Old city, south
First-timersInside the walls: Ledra Street, the cathedral, restored Laiki Geitonia and the crossing point.
Nicosia city guide
Things To Do In Nicosia
The last divided capital in Europe, where a UN buffer zone runs through the middle of a Venetian walled city and you cross between two sides on foot in the old town.
4
Hostels in the city
8.2
Average, from 423 reviews
1974
The island divided
11
Bastions on the Venetian walls
€0
To cross at Ledra Street
One city, two sides, one passport check
Nicosia has been divided since 1974, and the Green Line — a UN-patrolled buffer zone — runs straight through the old city. On Ledra Street, the main shopping road, the pedestrian crossing point takes a couple of minutes with a passport, and you walk from the Republic of Cyprus into the north.
It is the only capital in the world split in this way, and walking both sides in a day is the reason most people come. The buffer zone itself is sealed and frozen: buildings abandoned mid-1974, with weeds through the shopfronts, visible from the Shacolas Tower observatory.
Around the division, the walled city is Venetian, star-shaped with eleven bastions, and the parts that are not abandoned are being restored quickly.
Nicosia is inland, hot, and skipped by most visitors heading for the beaches. Two days does it justice.
Where to stay
Inside the Venetian walls, or in the modern city outside them.
Old city, north
The other sideAcross the Green Line: the Büyük Han caravanserai, the Selimiye mosque and a quieter, poorer old town.
Modern centre
Value and transportOutside the walls around Makarios Avenue, with cheaper beds, the bus station and the shopping.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 4 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Nicosia
Cross the line. The Ledra Street crossing is pedestrian, free and takes a couple of minutes each way with a passport. On the other side, the Büyük Han is a sixteenth-century Ottoman caravanserai restored as a courtyard of cafés and workshops, and the Selimiye Mosque is a French Gothic cathedral from the 1200s converted after 1570, with minarets added to a building that still looks like Reims.
The Cyprus Museum on the south side holds the island's archaeology, including thousands of small votive figures found in a single pit at Ayia Irini.
The Shacolas Tower observatory on Ledra Street gives you the view over the buffer zone and both halves of the city.
The Venetian walls, eleven bastions in a star, run around the whole old town and are free to walk.
Free things
Free things to do in Nicosia
Crossing at Ledra Street is free, as is crossing back, and it is the single most interesting thing you can do here.
The Venetian walls and their eleven bastions are free to walk, and the moat is now parkland.
Selimiye Mosque is free to enter with the usual respect for a working mosque, as is the Büyük Han courtyard.
The old town on both sides is free to wander, and the contrast between them — restored and prosperous on one side, poorer and quieter on the other — is the point.
Several churches and the Faneromeni area cost nothing.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Nicosia
Meze is the format: fifteen to twenty small dishes brought in sequence until you stop them, at €20 to €30 a head, and it takes two hours.
Halloumi is Cypriot and is grilled rather than eaten raw; souvla is large chunks of meat on a long skewer over coals, distinct from souvlaki.
A full meal is €14 to €22 in the south, and noticeably cheaper on the north side where €8 to €14 is normal.
Coffee is Cypriot, served in a small cup with grounds, ordered by sweetness — sketos, metrios or glykys.
The old town's restored lanes have the tourist-facing restaurants; the ones locals use are a street or two out.
Nightlife
Going out in Nicosia
Nicosia has a university and a young population, and its nightlife is the most local on the island — nothing here is built for tourists, which is a relief after the coast.
The bars around Faneromeni and Ledra Street in the old city fill in the evening, and the area around Stasikratous and the modern centre has the smarter places.
A beer is €3 to €4.50 and a coffee €3.
In summer it is too hot to be outside until late, so evenings start after nine and run past two.
The north side has tea gardens and a handful of bars, with a quieter and more conservative feel.
Getting around
Getting around Nicosia
The old city is walkable and flat, and both sides together are an easy day on foot.
City buses cost about €1.50 with a day pass around €5. There is no rail anywhere on Cyprus.
Intercity buses reach Larnaca in 45 minutes, Limassol in an hour and Paphos in two, all for €5 to €7.
Larnaca airport is 45 minutes by shuttle for about €8, and Paphos airport about two hours.
To cross to the north with a hire car, check your rental agreement and insurance — most southern companies restrict it, and separate insurance is bought at the crossing. On foot there is no issue at all.
