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Photo: Maria.hovsepyan, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Sculpture Park is a small green zone in the immediate North of the Opera. Sculptures from Botero and other artists of international fame decorate the park. The park is part of Cafesjian Museum - the Armenian version of Guggenheim. The main part of the museum is in the Cascades - an Art Deco version of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon stretching nearly the height of the Empire State Building. It's a massive white stairway up a hillside of central Yerevan, decorated with green stretches, fountains and waterfalls. Higher level of the Cascades give a spectacular view of Mount Ararat and panorama of central Yerevan with its hilariously multi-colour roofs. The first floor and the bookstore of the museum as well as the indoor escalators to the top of the Cascades are free of charge.
The Cascade is an architectural and monumental complex in Yerevan, Armenia, that consists of a multi-level staircase structure with terraces, fountains, sculptures, and exhibition halls. The complex connects the city center with the elevated areas of the Kanaker-Zeytun administrative district and is an important element of the urban planning axis established in the master plan of Yerevan by architect Alexander Tamanyan.
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(or - before 20:00 - take the escalators inside the art gallery, stepping outside at each level) one evening for the great views of the city and Mt. Ararat, then head across the street to the amusement park inside Victory Park for some cotton candy and a ride on the rickety Ferris wheel.
At the foot of the Cascade complex, which itself has many fountains, this sunken fountain with lots of seating is one of Yerevan's coolest spots to escape the heat of summer.
Cafesjian Centre for the Arts
A modern art museum, housing the collection of Gerard Cafesjian. It has Arshile Gorky, Andy Warhol, Marc Chagall and other big names on display. The collection is very rich in Glass Art, has many pieces of the Libenský-Brychtová couple, including specially made 'For Armenia' series. Special galleries display monumental tryptichons or reliefs focusing on Armenian history. Entry can be made at any level, but information desk, shop, study center and facilities are at the bottom. In front of the cascades, there is a sculpture park with some Boteros and other plastics.
The home of late composer Aram Khachaturyan (1903-1978) has been turned into a museum. Things like his manuscripts and piano are on display here, and the building also has a concert hall.
Yervand Kotchar Museum
Small museum dedicated to the eponymous sculptor and artist.
Cascade Memorial
Monument dedicated to the memory of the victims of Soviet-era murders and deportations, atop the Yerevan Cascade, next to the obelisk that commemorates 50 years of Soviet Armenia. The Cascade Memorial was designed by Jim Torosyan, Yerevan's chief architect between 1971 and 1981, and was constructed in the late 1980s and completed around 2008. Inside the large concrete structure, a memorial slab has the inscription of "To All Your Souls on Fire", from the "Frenzied Masses" poem by Yeghishe Charents who himself fell victim to the repressions in 1937. So far, this monument often has been neglected, but it connects to a major part of Armenia's recent history.