Nicosia travel guide

Nicosia, Cyprus

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Nicosia

Introduction

Nicosia, also called Lefkosia or Lefkoşa, is the capital of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost capital city among European Union member states, and its northern part serves as the de facto capital of Northern Cyprus.

Before you go

Nicosia is one of the world's few divided capitals: the Green Line of barbed wire and guard towers splits the city, with the northern half serving as the capital of the self-proclaimed Northern Cyprus and the southern half as the capital of the Republic of Cyprus. The city feels larger than it is, having sprawled outward to engulf surrounding villages, and its universities, foreign embassies and offshore companies give it a cosmopolitan character. From a traveller's point of view the situation is peaceful, and you can safely explore both sides of the city and the country.

Plan around the climate. Nicosia is one of the southernmost locations in Europe, with a subtropical, semi-arid climate: summers are very hot and dry, while early spring and late autumn bring pleasantly warm temperatures and make good times to visit. Winter is the wettest season, though rain falls on only a handful of days each month; mid-winter can drop below freezing, with light frost and sleet, but snowfall is very rare. Crime rates are generally low, though pickpockets and petty theft are a risk in touristed areas and some scams may be prevalent in bars. Don't stray into the buffer zone except at designated crossing points, and don't photograph military or police installations.

Getting there

Nicosia International Airport has been closed since the partition of the country, so you will arrive by air through Larnaca Airport, about a 30-minute drive away, which has scheduled flights to all major European cities. An airport shuttle bus runs between Larnaca Airport and Nicosia, but it does not stop close to the city centre, so you will need to take a taxi or walk to the highway and pick up a public bus from there. The smaller Paphos Airport is a longer drive away.

Nearly all visitors arrive by road via the southern highway from Larnaca and Limassol. Regular, cheap and reliable intercity taxi and bus services connect Nicosia to the centres of Cyprus' other cities, while private hire taxis are considerably more expensive; car hire is affordable and all major companies are represented at both airports. Nicosia's central bus station is at Solomos square, next to the city wall. You can also reach the island by boat through the passenger terminals at Limassol and Larnaca, which have ferry and cruise services to Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Greece, with timetables varying considerably and summer the busiest season.

Crossing between North and South Nicosia was once close to impossible, but following a thawing in relations, EU citizens can cross at official crossing points regardless of their point of entry to the island, while people from other parts of the world will likely be turned back. The Ledra Street crossing, as opposed to the Ledra Palace Hotel crossing, allows you to cross from North to South Nicosia and vice-versa, traversing the United Nations Buffer Zone; the Republic of Cyprus conducts ID checks without an immigration post, while Northern Cyprus maintains an immigration and customs checkpoint on its side. If you take a taxi to North Nicosia before crossing, do not say "Ledra", because everyone there will assume the Ledra Palace crossing, which lies outside the city walls to the west.

Getting around

Greater Nicosia sprawls for kilometres, but the Old City is small enough to navigate on foot. Its streets are lined with traditional Greek Cypriot shops, and the footpaths are very narrow, so keep an eye on traffic at all times. GPS navigation systems may not include Cyprus, but you can pick up a paper map free of charge from the Nicosia Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) Information Office in Laiki Geitonia.

Buses serve the ever-expanding sprawl and are inexpensive, though timetables remain unreliable and only a few buses are air conditioned; services depart from the central bus station at Solomos Square, next to the city wall. Private taxis are plentiful, usually diesel Mercedes cars, and always have a number plate starting with the letter T, with some displaying a yellow TAXI (or ΤΑΞΙ) sign above. They are not painted in a distinctive colour, so check the plate, and make sure the meter is turned on the second you enter. A cheaper alternative is the bike sharing system Bike in Action, which requires a smart card. There is no rail, metro or tram network. To cross between North and South Nicosia, EU citizens can use the official crossing points; the Ledra Street crossing, inside the Old City walls, lets pedestrians cross the United Nations Buffer Zone, but if you take a taxi to North Nicosia, avoid saying "Ledra", as drivers will assume you mean the Ledra Palace crossing outside the walls to the west. Regular, cheap and reliable intercity taxi and bus services also connect Nicosia to other major cities such as Larnaca and Limassol, departing from Solomos Square.

Where to stay

Nicosia is an administrative city and the island's financial hub, so its hotels cater largely to business travellers, and the choice of accommodation is more limited than in the resort destinations along the coast. If you're watching your budget, look to the cheaper hotels in residential parts of town, several of which offer air-conditioned rooms with televisions and some balconies; a few sit near the City Hall, and one family-run option occupies an old building with private bathrooms, televisions and balconies. Expect basic, clean rooms at this level, and note that travellers have occasionally reported rooms that could be cleaner.

