Best Things To Do in Nicosia, Cyprus

Are you looking for what to do in Nicosia?

PLACES TO SEE

  • Cypress Museum: Just about all of Cypriot antiquity in artefacts… a huge number of artefacts.
  • Byzantine Museum: Small but precious collection or Orthodox iconography and artwork founded by Archbishop Makarios.
  • Leventis Museum: A small but delightful museum dedicated to the history of Nicosia itself.
  • Shacolas Museum and Observatory: Overlooks the historic Ledra Street and gives nice views of the city. An absolute must.
  • Semliye Mosque: Once called St. Sophia’s Cathedral, it’s an interesting imposition of Islamic sensibilities on Gothic architecture.
  • Ledra Street: Shop till you drop and cross into the Turkish half of Cyprus and Nicosia if you want. 

Below we have a list of things to do in Nicosia and the places where you want to spend the best moments of your trip. At the same time, the city offers you the best neighborhoods to explore and new foods to try.

This list should help you in deciding and prioritizing what you should plan on your Nicosia getaway. Find a mix of must-see tourist spots, underrated local hangouts, and maybe even a few new experiences you can try out.

Make the most of your trip to Nicosia with confidence.

Tourist Attractions in Nicosia

Here is the list of things to do in Nicosia and tourist attractions in city.

  1. Ledra Street

    Landmark, Walking Area, Shopping Center

    The street, unimpressive though to look at, is highly significant to the local population. The street was actually called the Murder Mile for a while in the 1950s when British military personnel fell target to nationalist forces. Various streets including Ledra were blockaded in 1963, as hostilities between the Turkish and Greek Cypriotic communities escalated. This blockade was known as the Gr...Read more
  2. Buyuk Han

    4.4 (319 Votes)
    Buyuk Han

    Landmark, Historical Site, Architecture

    The name literally translates into Great Inn. The building is one of the most important bits of Ottoman architecture in Cyprus. For most of its history it was a caravanserai, but when the British took over in the latter 19th century, it was temporarily used as a prison. 1893 onwards it was once again used as a residence for the poor and underprivileged. It took a lot of damage over the next cen...Read more
  3. Cyprus Museum

    4.4 (301 Votes)
    Cyprus Museum

    Museum, History Museum, Educational Site

    When your resident American Ambassador begins to cart off your nation’s heritage in the thousands, like Luigi Plama di Cesnola did with Cyprus’, then it’s high time to get your own museum.Now, despite fourteen exhibition halls in which Cypriot artefacts are chronologically and thematically displayed, the collection has become so large that the only a small percentage of it is ...Read more
  4. Selimiye Mosque

    4.5 (335 Votes)
    Selimiye Mosque

    Mosque, Religious Site, Architecture

    Once the building was known as St. Sophia’s cathedral, but now, within the boundaries of the Turkish controlled portion of Nicosia, it’s the main mosque of the city. The building is the oldest surving Gothic church in the area, and what you see of the architecture today is only a shadow of what it used to be. There were once rich sculptural decorations, stained glass and frescoes an...Read more
  5. Leventio Museum

    4.5 (292 Votes)
    Leventio Museum

    Museum, History Museum, Educational Site

    The brainchild of a Nicosia Mayor, the museum straightforwardly traces the history of Nicosia city itself through a collection of chronologically arranged artefacts right from 3000 BC. Most of the items here were acquired through donations. The exhibits are displayed through the Nicosia Gallery, the Byzantine Gallery, Frankish and Venetian Galleries, the Ottoman Gallery, the British Gallery and...Read more
  6. Shakolas Tower

    Museum, History Museum, View Point, Observatory

    Every city needs a view point from the top of which a tourist can enjoy stunning views and photo opportunities and this is Nicosias. The building itself is a regular highrise, with Debenham stores on the first 5 floors and a panoramic cafeteria on the 6th floor. The main draw though is on the 11th floor Museum and Observatory – a room that provides a beautiful view of the city bellow, is ...Read more
  7. Byzantine Museum

