Old town

Stralsund in Germany, an old town designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. European old towns are often recognizable by their density, small alleys and buildings of different eras.
The medieval old town of Porvoo on the Porvoonjoki river, Finland
Traditional houses, with the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in the background, in the walled city of Nicosia, Cyprus
A street in the old town of Limassol, Cyprus
Historical centre of Verona, Italy

In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on the periphery of the original settlement may have become the town's principal commercial and/or residential hub, leaving the historic "old town" as a secondary focus. There are many places throughout the world referred to as the old town (sometimes construed as a proper noun and capitalized). This is a list of some famous old towns:

Africa

Algeria

Egypt

Ethiopia

  • Old Town of Harar, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Libya

Mali

Morocco

Niger

  • Historic Center of Agadez, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Senegal

  • Historic Center of Saint-Louis, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Tanzania/Zanzibar

Tunisia

  • Old Kairouan, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Medina of Sousse, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Medina of Tunis, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Old Sfax

Asia and the Pacific

Australia

Bangladesh

Cambodia

China

Old Town of Lijiang

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

East China

Old Town of Qibao
  • Old Sanfang Qixiang
  • Old Town of Yongding
  • Ancient Town of Shaoxing
  • Ancient Town of Wuzhen
  • Ancient Town of Qibao
  • Ancient Town of Fengjing
  • Ancient Town of Nanxun
  • Ancient Town of Xitang
  • Ancient Town of Zhujiajiao
  • Ancient Town of Qiandeng
  • Ancient Town of Jinxi
  • Ancient Town of Luzhi
  • Ancient Town of Zhouzhuang
  • Ancient Town of Tongli
  • Ancient Town of Mudu
  • Ancient Town of Suzhou
  • Ancient Town of Tunxi
  • Walled old town area of Nanjing
Street in the Dali Ancient City

Southwestern China

  • Old Town and Potala Palace of Lhasa
  • Dali Ancient City
  • Pingle Ancient Town
  • Heshun
  • Ancient Town of Zhenyuan
  • Ancient Town of Ciqikou
  • Ancient Town of Lizhuang
  • Ancient Town of Liujiangzhen
  • Ancient Town of Shangli
  • Ancient Town of Luodai
  • Ancient Town of Jiezi
Street in the Old Town of Kashgar

Northwestern China

  • Qingmuchuan Ancient Town
  • Old Town of Kashgar

South Central China

Fenghuang Ancient Town
  • Old Town of Dengfeng
  • Yangmei Ancient Town
  • Huangyao Ancient Town
  • Fenghuang Ancient Town
  • Ancient Town of Liye
  • Ancient Town of Furong
  • Ancient Town of Luoyang
  • Ancient Town of Xijiang

Northeast China

Fiji

India

Streets of Jodhpur, India
The Stadhuis is an old building in Jakarta Old Town
Keraton Kanoman is one of the oldest buildings in the historic town of Cirebon

Indonesia

  • Ancient City of Banten
  • Old Town of Jakarta, within and 4 Outlying Islands (Onrust, Kelor, Cipir dan Bidadari)
  • Old Town of Semarang
  • Old Town of Padang
  • Depok Lama (Old Town of Depok)
  • Historic City of Surabaya
  • Historic City of Bandung
  • Historic City of Medan
  • Historic City of Malang
  • Historical Monuments of City of Ternate
  • Historical Monuments of Banda Neira
  • Historical Monuments of Padalarang
  • Historical Monuments of City Tidore
  • Historical City Center of Yogyakarta
  • Historical City Center of Tegal
  • Old Mining Town Of Sawahlunto
  • Old City of Banyumas
  • Old City of Banjarmasin
  • Old City of Bukittinggi
  • Old City of Jambi
  • Historical District of Lasem
  • Historical District of Ampenan
  • Historic Center of Solo (Surakarta)
  • Historic Town of Cirebon
  • Historic Center of Palembang
  • Historic Town of Bogor
  • Chinatown of Bengkulu (Kampung Cina Bengkulu)