Mid-range hotels cluster close to the centre and the shopping district, and typically include breakfast, free Wi-Fi and a bar, with some adding an outdoor swimming pool, a restaurant open for breakfast only, or conference facilities for business guests. At the top end, you'll find the island's only Hilton, with multiple restaurants, bars and indoor and outdoor pools, a luxury hotel with balconies in every room plus restaurants, lounges, a wellness centre and shops, and a high-rise building of fully equipped luxury apartments available for short-term rental alongside a spa complex.

Food & drink

Cypriot cooking blends south European, Balkan and Middle Eastern influences, so you'll find Greek, Turkish and Arabic dishes, often under a local name or with a local twist. Decades of tourism have also brought international kitchens to the city, and many local chefs have trained abroad and returned. The shopping district is dotted with local tavernas alongside the familiar fast-food chains, and most restaurants allow smoking, so ask before you settle in. Al fresco dining is possible for over half the year. It would be a crime not to try a mixed pork kebab with a chilled local KEO or Carlsberg — the Carlsberg is brewed on the island and tastes different from the same brand overseas. Carnivores are spoilt for choice, while vegetarians may find things a tad difficult. Standards of hygiene are followed, so even foods usually treated with caution around the Mediterranean, such as mayonnaise and salad-based dishes, can be eaten safely.

For cheap eating, follow the barbecue smoke to a kebab house — the epitome of Cypriot fast food, almost all family-run, where a traditional mixed kebab (souvlakia or sheftalia) with a cold KEO is the thing to order. Sandwich kiosks line Regina Street in central Nicosia near Eleftheria Square, some also selling doner kebab (gyros), though you may have to stand while you eat. Toronto Pizza, the first local pizza chain, was created by a Cypriot returning from Canada and now has over a dozen outlets, including one in Agioi Omologites on Kasou; choose it over the international chains. In the old city you'll find places such as Zanettos, serving traditional Greek-Cypriot meze and long established, and Xefoto in Laiki Yitonia, where tables spill onto the pavement in the al fresco months and there's live music on weekend nights. For a splurge, Pyxida Fish Tavern offers high-quality seafood with a long menu of fish, prawns, mussels, octopus and lobster, while Domus Lounge Bar serves Mediterranean, mainly Italian, fine dining with a bar and wine cellar.

Drinking is central to Nicosia life, supported by a substantial student population that keeps the old city's bars, pubs and nightclubs busy. Cypriots are true socialites and spend most of their time out rather than at home, and going out is unheard of before a late hour. Makarios Avenue turns into a catwalk and cruising strip, while a bouzouki bar offers a more traditional flavour, generally catering to an older crowd. Bars stock the usual international spirits, but local names have a universal presence: KEO and Carlsberg, the only other brand brewed on the island, plus Leon, the first Cyprus brew, relaunched decades after it was last produced and made to its original 1937 recipe as a pure all-malt beer with a rich, strong taste. Local wines are making a comeback, with Commandaria the pride of Cyprus' dessert wines. The local spirit zivania, similar to grappa, is usually drunk as shots straight from the freezer, and Cyprus brandy, lower in alcohol than continental brands, is drunk by locals while eating and is the base of the local Brandy Sour. Local ouzo is another favourite.

Coffee culture is a way of life here, and cafés are the place to see and be seen in the afternoon to early evening, with tables spilling onto the streets in summer. Posh cafés line Makarios Avenue among the shops, and while international chains have arrived, local equivalents survive. Rather than sticking to a latté or cappuccino, try a Greek coffee, and in summer order a frappé. Pralina Café on Stasikratous Street is the flagship of a confectionery chain and a chocolate addict's paradise, with decent coffee too. Bars and pubs are not much distinguished from one another — most serve beer, wine, cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks, and many now serve food, though kitchens usually close earlier than the bar. Babylon, in a converted 1950s house, has a large beer garden for hot summers and log fires for cold winters.

What to see and do

Nicosia's sights cluster in and around the Old City, ringed by a star-shaped city wall whose moat has been turned into a park. Simply wandering the Old City is an experience in itself, though some buildings, especially those near the Green Line, stand derelict and crumbling. Many sights in the Old City close early, so start your day early — which also helps you beat the summer heat.

