A paradise for contemporary art lovers.
Yerevan Cascade is definitely my favourite place in the Armenian capital.
At a walkable distance from Republic Square, at the end of Tamanyan Street, Cascade is actually a huge stairway, 120 meters high, made of five levels, each one with a plateau, hosting many beautiful contemporary art sculptures.
It was built in the seventies but only recently it has been turned into an open air art gallery. Many famous artists are represented here by their works and I can mention, among them, Botero with two obviously fat sculptures at the bottom of the stairs: a smoking woman and an iconic cat. Talking about icons, there is also one of the “Love” of Robert Indiana. Spanish Jaume Plensa has his poets here but only two of them (I saw seven in Andorra la Vella and many more in Place Massena in Nice). However, my favourite one is the artwork of David Martins with three divers ready to jump over the town.
The stairway itself is a piece of art, with a lot of little pools, tiny water jets and geometric decorations. In a sunny day, as I had the luck to get when I’ve visited it in 2013, the Cascade, with its white stones, really seems to shine.
The view of the town that can be enjoyed from the top makes the visit worthwhile also for those are not eager of artistic stuff but certainly for lovers of Contemporary art is an astounding location.
Next to the stairs there is another art gallery hosting more artworks but personally I enjoyed much more the open-air one.
If you are in Yerevan, not miss the Cascade and, if you still have some doubts I hope my gallery, below, would make them vanish.