Japan

Old Kyoto

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Chūbu

Chūgoku

  • Hagi Former Castle Town
  • Mitarai Historic Townscape
  • Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter
  • Tomonoura Port Town
  • Fukiya Merchant District
  • Matsue Samurai District
  • Yunotsu Onsen Port Town

Kansai

Post town of Narai

Kantō

  • Sawara Merchant District
  • Kawagoe Warehouse District

Kyushu

Shikoku

View on Ouchijuku from above
  • Yokaichi Merchant District
  • Kasashima Port Town

Tōhoku

  • Ouchijuku Post Town
  • Kakunodate Samurai District

Malaysia

Old Town of Ipoh

Myanmar

Nepal

New Zealand

Oamaru historic district

Pakistan

Philippines

Philippines as the former colony of Spain has numerous heritage structures, most notably in:

Singapore

South Korea

Old town (Bukchon Hanok Village) in Seoul

Taiwan

Thailand

Rank of Sino-Portuguese shophouses on both sides of the road in Phraeng Phuthon of Sam Phraeng within Rattanakosin Island

Uzbekistan

Vietnam

Europe

Austria

Main article: Altstadt
Old Town Salzburg across the Salzach river
UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Austria
Other notable/famous old towns include

Armenia

Abovyan street in the Old Town of Gyumri

Albania

A view of Gjirokaster

Azerbaijan

Old houses in the Inner city of Baku

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Cyprus

Denmark

Estonia

Town Hall square in the Old Town of Tallinn

Finland

France

See also: Historical quarters of Paris
The Old Town of Albi, a UNESCO World Heritage site
The old city of Besançon and the meander of the Doubs River

The equivalent of "Old Town" in French is vieille ville, although the more formal centre historique ("historical center") is usually written on road signs.

UNESCO World Heritage old towns
Other notable/famous old towns include

Georgia

Germany

Main article: Altstadt
Old town (Altstadt) of Regensburg in Bavaria, a World Heritage site
Hanseatic old town of Lübeck, aerial view
Old town of Quedlinburg
Wittenberg during Luthers Hochzeit festival
Old town of Würzburg

Other notable/famous old towns include:

Greece

A street in the Old Town of Corfu

Crete

Attica

Macedonia

Thessaly

A street in Plaka, Athens

Thrace

Epirus

Peloponnese

A view of Monemvasia from above

Ionian Islands

Aegan Islands

Street in Mykonos

Central Greece

Italy

Old town of Siena
Historic Centre of Rome
Venice as seen from the air
Old town of Urbino
Genoa
Vernazza, one of the towns of Cinque Terre in Liguria, Italy
Skyline of Assisi

I Borghi più belli d'Italia is an association of small Italian towns of historical interest.

Other notable old towns include:

Latvia

Vecrīga

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Montenegro

Moldova

Netherlands

Canal houses in Amsterdam

The standard term for 'Old Town' in the Netherlands is "binnenstad", which translates as "innercity", i.e. in city on the inside of the city walls.

North Macedonia

Norway

Poland

Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków
Old town in Toruń
Warsaw's Old Town Market Place
Market Square in Zamość
Gdańsk
Wrocław Old Town

UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Poland:

Other notable old towns include:

Portugal

Romania

Russia

The embankment along the Moyka river, St. Petersburg

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Central Federal District
Overview of the Old Town of Rostov

‡ indicates historic settlements of federal importance.

Volga Federal District
Street in the Old Town of Kazan
Northwestern Federal District
Ensemble of Pskov Kremlin
Southern Federal District
Astrakhan Kremlin
North Caucasian Federal District
Street in Vladikavkaz
Ural Federal District
Tobolsk Kremlin
Siberian Federal District
Historical center of Tomsk
  • Historic center of Tomsk, historic settlement of federal importance
  • Historic center of Irkutsk, historic settlement of federal importance
  • Historic center of Krasnoyarsk
  • Historic center of Omsk
  • Old Town of Yeniseysk, historic settlement of federal importance
Far Eastern Federal District
A street in Old Vladivostok

