A pedestrian boulevard cutting through central Yerevan from Abovyan Street to the Opera House, opened in 2007 after demolishing whole blocks of older buildings. Tamanian had drafted the avenue into his original master plan in 1924, but it took eight decades to materialise. The result is a glassy, slightly soulless stretch of luxury shops and cafes — but a useful spine for navigating the centre, and an active piece of street life on summer evenings.
Buskers, street painters, and occasional outdoor concerts make it more lively than its architecture suggests. Some of the city's best central restaurants and bars sit on the side streets running off it.