    4 (296 Votes)
    Byzantine Museum

    Art And Culture, Art Museum, Museum

    You have the Makarios Cultural Foundation to thank for this museum – a rich collection of Cypriot Byzantine Heritage, the richest such collection in the country. It’s small though, only 220 items or something but that’s more than enough considering how important all the pieces are. There are precious icons (mainly from the 12th century when the art was the most popular), Byzan...Read more
  8. A. G. Leventis Gallery

    4.6 (254 Votes)
    A. G. Leventis Gallery

    Art And Culture, Art Gallery, Exhibition

    This gallery is an unexpectedly delightful find for anyone who stumbles across it in Nicosia. It was founded by Anastasios G. Leventis, who’s quite the character. He contributed greatly to the war aid. His interest in art led him to help a lot to repatriate art stolen from Cyprus. Today, his gallery, managed by the foundation set up by him before his death, exhibits art from the three fol...Read more
  9. Cyprus Classic Motorcycle Museum

    Museum, War Memorial, Specialty Museum, Automobile Museum

    1914 to 1983. If there’s anything important to know about motorcycles between these two years, this is the place to come and find out about it. Andreas Nicolaou spent a lifetime collecting 150 motorcycles (the best of the best of course), including some that were ridden by celebrity races like Zeki Isa. There are three that were owned by Archbishop’s Makarios’ personal guard a...Read more
  10. Famagusta Gate

    4 (128 Votes)
    Famagusta Gate

    Bar, Art And Culture, Restaurant, Neighborhoods

    Built by the Venetians in 1567, this was once the main point of entry into the city, heavily fortified and just wide enough for two carts to pass abreast. The façade facing the town is quite imposing with a great spherical dome of 11 metres in diameter. During the Ottoman period, only Turks were allowed through the gate. It used to be closed at sunset and opened during Sunrise. In 1980, ...Read more
  11. Panagia Asinou Church

    4.7 (61 Votes)
    Panagia Asinou Church

    Church, Religious Site

    20 km west from Nicosia, you’ll find this apparently utterly underwhelming looking church. Do not judge this book by its cover! Step inside, and you’ll be stunned by some of the most beautiful Byzantine-era paintings ever. The walls are completely frescoed. It is thought that the work here was done in 1105/6 by an artist from Constantinople. The murals on the narthex though were don...Read more
  12. Cyprus Folk Art Museum

    4.2 (211 Votes)
    Cyprus Folk Art Museum

    Art Museum, Architecture , Arts And Crafts

    The building that hosts the museum used to be a Gothic monastery. Architecturally, the main highlight is a beautifully frescoed gothic arch. Inside though, are many items of modern Cypriotic arts and handcrafts. Most of these items were donated to or acquired by the museum from areas that are currently under the rule of Turkish troops. This includes: Wood carvings Embroidery National costumes ...Read more
  13. Machairas Monastery

    4.7 (121 Votes)
    Machairas Monastery

    Church, Religious Site, Market, Architecture

    Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, this monastery was founded in the 12th century. The legend of its founding is interesting: it’s said that when an unknown hermit stole a number of sacred icons away, he or she missed the icon of the Virgin. The icon was found much later by two monks, Neophytos and Ignatius, who macheted their way through plants into the cave where the icon was hidden. In Gree...Read more
  14. Archbishop Makarios Iii Cultural Foundation

    Art And Culture, Art Museum, Church, Religious Site

    This place gives you a good insight into Cypriotic spirit! The main thing to see here is the Byzantine Museum – a large collection of images from all over Cyprus that show the nation’s development from the 9th through 19th centuries. Highlights include: Mosaics of the church of Panagia in Lythragkomi (525-530). Thirty six pieces of Christ Antifonitis church murals (15th century). A...Read more
  15. The Museum Of Barbarism Or Barbarlık Muzesi

    History Museum

    They say this is one of the most disturbing museums on the island. It starkly reminds you that Cyrpus was once the centre of a brutal civil war, one that still scars the memories of its population. The location is itself gruesome: the house used to belong to Dr. Ilhan, a major in Turkish army. One night on 24th December 1963, the doctors’ wife, three children and a neighbour were killed b...Read more