inflammation — AMD 6,000 per 100 ml.
- Rose petal oil rejuvenates the skin — AMD 2,500 per 100 ml.
- Apricot oil warms the skin before anti-cellulite massage — AMD 2,000 per 100 ml.
- Raspberry oil fights unwanted cuticles — AMD 2,500 per 100 ml.
- Lemon oil stimulates new cell growth — AMD 5,700 per 100 ml.
- Wheat germ oil cares for dry skin and chapped lips — AMD 2,000 per 100 ml.
You can buy these cosmetics at the following stores:
In Yerevan
- Nairian Cosmetics, 18 Saryan Street
- Hermosa Cosmetics & Perfumes, 30 Hovhannes Tumanyan Street
- M.A. Cosmetics, 30 Hovhannes Tumanyan Street
- A.C. Cosmetics, Arshakunyats Avenue, 34/3
In Gyumri
- Bloom Perfume Gallery, 44 Maxim Gorky Street
- Just Grls, 3 Nikolay Ryzhkov Street
- Burmunk Perfumery Chain, 73 Maxim Gorky Street
In Dilijan
- LiuSi Art, 60 Myasnikyan Street
National jewelry
Armenia is famous for both gold and silver jewelry, especially pieces decorated with stones. Garnet symbolizes eternal friendship, endless love, passion, and orderliness. Hematite reduces anxiety, increases stress resistance, and improves sleep quality. Rock crystal cleans the air and neutralizes viruses and bacteria. Emerald helps with colds, and carborundum relieves phobias and depression. Obsidian has extremely powerful energy, making it useful for people who want to boost their activity. Even if you didn’t plan to buy jewelry with precious or semi-precious stones, you can see how useful these pieces are.
We recommend buying bracelets, rings, earrings, brooches, pendants, or beads framed in 925 gold or silver at the “World of Gold” salon. The store is located at 24 Movses Khorenatsi Street in Yerevan. They offer a huge selection of jewelry at reasonable prices. For example:
- A gold cross with diamonds costs AMD 80,000
- Silver earrings with garnet stones cost AMD 25,000
- A silver ring with malachite costs AMD 23,500
You will also appreciate these jewelry stores:
- Aldoro Jewellery Store, 21 Pushkin Street, Yerevan
- Multi Gold, Arinj village
- Boutique Tateossian, 48 Mashtots Avenue, Yerevan
- Bella Gold Jewellery, 9 Sayat Nova Street, Gyumri
- Jewelry Department Store, 1a Myasnikyan Street, Vanadzor
- Mina De Oro, Tumanyan Street 31, Yerevan
- Gold Market, 16 Aragats Street, Gyumri
- Almast Jewelry Boutique, 7 Paruyr Sevak Street, Gyumri
Armenians also love folklore items from the Pre Gomesh company. For example:
- Silver earrings with pearls cost AMD 45,000
- A wedding headdress decorated with precious coins costs AMD 500,000
- A silver ring with green onyx costs AMD 18,000
If you are not interested in precious metals, consider ordinary costume jewelry. A hairpin encrusted with coral or coral dust costs AMD 1,600.
Traditional carpets
A hand-woven Armenian carpet can make a very unusual and colorful gift. What do you think of that idea? Armenians would appreciate it because they see buying a carpet as both a great investment and a way to express status. In general, carpet weaving in Armenia is considered the oldest traditional art.
The assortment is impressive. You can find lint-free “Karpet,” small-pile “Lambalo,” bright and eye-catching “Shulaveri,” or carpets with vegetal and geometric ornaments called “Arhalo.” Carpets also vary in size and shape, from standard to unusual, and they can be woven by hand or by machine. Whatever model you choose, remember that carpets use only natural materials and dyes. This ensures that over time, the colors will not fade.
Where can you buy one? Visit the “Megerian Carpet” factory at 9 Madoyan Street in Yerevan. Here, you can take a fascinating tour, learn about the centuries-old history of carpet weaving, and watch masters at work. You will see the results of their painstaking labor. The factory tour is free, but you can also join a master class. After the class, you will receive your own miniature carpet sample for AMD 5,000. It is definitely worth it!
