Things to do
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Büyük Han
An Ottoman caravanserai of 1572 in the northern half of the city, restored around a courtyard where a small domed mosque sits over the fountain. Craft shops and cafes now occupy the stables and the upper cells, reached by an open gallery. Lunch under the trees is the reason to stay, and the crossing back takes minutes.
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Cyprus Museum
The island's archaeology from the Neolithic to the Roman era fills a colonial era building near the Paphos Gate, including the terracotta army of Agia Irini, thousands of votive figures found standing around a rural shrine. The bronze Aphrodite of Soloi is here too. Displays are old fashioned and thinly labelled, which rewards a slow hour.
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Ledra Street
Pedestrian shopping street running north through the old town to the crossing point that opened in 2008, where a short walk leads from Greek Cypriot Nicosia into the Turkish Cypriot side. Chain stores and cafes fill the southern stretch, with the buffer zone visible down the side lanes. A passport or identity card is needed at the checkpoint, and the queue moves quickly.
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Selimiye Mosque
Gothic vaults and pointed windows give away a French cathedral, built for the Lusignan kings as Saint Sophia and converted after the Ottoman conquest, with two minarets added to the west towers. Whitewash covers the interior and carpets run across the nave. Visits pause during prayer, and shoulders and knees are covered at the door.
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Shacolas Tower Observatory
Top floor of a department store on Ledra Street, fitted with a viewing gallery and a small exhibition on the history of the city. The glass runs around all sides, so the walls, the buffer zone and the minarets of Selimiye read as one map. Entry is ticketed and the lift is easy to miss inside the shop.
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Venetian Walls
Eleven bastions in a circle of earth and stone ring the old town, thrown up in the 1560s when the Venetians shortened the defences for artillery and then lost the city to the Ottomans in a siege. Sections now hold car parks, a moat garden and the town hall. Famagusta Gate on the east side is the best preserved and works as a venue.