Within the Venetian Walls, you will find intimate boutique hotels, contemporary art spaces and some of the island’s most atmospheric streets. Just beyond them, business-oriented hotels and modern districts offer convenience, comfort and easy access to ministries, embassies, corporate offices and major project hubs.
With Cyprus set to take on the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in January 2026, these recommendations will help you confidently explore the city between meetings.
This guide offers essential suggestions for navigating Nicosia, whether your visit is for a conference, negotiations, an EU project, or a quick business trip.
Where to stay: inside the Walled City for atmosphere and culture
Ideal for travellers who enjoy walking, discovering neighbourhoods and staying close to restaurants, galleries and historical landmarks.
Amyth of Nicosia
A restored early-20th-century mansion turned into a boutique hotel. Elegant, intimate and design-driven, it places you within a few minutes’ walk of museums, shops and restaurants inside the Venetian walls.
Madama Residence
A beautifully renovated townhouse offering spacious suites with a strong sense of place. It works particularly well for longer stays where you want a “city-apartment” atmosphere but hotel-level service.
Where to stay: just outside the Walls for comfort and accessibility
For visitors who want proximity to the centre as well as modern design, parking and easy access to main avenues.
The Classic Hotel
A long-standing business favourite with conference rooms, dependable service and a central position for meetings with government services, NGOs and local partners. Located just inside the walled city, The Classic Hotel prioritises practicality and business convenience over ambiance, making it a reliable base for travellers who need efficiency above all.
MAP Boutique Hotel
Minimalist design, a calm, contemporary atmosphere and very comfortable bedding. Located by the Venetian Walls and home to Scale, one of the city’s leading restaurants, it is a smart base for executive stays.
Hilton Nicosia
A long-established international hotel in the Engomi district, close to embassies, universities and major institutions. Spacious rooms, multiple dining options, a large pool and strong wellness facilities make it a reliable choice for business travellers. Its conference rooms and event spaces are frequently used for corporate meetings, training and delegations, offering consistency and ease of access.
Where to get coffee
Nicosia’s specialty coffee scene is far more advanced than its size suggests. Scattered between office districts and neighbourhood streets, these cafés double as informal meeting rooms, laptop-friendly workspaces and very reliable espresso stops. If your schedule is tight, planning around a couple of these addresses will keep you caffeinated and connected.
UTU Coffee
A multi-roaster specialty café with early opening hours, precise brewing and clean, modern design. Ideal for pre-meeting emails or a quick stop between offices.
Green Colibri Specialty Coffee
A calm, bright café popular with remote workers and young professionals. Excellent single-origin coffee and vegan-friendly snacks make it an easy all-day base.
Amber and Joe
A local roastery with shops in Strovolos and central Nicosia, known for its own blends and for being listed among Europe’s noteworthy specialty cafés. A solid choice if you are staying or working in the western parts of the city.
A Kxoffee Project
One of the pioneers of the city’s third-wave coffee movement, offering carefully sourced beans, excellent espresso and training. It also supplies beans to other notable spots in town.
Kollaborative Coffee Roasters
A collaboration between roasters in Nicosia and Chania, this café-bar has become a reference point for high-quality coffee and late-night service near the centre. Good for an afternoon break that might turn into an evening drink.
In the between
For the moments between meetings - when the hotel room feels a little too quiet, when you need a change of scene, or when you simply want to breathe the city. These are the places where you can grab a good coffee, enjoy a light bite, open your laptop for an hour and feel the rhythm of Nicosia around you. Perfect for resetting, refocusing and catching your breath before the next appointment.
Stes Koroues
Cypriot, Greek or Byzantine-style coffee - pick the one; the debate has been heated for centuries. This all-day spot on Ermou Street is an ideal place to try the local brew, slow-made and deeply aromatic. The space shifts naturally from daytime coffee and light bites to local wines and cocktails in the evening, making it a flexible choice for informal meetings or a relaxed pause between appointments.
Istorja House
Part concept store, part all-day café, Istorja serves simple, seasonal food with an international twist alongside excellent coffee and freshly baked goods. It is also a beautifully designed space for quiet work or design inspiration.
