Stralsund in Germany, an Altstadt regarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO. European old towns are easily recognizable by their density, small alleys and buildings from different eras, often even going back to Gothic times.
The medieval timed old town of Porvoo in Finland, along the Porvoonjoki river in summer time.
Traditional houses with the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in the background, walled city of Nicosia.
A typical street in the old town of Limassol.
Historical Centre of Verona in 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 after thorough renovations. There are many places throughout the world referred to as the old town (and this is sometimes construed as a proper noun and capitalized). This is a list of some famous old towns:

Africa

Algeria

Egypt

Kenya

Morocco

Niger

Tanzania/Zanzibar

Tunisia

Asia and the Pacific

Bangladesh

China

Fiji

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

Japan

Malaysia

Pakistan

Philippines

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

South Korea

Old town (Bukchon Hanok Village) in Seoul

Syria

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

Old Town Salzburg across the Salzach river
Old town of Innsbruck

UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Austria:

Other notable/famous old towns include:

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Cyprus

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

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 in France:

Other notable/famous old towns include:

Georgia

Germany

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

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

Lithuania

Montenegro

Netherlands

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.

  • Oude Stad in Nijmegen
  • Oude Stad (Tilburg)

Norway

Poland

Poznań Old Town

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Other notable/famous old towns include:

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

England

Scotland

Overseas territories

Middle East

Israel and Palestine

Old City of Jerusalem

Lebanon

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Yemen

North America

Canada

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Mexico

Panama

Puerto Rico

United States

California

Florida

  • Old Town, Florida, a town in Dixie County, not to be confused with the one in Orlando
  • Old Town Fernandina, Fernandina Beach, Florida; the last town in the Western Hemisphere to be platted according to the Spanish "Law of the Indies" in 1811; named for King Ferdinand VII
  • Old Town, Key West, the historic section of the city of Key West, Florida
  • Old Town, an amusement park/shopping center in Kissimmee, Florida

North Carolina

Tennessee

Virginia

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

See also

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Old towns.

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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