Visit Nicosia

About Nicosia

Nicosia is one of the strangest capitals in Europe — the last divided city on the continent, split since 1974 between the Republic of Cyprus in the south and the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north, with a UN-controlled buffer zone running right through the middle. Crossing the Ledra Street checkpoint on foot (passport in hand, but it's a routine 5-minute formality for most travellers) takes you between two worlds: souvlaki and frappes on one side, baklava and Turkish coffee on the other. The walled Old Town, encircled by Venetian-built 16th-century star-shaped ramparts, is best explored slowly. On the southern side, Laiki Geitonia is the restored old quarter; the Cyprus Museum holds the country's best archaeology, the Byzantine Museum at Archbishop's Palace shelters extraordinary icons rescued from the north, and Phaneromeni Square is the cafe and nightlife heart. Cross north and the Selimiye Mosque — the Gothic cathedral of St Sophia, converted with two minarets after 1571 — anchors the old Turkish quarter, alongside the restored Buyuk Han caravanserai (16th-century) full of artisan workshops.