Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia, the island’s capital, combines both old and new in a busy modern commercial and business centre and a centuries-old culture. The centre of the city comprehends its old quarter surrounded by a Venetian sandstone fortress wall with a moat and heart-shaped bastions. Mosques and palm trees give an oriental atmosphere to the old city. Wander along narrow streets with overhanging balconies and beautifully restored pedestrian precincts with craft shops, cafes and taverns. Make sure you stop off at St John’s Cathedral with its frescoes and the marvellous museum of Byzantine icons. In the evening catch a concert or an exhibition at the Famagusta Gate, one of the three original entrances into the old city, which has now been restored and it is used as a cultural centre. The new town spreads beyond the walls with a modern European-like centre of high-rise buildings, office blocks, shops and cafes, expanding into suburban residential areas. Lefkosia offers the best in shopping with Stasikratous Street as the destination for an ultimate shopping experience. Of the city’s main sights, Cyprus Museum houses the best collection of archaeological artefacts on the island, including a first century AD Roman statuette of Aphrodite of Soli and the original mosaic of Leda and the Swan, while the Leventis Museum depicts the history of the town.

Kolossi Castle, a former Crusader stronghold, is steeped in history. The original castle was likely built in 1210 by the Frankish military, while the current structure dates back to 1454, constructed by the Hospitallers under Commander Louis de Magnac. The castle once held great strategic importance and housed extensive facilities for sugar production, a major export for Cyprus during the Middle Ages. Today, the castle consists of a three-story keep and an attached rectangular enclosure, showcasing military architecture of its time. The region is also renowned for the production of the sweet wine, Commandaria, which is considered one of the oldest continuously-produced and named wines globally. The wine was declared to be the "wine of kings and the king of wines" by Richard the Lionheart when he celebrated his conquest of Cyprus by wedding a Spanish princess in this very castle.

As the nation's oldest and largest outdoor musical theater, The Municipal Theater, also known as 'Muny,' has been awing crowds since the early 1900s. Locally produced, Broadway-style musicals take to the stage in its scenic Forest Park location, and the productions are memorable for a lifetime.