At the factory, you can buy rare masterpieces or simpler variants. Prices start from AMD 240,000. Another option is the “Tufenkian Carpets” salon at 48 Anrapetutyan Street, Yerevan, where you can order a carpet according to your individual sketch. At the local market “Vernisage” in Yerevan, machine-made carpets start at AMD 25,000, while hand-woven carpets start from AMD 75,000.
Ceramic products
Armenian ceramics are also affordable. Making ceramic products from red clay, coating them with glaze, and decorating them with ethnic patterns is a traditional craft of the local people.
It may be hard and expensive to take home a full set of dishes. However, you can easily buy a spice set, a small box, a frame, a statuette, a candy holder, an ashtray, a saucepan, or a jug. These make successful and practical purchases.
You do not need to go far to find ceramic products. Visit the “Craftsmen’s Tsaghkadzor Restaurant House” workshop-restaurant at 22 Tandzahburi Street in Tsaghkadzor. In Yerevan, check out the “Tortini Armenia” tableware store at 54 Komitas Avenue. In Kapan, visit the ‘Kamilla’ ceramic boutique at 3 Aram Manukyan Street. Or go straight to the “Spitak Ceramics” gift and souvenir store at 22 Yeznik Kohbatsi Street, Yerevan. This shop is unusual and heartwarming. All the proceeds from sales support the school whose students produce these beautiful items.
For example, you can buy a jug with pomegranate ornaments for 18,000 Armenian drams, a salt shaker for 2,500 Armenian drams, or a 9×12 photo frame for 3,000 Armenian drams.
Edible souvenirs
This is probably the most popular item because it showcases Armenia’s best goods.
We recommend buying all edible products at local markets, for example, at the Central Market in Yerevan. If you prefer supermarkets, go to “Moskvichka Supermarket,” “Yerevan City,” “Parma,” “Sas,” “Carrefour,” “Zambyugh Market,” ‘Kaiser,’ “RockFour,” or others.
What does the Caucasus smell like? It smells of hospitality and saffron! You will also notice fragrant pepper, tarragon, chaman, cress, rosemary, alayza, mint, cilantro, okra, cumin, chaber, cherry, cinnamon, and dozens of other herbs. You can buy a bag of spices at a roadside shop for 700 Armenian drams (151 rubles).
Armenians add spices to Zizhik cheese, which is made from sour-milk matsun. You can taste white wine and honey in the brine cheese from cow’s milk, called “Chanakh.” The delicate “Lori” cheese comes from buffalo milk. Cheese costs between AMD 2,500 and 4,500 per kilogram.
The crown meat delicacy is “Basturma,” aromatic dried beef (sometimes horse) seasoned with spices. Armenians serve beef sausages with mountain spices called “Sujuk,” always accompanied by pomegranate sauce “Narsharab” and traditional Armenian brandy.
Armenia grows grapes, persimmons, peaches, apricots, plums, kiwi, and apples. The most important fruit is the pomegranate, called “Nur” in Armenian. It symbolizes freedom, fertility, prosperity, and the sun. The average price of a pomegranate is 1,700 Armenian drams, depending on the variety.
Now, let’s talk about sweets. Start with Armenian chocolate: the elite brand “Arcolad,” the creative “Gourme Dourme,” and the popular candies “Grand Candy” with dried fruits and nuts. A chocolate bar costs AMD 700. One hundred grams of sweets, for example truffle with apricot flavor, dark chocolate with rose petals, or chocolate-covered dates, costs AMD 2,200.
We also recommend Armenian jams: quince, plum, dogwood, eggplant, pumpkin, fig, rose petals, white mulberry, and walnut. Try local honey from “B’Arev Honey,” produced above 2,000 meters on ecologically clean meadows and glades. This brand offers unique flavors such as whipped honey with apricot, cinnamon honey, mint honey, mulberry honey, and more. You can buy these products in Yerevan at cafes “Say Cheese” and “Tea Art,” in the ‘Sharan’ store in Dilijan, or at the “Tatevatun” restaurant near Tatev Monastery. A jar of honey costs AMD 2,200.
