Nicosia is the last divided capital city in the world — the UN-administered Green Line runs through the city centre, separating the Republic of Cyprus (EU member) from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognised only by Turkey) since 1974 when Turkey invaded following a Greek-backed coup. The division is visible physically: the Ledra Street pedestrian crossing where Republic of Cyprus passport holders and tourists cross into the north is one of the most surreal borders in the world, a matter of a few hundred metres but representing a geopolitical reality so frozen that the old Nicosia Airport (abandoned in 1974) still has luggage on the carousels. The entire old city is encircled by the remarkably intact 16th-century Venetian walls (11 bastions built 1567–1570 and so sophisticated they were never breached by the Ottomans — it was the heat and disease that defeated the defenders). Nicosia rewards slow exploration: the Cyprus Museum with the Bronze Age Ayia Irini terracotta figurine collection (2,000 votive figures in one room), the Büyük Han (Great Inn, 1572) on the northern side, the Archbishop's Palace with its enormous Makarios III effigy, and the street food of Laiki Geitonia (traditional craftsmen's quarter) with halloumi sandwiches, loukoumades and commandaria wine (the world's oldest documented wine, produced in Cyprus since 800 BCE).
The 1567–1570 Venetian defensive walls (11 heart-shaped bastions, 5 km circumference) are among the best-preserved Renaissance fortifications in the Mediterranean — the walls encircle the entire old city on both sides of the Green Line; the D'Avila Bastion near the old mosque is particularly photogenic.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe pedestrian crossing at the Ledra Street checkpoint is the most accessible entry point to northern Nicosia — passport control is quick for EU/Western passport holders; crossing into the north feels like stepping back into a different, quieter city that stopped in time.
The Ottoman caravanserai (1572) with its central mosque on a raised platform and surrounding two-storey stone rooms is the finest Ottoman building on the island — now an arts and crafts centre with cafés; the Selimiye Mosque (the converted Lusignan Cathedral of Saint Sophia, 1326) is 100 m away.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe finest archaeological museum in Cyprus holds the 2,000 Ayia Irini terracotta votive figurines (750–500 BCE) arranged exactly as found in the sanctuary in 1929 — the Bronze Age collection includes the Aphrodite of Soli and 6,000-year-old Chalcolithic figurines.
The restored craftsmen's quarter of Laiki Geitonia serves Cypriot meze (mezedes): grilled halloumi, taramosalata, kleftiko slow-roasted lamb, koupes (bulgur wheat torpedo with minced meat), with commandaria dessert wine (the world's oldest documented wine appellation since 800 BCE).
The Archbishopric complex in the south includes the 1960 Byzantine Museum with the world's largest collection of Byzantine icons (150 icons, 6th–18th centuries) and the controversial giant bronze effigy of Archbishop Makarios III (the first president of Cyprus) that dominates the courtyard.
The Troodos Mountains (1 hr from Nicosia) contain 10 UNESCO-listed Byzantine painted churches (11th–16th centuries) with extraordinary frescoes preserved in mountain villages — Asinou Church (1105) has the most spectacular interior; Kakopetria village for lunch.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Commandaria wine region in the Troodos foothills produces Cyprus's most celebrated wine (documented since 800 BCE, drunk by crusaders and at the marriage of Richard the Lionheart) — village wineries offer tastings with mezedes; the Keo and Loel wineries near Limassol are more accessible.
The main square of north Nicosia with the Venetian Column of Venice (brought from Salamis in 1489) has an atmospheric evening scene of northern Cypriot cafés, with Turkish tea (çay) and baklava in settings that feel genuinely Turkish but speak a different Cypriot Turkish dialect.
The ruins of ancient Salamis (founded 1100 BCE, the largest city on Roman Cyprus) stretch across 4 km of coastline — the 50,000-seat gymnasium with its standing marble columns, the theatre, the Roman forum and the Byzantine basilica are exceptional; the site is in northern Cyprus and admission is minimal.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Venetian-walled city of Famagusta has the Church of St Nicholas (1326, now the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque), the Othello Tower (Shakespeare set Othello here) and the ghost resort of Varosha (sealed since 1974, partially reopening) just south — one of the most haunted urban landscapes in the Mediterranean.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe harbour castle (rebuilt by Venetians in 1540) holds the Kyrenia Shipwreck — the oldest sailing vessel ever recovered (4th century BCE), found intact on the seabed in 1967 with 400 amphorae of wine still aboard; the mountain backdrop of the Pentadaktylos range above the harbour is breathtaking.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe crescent-shaped Venetian harbour of Kyrenia (one of the most photographed in Cyprus) has waterfront seafood restaurants with fresh octopus, calamari and red snapper — the hillside St Hilarion Castle (partially used in Disney's Sleeping Beauty) is lit up at night across the mountains.