The centre of North Nicosia is Atatürk Square, in the Northwest. From the square the main street runs north to the well-preserved Kyrenia Gate. Near the gate you'll find the Turkish Museum inside a 17th-century monastery. The Selimiye mosque, built in the 13th century, is one of the finest examples of gothic architecture in the country. Famous around the world, the Büyük Hammam, in the south of town, is the city's largest Turkish baths.

Once the richest city in the world, Famagusta (Gazimagusa), on the East coast, is now both a decaying old town surrounded by a Venetian city wall, and sprawling new town. Famagusta sits at the base of the eerie, desolate Karpas Peninsula. Wealthy to the point of vulgarity in the 13th century, levelled by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th, the old city is now mostly notable for its few remaining churches. The Cathedral of St Nicholas, now the Mustafa Pasha Mosque, is a magnificent reminder of the city's Lusignan heyday. Famagusta's other drawcard is Othello's Tower. According to legend, this is where Christoforo Moro (governor of Cyprus from 1506-08) killed his wife Desdemona. Famagusta is better seen as a day-trip, since its accommodation and eating options are limited.

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