Museums cover everything from archaeology to numismatics. The Cyprus Museum, west of the city wall between the Tripoli bastion and the municipal gardens, showcases the best of Cypriot archaeology from the 9th millennium BCE to the end of antiquity, and has a café on its grounds. The Byzantine Museum, on Archbishop Kyprianou Square, is easily spotted by the giant statue of Archbishop Makarios outside and holds one of the world's best collections of Orthodox icons and other artworks, mostly from the 9th to the 16th century. The Leventis Municipal Museum in Laiki Yitonia occupies a converted two-storey house and displays exhibits from 2300 BC to the present day. The House of the Dragoman Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios is a beautifully restored 18th-century building housing an ethnological museum, while the Cyprus Folk Art Museum, in the old Archbishopric Palace, holds thousands of exhibits of clothing, tools, pottery and paintings. Smaller collections include the National Struggle Museum, documenting the Cypriot independence movement; the Museum of the History of Cypriot Coinage, with coins spanning nearly 3,000 years; the privately owned Cyprus Classic Motorcycle Museum, tucked away in the medieval city with around 150 classic mostly British motorcycles; the Cyprus Police Museum; the Cyprus Postal Museum; and the VON World Pens Hall, with pens dating back to the 17th century. Further south, the Cyprus Museum of Natural History in Dáli covers the animal life of Cyprus and the Mediterranean, with a dinosaur exhibition. For a view over the division of the island, head to the Ledra Observatory Museum in the Shakolas Tower on Ledra Street, reached through the Debenhams shopping complex, with a café a few floors below.

For art, the Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre occupies a converted 1936 power station and includes a café-restaurant with a Mediterranean menu, while the Leventis Gallery holds Cypriot and European paintings across its Greek, Paris and Cyprus collections, plus temporary exhibitions. The Office gallery, next to the Green Zone, opens only during exhibitions.

Religious buildings are scattered through the city. The Archbishop's Palace, built in neo-Byzantine style, is not open to the public but can be viewed from outside; beside it stand the old palace and St. John's Cathedral, the main church of Cyprus, built in 1662 on the site of a former Benedictine monastery. The Archangel Michael Trypiotis Church, built in 1695, has a beautiful 18th-century iconostasis and the relics of Saint Riginos. The Holy Mother of God Cathedral, opened in 1981, is the only church built in traditional Armenian style on Cyprus, surrounded by monuments including the Armenian Genocide Monument and a marble khachkar. The Bayraktar Mosque was built around the tomb of an unknown Ottoman flagbearer who fell during the conquest of Cyprus in 1570, and the Ömeriye Mosque, built in 1571, is open to both worshippers and visitors.

Among the monuments, Famagusta Gate, one of the city's three old gates, now serves as the Lefkosia Municipal Cultural Centre for exhibitions and performances. The Liberty Monument honours the fighters of the EOKA guerrilla organization, remains of an 18th-century Ottoman aqueduct recall the old water supply from the mountains, and Tower 25, also called the White Walls, is a high-rise apartment building finished in 2013.

When to go

Nicosia has a subtropical, semi-arid climate, which means very hot, dry summers, mild wet winters, and shoulder seasons that are genuinely pleasant. In summer, expect relentless sun and heat, with temperatures regularly rising above the high thirties and rain scarce. If you can, plan your visit for spring or autumn instead: early spring and late autumn both bring pleasantly warm temperatures, comfortable conditions before the summer heat builds or after the intense heat has eased.

Winter is the wettest time of year, though even then only about seven or eight days a month see rain. Mid-winter temperatures may sometimes drop below freezing, bringing light frost and sleet, but snowfall is very rare.

Three days in Nicosia

Day one: Start in South Nicosia, the Republic's side of the divided capital, and get your bearings in the old town before deciding how far you want to go. The Ledra Street crossing is the most straightforward way to pass between the two sides on foot, and you will need your ID with you. Once across, you are in North Nicosia, the Lefkoşa side, and the character of the streets changes around you. The Green Line, the United Nations Buffer Zone, runs through the middle of the city, so a single day can take in both the South and the North without any need to travel far.

Day two: Give the northern side a proper day rather than a quick look. The Ledra Palace Hotel sits by the crossing area and is a landmark of the Buffer Zone itself. Crossing rules are worth checking before you set out, since the formalities differ depending on whether you are an EU citizen or arriving from elsewhere. If you are coming from Lebanon, Israel, Egypt or Greece, or from elsewhere in Europe, plan your crossing in advance rather than assuming it will be simple.

Day three: Use the day to understand how the city fits into the wider island. Nicosia is the capital of Cyprus, and it is the last divided capital in Europe, split between the Republic and Northern Cyprus. Winter here is mild enough for walking, though it can be wet, so build some slack into your plans. Nicosia International Airport has stood unused since the division, so you will arrive through Larnaca Airport or Paphos Airport instead. From either, regular connections run to Larnaca and Limassol, and onward to the rest of the island. Crime is low, so getting around on foot is easy, but do not treat the Buffer Zone as ordinary ground.

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