Hotels in Nicosia

Nicosia is the capital of Cyprus and the last divided capital in Europe, split between the Greek Cypriot south and the Turkish Cypriot north by a UN-patrolled buffer zone known as the Green Line. The city has been inhabited for over 4,500 years and served as the seat of the medieval Lusignan kings, the Venetian governors, and the Ottoman pashas. Today Nicosia is a working capital rather than a resort town, which means visitors who make the trip inland from the coast discover an authentic city with far fewer tourists.

The old city within the Venetian Walls is where most of the interest lies - a compact circular area roughly 1.5 km across, with museums, medieval churches, Ottoman hans, and a pedestrian crossing point into the Turkish Cypriot north. Beyond the walls, modern Nicosia is a mix of commercial districts, university campuses, and residential neighbourhoods that show a side of Cyprus most beach-bound visitors never see.