The heart of Yerevan, designed by architect Alexander Tamanian in the 1920s as the centrepiece of his new capital. The pink and yellow tufa facades of the Government Building, the History Museum, and the National Gallery curve around an oval plaza, all detailed with Armenian carved motifs grafted onto otherwise Stalinist neoclassical shells. It is one of the more coherent set-piece squares in the former Soviet Union.
In summer the central fountain runs a nightly water-and-light show set to classical and pop music. In winter the square fills with a Christmas market and an ice rink. Either way, it is the natural starting point for a walk around the city.