Kantina
A speciality food shop and eatery focusing on fine cheeses, charcuterie, wines and artisan products. Good for a lighter, high-quality lunch or for picking up provisions.
The Boys at Number 5
A popular brunch and all-day spot with a sunny patio on Themistokli Dervi Street. Ideal for relaxed meetings over breakfast, brunch or afternoon plates.
Where to eat
From modern tasting menus to refined tavernas and inventive plant-based kitchens, Nicosia’s food reflects a city that takes both tradition and experimentation seriously. The restaurants below work well for business lunches, dinners with partners or team meals at the end of a long day.
Zest at Pinakothiki
Mediterranean dishes with clean flavours in a refined setting next to the Leventis Gallery. A classic choice for business lunches and dinners, especially if you are combining a meal with a cultural visit.
Scale (MAP Boutique Hotel)
One of Nicosia’s restaurants, known for creative plates, sharp service and strong attention to local produce. A very good option for high-level dinners.
Beba Restaurant
Not only one of the best restaurants in the city, but also one of Nicosia’s most effective networking-over-food spots. Beba regularly attracts current, former and future ministers, senior officials and key figures from the business and cultural scene, making it a discreet hub for conversation and negotiations. The food is exceptional - seasonal, creative and confidently executed - while the ambiance strikes a rare balance between sophisticated and effortlessly cool.
Rous Restaurant
A modern Cypriot restaurant offering tasting menus that reinterpret local ingredients and stories with contemporary techniques. An excellent choice if you want to show guests how ambitious Nicosia’s dining scene has become.
Pyxida Fish Tavern
A long-established fish tavern in the city centre, known for consistently fresh seafood, a reliable wine list and discreet service. Ideal for seafood-loving clients or delegations.
Elysian Kitchen & Bar
A plant-based kitchen and bar that proves healthy food can be colourful and satisfying, with many vegetarian and vegan dishes and an emphasis on organic ingredients. A strong option when you need to cater for varied dietary preferences.
Mamalou Tavern
A new taverna in the centre created by the team behind Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro, serving thoughtful meze that feels like a contemporary version of classic Greek-Cypriot comfort food.
Kuzuba Restaurant
A restaurant that celebrates Cypriot ingredients and seasonality with creative dishes and a relaxed but elegant dining room on Kyriakou Matsi. Excellent for dinner with colleagues who enjoy inventive takes on Mediterranean flavours.
Palaia Elia
A contemporary all-day restaurant with a touch of tradition in Strovolos, offering Cypriot and Mediterranean dishes, a large terrace and frequent live-music evenings. Suitable for larger groups or mixed-age delegations.
DOT Restaurant
An industrial-style restaurant near Famagusta Gate, well known for its generous brunches and relaxed atmosphere, but also good for easy lunches and casual dinners, especially at weekends.
Where to drink
Nicosia’s bar scene is compact but sophisticated, offering everything from craft beer and natural wine to vinyl-driven listening bars. These are places where you can end the day with colleagues, meet partners informally or simply decompress after back-to-back meetings.
Lost + Found Drinkery
Internationally recognised and often listed among Europe’s best bars, Lost + Found is playful and serious about cocktails at the same time. A must-visit for after-work drinks with a strong sense of place.
Silver Star
A wine and cocktail bar on Sofouli Street that focuses on quality spirits, good music and relaxed service. It attracts cool people from all age groups - all of them genuine “good spirits” lovers, both in terms of alcohol and mood. Popular for after-work gatherings and late-night conversations, it’s one of those places where the energy feels effortlessly welcoming.
Moondog’s Bar & Grill
A lively bar and grill near the centre, known for its burgers, extensive beer list and sports-bar atmosphere, often hosting themed events and street festivals. If you don’t want to miss your favourite team’s game — or simply want to unwind over a game of pool - Moondog’s is exactly where you need to go. It’s energetic, unpretentious and consistently fun.
Brewfellas
A benchmark craft beer bar in the old town with 12 rotating taps and an impressive selection of bottles and cans, plus an online shop for island-wide delivery. A natural magnet for beer enthusiasts, where conversation usually starts - and happily stays - with a shared love of great brews. The variety is remarkable, and the mood within the walled city gives the whole experience a unique, easygoing charm.
