Nicosia walking tour: From Venetian Walls to the Archbishop’s Palace

(35 reviews)

Nicosia audio tour: Nicosia walking tour: From Venetian Walls to the Archbishop’s Palace

This is a 0.9mi walking tour

It takes an average of 75 mins to complete.

Nicosia

Cyprus

$9.99

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About the Tour

In the last 1,000 years, Nicosia has been conquered by the French, Venetians, Ottomans, and British, leaving the capital of Cyprus still divided to this day. On this walking tour through the old city, I’ll point out several tell-tale clues about the city’s complex past, which are etched into sites like the Venetian coat of arms on Famagusta Gate.

Starting next to the Liberty Monument, you’ll follow part of the Venetian Walls before winding your way through the old city centre, to reach the end of our tour in front of the Archbishop’s Palace. Along the way, you’ll hear about the 300-year French reign, why the Venetians sought to take over the island from the French Lusignans, and how Ottoman rule changed the city’s fate and continues to impact it today.

On this tour, you’ll see a handful of the dozens of churches that have mushroomed on every corner since the 5th century. I’ll show you the old town where, over the centuries, multifaceted societies developed each of their religions peacefully. I’ll also tell you how a flourishing, newly liberated society suddenly became divided.

You can look forward to:

Learning why the city is under military occupation and how this affects it culturally and environmentally
Seeing the Venetian fortress and contemplating its hasty construction
Hearing about the city’s imperfect defenses, which enabled the Ottomans to conquer it
Deciphering architecture to understand people’s mentalities under different rulers
Hearing about the city’s oldest churches with the most precious icons and frescoes
Finding the city’s dividing line, which no other state apart from Turkey recognizes
Walking down narrow streets where you’ll see schools, homes and factories abandoned because of their proximity to a military zone
Finding out about the four-year struggle for independence, and a few other tidbits related to the city’s British occupation

Give yourself 75 minutes to make the most of this tour and get a taste of what life in Nicosia was like during the last 1,000 years.

Tour Producer

Katerina Solomidou

1 tour

Graduated in French Linguistics at the University of Lyon, France, in 1984 and from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation School for Guides in 1985. Worked as a regular guide for 7 years before being employed as a French teacher and examiner for 30 years while also leading European projects for education. In September 2018 returned to regular guiding and is currently a member of the Board of Cyprus Tourist Guides Association. Currently representing the CTGA in a funded partnership for Tourism and communication with FEG and WFTGA. Speaks Greek, English and French fluently. A fair knowledge of Italian and some German. Currently studying Mandarin. Passionate about the world’s cultural and environmental heritage and an activist for peace.

Preview Location

Location 10

The old school of Ayios Kasianos

Stop here at the barricaded part of the road.

If you take a careful look on the right inside the buffer zone you will see behind the wild vegetation the abandoned school of Ayios Kasianos. Amidst its ruins the unmissable gaping doors and windows still standing in the midd... Stop here at the barricaded part of the road.

If you take a careful look on the right inside the buffer zone you will see behind the wild vegetation the abandoned school of Ayios Kasianos. Amidst its ruins the unmissable gaping doors and windows still standing in the middle of a no man’s land is a reminisce of what once used to be the bustling neighborhood of Nicosia. A neighbourhood which during the Frankish period developed around the imposing Catholic Cathedral of Saint Sophia near the third palace of the Franks now on the other side of the barricades. In the northern part of the city occupied by the Turkish army.

The barricaded dividing line is marked by the buffer zone which runs all along the so called Green line which divides Nicosia and Cyprus into the North and South following the 1974 Turkish military intervention in Cyprus. The buffer zone is controlled by the United Nations who have come to Cyprus to ensure Peace is maintained on the island. Within the buffer zone many Greek Cypriot homes or properties are left abandoned by their owners who left during the war to save their lives. The buildings were manor homes of the upper class which adorned the centre of Nicosia with their neoclassic style built with the local yellow sandstone. There were many shops and workshops, schools, and churches everything that makes the heartbeat of a lively city and everything that tells the story of this historical place. Each one of these silenced and deserted buildings have their own sad story to tell. But why?

Why can’t their owners go back to their homes? Those homes that have belonged to their families for long years beholding their families’ stories and traditions, and the city’s culture since the old historical times of Nicosia? Why strip from life a place so bustling with aliveness and action just for the sake of power and to rule this island of the Eastern Mediterranean?

Cyprus has endured a long history of dominance through the centuries: The Franks, the Venetians, The Ottomans, The British. And eventually, in 1960 Cyprus gained its independence earning at last its rightful chance to live and evolve as a modern state with respect to human rights and recognition by all states in the world on an international scale.

But do Cypriots ever get to enjoy their right to live freely in their own country? Cyprus is the country of their origin since life ever begun on this island. The vast majority consists of the indigenous people of Cyprus who speak the same language for more than 3000 years now. The Greek Cypriot Dialect which is not a written one but has been passed to the younger generations through their parents. This is the unquestionable evidence about these people’s origin and rightful position to live on their land and care for it without war and occupation.

Cyprus is a member of the European Union since 2004 and Cypriots are so proud to be so. Turkish Cypriots are also European Citizens, and it is the whole Island that is counted to be in the European Union, not just the Southern part controlled by the recognised Republic of Cyprus. The Northern so-called State of Cyprus is not recognised by any other State apart from Turkey who has always considered Cyprus to still belong to the Ottoman Empire. An Empire long gone with past history.

Now turn your back to the school and the barricade and take the small street on your right, the street of Ayios Kasianos. Walk along this road and stop at the entrance of the church.
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Major Landmarks

Venetian walls of Nicosia
Famagusta Gate
Taht-el-Kale
Agios Kassianos
Archbishop's Palace
The Liberty Monument
Holy Church of Panagia Chrysaliniotissa
Archbishop Kyprianos Monument

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
59CC+J4C, Nicosia 1016, Cyprus
Total distance

1km
Final location
Archbishop's Palace, Isokratous, Nicosia 1016, Cyprus
Distance back to start location

237.29m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins at the Liberty Monument on the Nikiforou Foka avenue. You will be able to park in the Adamantiou Korai street just opposite the monument or inside the Carafa Bastion to your right after the Famagusta gate and walk back to the starting point.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

If you are there at a time when all is open at Ermou street ,you might wish to benefit for a relaxing moment at the cafes or the CVAR museum.

Best time of day

From dawn to dusk. It is probably better to go there early in the morning or late in the afternoon

Precautions

The roads and pavements are often narrow here, as this is the old part of the city. Take extra caution while walking and only cross on the pedestrian crossings.

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