Don’t miss churchkhela, dried fruits, sugar pears and peaches, or dried melons. Armenians also advise tourists to try the famous puff pastry “Gata.” It has a crumbly outside and a soft inside. Every September, masters prepare gata at a festival in Khayik village, Vayotsdzor region, sometimes breaking records worthy of the Guinness Book.
Armenia has rich flora, with about 4,000 plant species, 120 of which grow only here. Every Armenian tea is special, useful, and exclusive. The most popular teas include mint, thyme, raspberry leaves, and plum. Gourmets also appreciate Armenian coffee. The “Royal Armenia” variety costs AMD 4,000 and is considered especially delicious.
What else can you bring from Armenia?
An original souvenir for a real man can be a cold weapon – a dirk, a dagger or a saber. Daggers and sabers here are made of a special alloy of metals, which is characterized by durability, and also each object delights with its artistic design. No matter how beautiful and practical the gift is, remember that it is a weapon. That means it will need to be declared and checked in your luggage.
Bring home something wooden, Armenian craftsmen are proud of such handicrafts. It can be a bottle holder, a picture frame, statuettes, jugs, vases, cutting boards, plates, combs, beads or earrings. Wooden models of churches and cultural monuments will be a great gift. All products are handmade and affordable. The minimum price of a wooden handicraft is 500 Armenian drams.
Don’t forget to bring a magnet or a key chain from Armenia to your friends, relatives and yourself. This accessory can depict one of the sights of the city. For example, Khor Virap Monastery, Geghard Monastery, Erebuni Fortress, Jermuk Waterfall, Noravank Monastery, Yerevan Opera and Ballet Theater, Zvartnots Temple, Sardarapat Ethnographic Museum, Sergey Parajanov Museum, Arno Babajanyan Monument, Karahunj Megalithic Complex, Goshavank Monastery, St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral or the Grand Cascade.
Where to change money in Armenia?
Bring European euros or American dollars to Armenia and exchange them for Armenian drams without any problems – it will be more profitable than with other currencies.
As for the exchange, the easiest way is to withdraw cash from an ATM. Such terminals work without breaks and weekends, and besides, they are located in tourist areas. For example, in Yerevan ATMs are concentrated on Republic Square, in Gyumri – on Abovyan Street, in Dilijan – on Sharambeyan Street, and in Ijevan – on Central Square. ATMs usually charge about two percent for cash withdrawals. You can also pay for purchases with your Visa or Mastercard, but not everywhere.
A fairly favorable option is local banks. Look for institutions named “Akba Bank”, “VTB Armenia”, “Ararat Bank”, ‘Rosselkhozbank’, “Byblos Bank Armenia”, “Prometheus Bank” or any other bank. Local institutions work Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. At the bank you will be asked for your passport, so don’t forget to bring your document with you.
What about the services of exchangers? They are standard and with bill acceptors. You can also find them in tourist areas, in large supermarkets, in restaurants, near markets, in shopping centers, in hotels or in entertainment malls. There are even ATMs that dispense drams in exchange for cryptocurrency.
How does the Tax Free system work in Armenia?
The “Tax Free” system in Armenia appeared relatively recently in 2015. Any foreign traveler can get back some money from purchases at 16.67% interest. Tourists whose stay does not exceed three months in the country can participate in the program. And 90 days are given for the tax refund.
What does it take? First, find a boutique with a signboard “Tax Free”, then buy something in it for the amount of at least 50,000 Armenian drams, then – fill out a form with the name and surname, place of temporary residence in Armenia, country of real residence, number of foreign passport, the amount and date of purchase and the amount of refund. And already in stores where there is a “Tax Free” counter, as well as in branches of “Zvartnots” and “Shirak” banks, for example, at the airport of Yerevan or Gyumri, you will have to show the receipt, unpacked purchases and the form – after the successful check the money will be credited to your account. By the way, cigarettes, medicines, foodstuffs, and some cultural valuables are not subject to VAT.