7 Kleidia
A traditional kafeneio-style bar that feels local and relaxed, good for a more low-key evening with simple drinks and conversation.
Notes and Spirits
Part bar, part vinyl listening space, Notes and Spirits is known for crafted cocktails, a buzzing atmosphere and good music, attracting a mixed crowd of locals, creatives and professionals.
Ukiyo Listening Bar
An audiophile bar where highballs, Japanese-leaning bites and hi-fi vinyl listening come together. It is one of the city’s most distinctive night spots and a memorable place to take visiting colleagues.
Culture you should not miss
Even on a work trip, carving out one or two hours for culture can completely change your sense of the city. These stops are central, easy to reach and rewarding even if your schedule is tight.
“Nisos Kipros”, Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
A landmark exhibition tracing Cyprus as “island” and ideas across history, memory and contemporary reality. It offers a compact, thoughtful way to understand the island’s layers and is highly recommended for first-time visitors.
A. G. Leventis Gallery
A beautifully curated gallery bringing together European masterpieces, Greek art and Cypriot collections. Quiet, elegant and well suited to a short visit between meetings.
SPEL / State Gallery of Contemporary Art
For those interested in contemporary culture, SPEL presents changing exhibitions that reflect current artistic conversations in Cyprus and beyond.
If you have more time
If your meetings finish early or you have a spare morning before your flight, these experiences give you a different perspective on Nicosia.
Pediaios Walk
Follow the Pedieos River linear park (Grammiko in Greek) for a surprisingly green and peaceful route through the city. Stretching for roughly 14 kilometres, it connects key neighbourhoods through tree-lined paths, footbridges and shaded rest stops. What makes it especially interesting is the contrast: one minute you are surrounded by ministries, embassies and offices, and moments later you are walking alongside bamboo clusters, riverbeds, eucalyptus trees and quiet stretches used by joggers, cyclists and locals on their daily commute. It is one of the easiest ways to experience a different side of Nicosia without ever leaving the city.
Walled City Walk
Take a slow stroll through the old town and let the city reveal itself at its own pace. Wander past Ledra Street, Onasagorou and Famagusta Gate, then turn into the smaller side streets lined with traditional houses, artisan workshops and family-run cafés. Discover small boutiques, independent makers, contemporary galleries and hidden museums. As you walk, the scents of Cypriot, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and African cuisines drift through the neighbourhoods, weaving a tapestry of flavours that reflects the city’s layered history. It is a beautiful city filled with beautiful people - and the best way to experience its heart is on foot.
Hamam Omerye
Visit the restored 16th-century hamam for a spa session that combines Ottoman history with modern wellness and is particularly welcome after a packed work schedule.
Practical information for business travellers
Currency
Euro (€). Card payments are widely accepted, including in taxis, cafés and small shops.
Weather
Winter (Dec–Feb): 10 -18°C, mild with occasional rain
Spring (Mar–May): 18 - 28°C, generally ideal
Summer (Jun–Sep): 30 - 40°C, very dry and hot
Autumn (Oct–Nov): 20 - 30°C, warm and usually sunny
Light layers in winter and breathable clothing in summer are essential.
Useful Greek words
Kaliméra - Good morning
Kalispéra - Good evening
Efcharistó - Thank you
Parakaló - Please / you are welcome
Nai – Yes
Ochi – No
Nero - Water
Logariasmós - Bill / check
Taxis and Transport
Bolt: The most widely used taxi app in Nicosia, with clear pricing and easy pick-up.
Kapnos Airport Shuttle: Fastest organised connection between Nicosia and Larnaca Airport.
Other taxi firms: Several companies can be pre-booked by phone or app; hotel receptions will usually arrange these on your behalf.
Food Delivery Apps
For nights when you prefer to stay in and work from your room:
Foody: The most popular delivery platform, with a very wide restaurant selection.
Wolt: Excellent for quality restaurants, cafés and bars that offer delivery or takeaway.
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