GUM Market

GUM Market is a large covered food market at 35 Movses Khorenatsi Street in the Kentron district of Yerevan, Armenia, and one of the city's best places to see everyday local shopping. The market is housed in a Soviet-era hall and contains rows of stalls selling fruit and vegetables, fresh herbs, cheese, cured meats, honey, nuts, spices, pickles and bread. Armenia's seasonal produce is the main draw: apricots, peaches, grapes and pomegranates in summer and autumn, and dried fruit, fruit leather and walnuts in the colder months. Visitors can sample dried fruit and cheese at many stalls, buy lavash and other bread, and see how locals bargain and chat with sellers. Traders offer spices and herb blends for cooking, and jars of preserves and honey make useful gifts. A visit takes 45 minutes to an hour, which includes browsing, tasting and shopping. Trading hours are not published in the sources retrieved, but stalls generally run through the day, and the morning is the best time because produce is freshest and stalls are fully stocked. Midday and weekends are busier, and the hall can be crowded and warm in summer. Cash in Armenian dram is the main payment method, and visitors should carry small notes. The market is a ten to fifteen minute walk south of Republic Square. Visitors who wish to try local food can combine the market with a nearby cafe, and should ask before photographing individual sellers or stalls. Bargaining is mild compared with the Vernissage, and prices are usually quoted per kilogram.