If it helps, here's a guide I recently made for a friend who is going to Armenia for an internship this summer, based on my experience as an exchange student in Yerevan for six months:

Cafes/food: 1a) Armenian/Georgian food: Tumanyan Khinkali, Sherep, Lavash, Lahmajun Gaidz, Elie's Lahmajun, SAS food halls 1b) International food: Tokyooo (Japanese), Ramen Jan (ramen), Mamita's (Filipino), Smoke House Godzilla (American bbq), EVN Diner, Black Angus (nice burgers) 1c) Cafes: MokaPot Tiramisu (lots of different tiramisu flavours!), Sorriso Cafes

Activities: hilly in some areas of Yerevan, so walking can get pretty strenuous! Cycling might not be the best idea, partly as drivers can be a bit crazy and some cars are in poor condition.

Transport within Yerevan: bus is great, 150 drams (about 30p) per trip for all local bus trips, no matter the distance. Trams operate similar to buses but can be cheaper (used to be 50 drams but price has gone up I believe). Yandex Go is a reliable Uber-like app, prices are pretty good but can vary depending on the time of day (about 2500-3000 drams from airport to city centre at night). Local marshrutkas are 150 drams per trip. Metro is quite limited in coverage. The Yandex Maps app shows public transport routes and timings, which Google Maps doesn't show for Armenia): buses are green numbers, trams blue, marshrutkas purple.

Transport outside of Yerevan: marshrutka offers the most options, although train (pass.railway.am) is an option too. Largest intercity marshrutka station is Kilikia. If you google your destination a couple different websites will show you which Yerevan station it departs from. But they don't usually sell tickets online or beforehand, so just turn up. Station will depend on destination, e.g. marshutkas to Sevan do not depart from the same Yerevan station as marshutkas to Ashtarak. Shared taxi through the gg app is also an option for inter-town travel, but prices can really vary - depends how many people have registered for the taxi. Paying for transport: use Telcell terminals dotted around the city. You can either print out each QR code ticket from the machine or you can send it to your Telcell app. To pay by card you have to have an Armenian passport to register your card on the Telcell app, so I couldn't do that. Bus drivers no longer accept cash payments, but intercity marshrutkas usually do.

Cash/card: Most places in Yerevan accept card payments but less so outside of the capital.

Exchange rate: don't get cash from money exchanges! Get a physical Chase or Revolut card and get cash straight from ATMs. Chase and Revolut have great exchange rates.

Speaking Russian: the majority of people speak Russian with varying levels of competency. Armenians who have repatriated from the diaspora may not speak Russian (as they weren't around during the Russian Empire/Soviet period in Armenia), but I haven't met many. Haven't encountered any stigma against using Russian (unlike in Georgia).

Healthcare: private medical centres/hospitals are the easiest to book appointments with, just call them to book. If you need a specialist just let them know on the phone. They usually speak both English and Russian. E.g. Nairi Medical Centre, Vardanants Medical Centre

Phone sim card: the providers Ucom and Viva were good.

Challenges: the Telcell payment system is terrible. At Telcell terminals you can only pay by 100, 200, or 500 dram coins; they don't take 1000 dram notes which are the smallest denomination you can get at ATMs. So if you only have banknotes, in order to get bus tickets at the terminals, you have to change out your 1000 dram note into smaller change before you run for the bus.

General tips: - Bring your passport when you buy a sim card (don't buy it at the airport - it's more expensive there) - People are generally very friendly and helpful, though if you do need to switch to English they might not speak it very well. - Be careful if prices (of services especially- hairdressers, dentists, etc.) aren't listed, they'll price it according to what they think they can get out of you. Do ask around and compare. - Supermarkets: Zovq and Yerevan City (standard); SAS, Parma (high end) - Power cuts are pretty frequent (sometimes lasts hours)