Serbia

  • Stari Grad, a neighborhood in Novi Sad
  • Petrovaradin suburb
  • Stari Grad, Sremski Karlovci - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, Kikinda - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, Zrenjanin - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance[1]
  • Stari Grad, Bečej - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, Sombor - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, Pančevo - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, Subotica - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, Sremska Mitrovica - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, Zemun - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, a municipality in Belgrade
  • Stara čaršija, Grocka, Belgrade - Two quarters of Old City are a Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Tešnjar, Valjevo - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stara čaršija, Novi Pazar - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, a municipality in Kragujevac
  • Stari Grad, the remains of a fort in Užice
  • Stari Grad, Ivanjica - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, Negotin - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Old Town of Prizren
  • Old Bazaar of Đakovica

Slovakia

Spain

UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Spain

Other notable/famous old towns include:

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Old Town of Safranbolu, UNESCO World Heritage site

UNESCO

  • Istanbul, Historic Peninsula (Fatih district), UNESCO World Heritage site
  • Bursa, Historic city center, UNESCO World Heritage site
  • Cumalıkızık, UNESCO World Heritage site
  • Safranbolu, UNESCO World Heritage site

Aegan region

Black Sea Region

Old Şirince

Central Anatolia Region

Eastern Anatolia Region

Old Houses in Ankara
  • Malatya, Historic city district (Yeşilyurt district)
  • Old Kemaliye
  • Old Town of Bitlis
  • Old Malatya (Battalgazi)
  • Old Town of Çukurca
  • Old Town of Kars

Marmara Region

Mediterranean Region

An overview of the Old Town of Mardin

Southeastern Anatolia Region

Ukraine

United Kingdom

England

Scotland

Wales

  • Holyhead Old Town, a townscape heritage conservation area with the best surviving Roman Fort in Wales

Overseas territories

  • Historic Town of St George, Bermuda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Middle East

Israel and Palestine

Old City of Jerusalem

Lebanon

Saudi Arabia

Historic houses of Jeddah

Syria

Yemen

Old Town of Sana'a

Iran

Overview of Masuleh
  • Historical Center in Yazd, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Historical Center in Isfahan, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Historical City of Masuleh
  • Historical City of Meybod
  • Old Abyaneh

Iraq

North America

Canada

Quebec

Other

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Mexico

Panama

  • Panamá Viejo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Puerto Rico

United States

California

Painted Ladies in San Francisco

Florida

Maryland

New Mexico

New York

  • Historic center of New York, New York
  • Old Town, Staten Island, New York

Northeastern United States

North Carolina

Tennessee

  • Old Town (Franklin, Tennessee) a location along the Natchez Trace named for the Mississippian mound complex there
  • Old Town (Mississippian culture mound complex), Franklin, Tennessee
  • Thomas Brown House (Franklin, Tennessee), also known as Old Town, NRHP-listed

Virginia

  • Historic center of Richmond
  • Old Town Fairfax
  • Old Town Alexandria
  • Old Town Manassas
  • Portsmouth Olde Towne Historic District

Other US states

South America

Argentina

Brazil

Northeast

Historic center of Salvador

Center-West

Southeast

Pátio do Colégio (left) and surrounding historic buildings in São Paulo

South

Colombia

Ecuador

Uruguay

Other uses

  • The Girls of Old Town, a group of prostitutes in the comic series Sin City
  • Old Town (song), a song by Phil Lynott, later covered by the Corrs

See also

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Old towns.
  • Altstadt
  • Eskişehir, "Old City" in Turkish
  • Old City (disambiguation)
  • Oldtown (disambiguation)
  • Stare Miasto (disambiguation), "Old Town" in Polish
  • Stari Grad (disambiguation), means "Old Town"

References

  1. ^ "Staro jezgro Zrenjanina proglašeno za zaštićenu prostorno kulturno-istorijsku celinu". 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Neighbourhood: Old Town". Tourism Toronto. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
Look up old town or Oldtown (disambiguation) in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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