Two churches in Vagharshapat. Saint Hripsime Church has 3 tickets and tours to book; Zvartnots Cathedral has 1 ticket or tour to book. The table and the two notes below put them side by side; the full pages have what to see, the ticket and the timing for each.
Saint Hripsime Church stands on the eastern edge of Vagharshapat, the town of Etchmiadzin, about twenty kilometres west of Yerevan, and entry is free. It is one of the oldest surviving churches in Armenia and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Etchmiadzin and Zvartnots, and it is usually the first church visitors see when arriving from Yerevan. Tours to Etchmiadzin combine Saint Hripsime with the cathedral, Saint Gayane and the ruins of Zvartnots in a half day, sometimes adding the Sardarapat memorial.
The ruins of Zvartnots Cathedral stand in open fields on the edge of the town of Vagharshapat, also known as Etchmiadzin, about fifteen kilometres west of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, beside the main road to Etchmiadzin and near Zvartnots International Airport, and a ticket is required, including the small site museum. The ruins are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots, and they are among the most important monuments of early Armenian architecture.
