What to Pack for Yerevan

Essential for Yerevan's patchwork pavement, smooth marble one block, 19th-century cobbles the next. You'll rack up miles between Republic Square and the Cascade complex.

Summer in Yerevan sticks to your skin. Pack breathable, quick-dry basics. They also save the day when the apartment washing machine is temperamental.

Compresses puffy winter sweaters and summer linen into half the space, leaving room for the full seasonal wardrobe the city demands.

Sized for the books you'll pick up at Vernissage market and the handicrafts that follow you home from Garni Temple.

Armenia runs 220 V on European Type C and F plugs. Bring the adapter and you can top up anywhere, from hostel lobby to airport gate.

A single day, Matenadaran manuscripts, Northern Avenue espresso stops, sunset at the Cascade, will bleed your battery dry. Pack the backup.

Yerevan's charging points are plentiful. These cables survive being yanked in and out of café sockets and hostel dorm bunks.

Cancels the drone of the plane over the Caucasus and the 2 a.m. traffic hum outside your window on Pushkin Street.

Zvartnots security likes speed. Clear pouch, 100 ml bottles, you're through the scanner before the queue backs up.

For scraped knees on the Azat Gorge trail or the headache that follows too much Armenian wine in a Kond courtyard.

Solid bars don't leak at 30,000 ft and lather even when Soviet-era plumbing drops the pressure.

Slips under your shirt at the Vernissage or inside the metro, keeping passport and cards out of nimble fingers.

Click it through zippers before you check the bag at Zvartnots and again when you leave the hotel for dinner.

Refill at any fountain. Collapse when empty so you still have space for the apricot jam jar you couldn't resist.

Spring clouds burst without warning. This umbrella weighs 200 g and fits beside the wallet.

Steep, rocky paths to the Azat Reservoir and the basalt steps of Garni Temple are kinder with a stick in hand.