Costs
What Nicosia costs
Cheaper than the coastal resorts, and the north side cheaper again. Dorms are €15 to €28, a full meal €14 to €22 in the south and €8 to €14 in the north, and a beer €3 to €4.50.
A day is €40 to €65.
Museums are €4 to €9 each and the crossing is free.
The south uses the euro. The north uses the Turkish lira, though euros are accepted at rates that are not in your favour — if you are spending a day there, changing a small amount is worth it.
Safety
Staying safe in Nicosia
Nicosia is a very safe city on both sides, with low crime and a comfortable old town at night.
The buffer zone is the thing to respect. It is a military area, photography of military positions and personnel is prohibited on both sides, and the fences and warning signs are not decorative. Stick to the marked crossings.
Crossing is routine — passports are checked, it takes minutes, and there is no stamp issue for most nationalities. Check your own situation if you have particular travel history concerns.
Hire cars from the south are usually not insured in the north; buy separate cover at the crossing or walk over.
Summer heat inland regularly passes 40 degrees. Emergency number is 112 in the south, 155 in the north.
Day trips from Nicosia
Mountains, monasteries and a ghost town, all within two hours.
Famagusta and Varosha
A walled Venetian city in the north, with the sealed resort suburb of Varosha, abandoned since 1974 and partly reopened to visitors.
Kyrenia
A horseshoe harbour under a castle on the north coast, with St Hilarion castle in the mountains above.
What's on
What is on while you are there
A local calendar in a city that does not run on tourism.
February or March
Green Monday
Citywide
The start of Orthodox Lent, marked with picnics, kite flying and vegetarian food across the island.
September
Cyprus Wine Festival
Limassol nearby
The island's wine celebration, an hour down the road.
Spring
Nicosia Pop-Up Festival
Old city
Music and street events in the walled town.
Autumn
Kypria International Festival
Citywide
Theatre, dance and music across Cyprus, with Nicosia the main venue.
December
Christmas in the old city
Faneromeni and Ledra
Markets and lights in the walled town, when the weather is at its most pleasant.
Hostels
Where to stay in Nicosia
A small scene in and around the walled city, at prices below the coastal resorts. Live from Hostelworld.
When to go
Spring and autumn. Nicosia is inland and July and August are genuinely severe.
Jan
Cool and pleasant. The best walking weather
Feb
Mild and green. Almond blossom
Mar
Excellent. Wildflowers everywhere
Apr
The best month. Warm, green and comfortable
May
Warm, heading towards hot
Jun
Hot. Life moves to the evening
Jul
Severe. Over 40°C regularly, and no sea breeze inland
Aug
The same. Locals leave for the coast or the mountains
Sep
Cooling and much better
Oct
Superb. Warm days and comfortable evenings
Nov
Excellent and quiet
Dec
Cool, with a Christmas market in the old city
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs. Nicosia sits on a plain with no coast to moderate it and is the hottest city in Cyprus, regularly passing 40°C in July and August. The Troodos mountains an hour away are ten degrees cooler.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
Eating on the north side is noticeably cheaper. The crossing itself is free.
—
- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Nicosia travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Can I cross to the north?
Yes. The Ledra Street crossing in the old town is pedestrian, free and takes a couple of minutes each way with a passport. Most nationalities have no difficulty, and you can walk back the same day.
Is it safe to cross?
It is routine and thousands do it daily. The buffer zone itself is a military area, so use the marked crossings, do not photograph military positions or personnel on either side, and take the warning signs seriously.
Can I take a hire car across?
Usually not on a southern rental agreement, and if you do you need separate insurance bought at the crossing. Walking over is simpler for a day trip.
What is the Selimiye Mosque?
A French Gothic cathedral built in the 1200s and converted to a mosque after 1570, with minarets added. It still looks like a northern French cathedral from the outside, which makes it one of the strangest buildings in Europe. Free to enter.
How long do you need?
Two days, including a day on the north side. Most visitors to Cyprus skip Nicosia entirely for the beaches, which is why it is the most interesting place on the island.
What currency do I need in the north?
Turkish lira, though euros are accepted at rates that favour the seller. If you are spending a day there, changing a small amount is worth it.
When should I visit?
April, October or November. Nicosia is inland with no sea breeze and regularly passes 40 degrees in July and August, which shapes the entire day.
Say yes to hostels, meet the world
Compare Nicosia hostels — live prices, real reviews and free cancellation on most bookings. Then meet the people already there in the app.
Get the App.