Old town
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. This is a list of some famous old towns:
Africa
[Algeria]
- Casbah of Algiers, in Algeria
[Egypt]
- Medieval Cairo, in Cairo
- Old Rashid
- Saint Catherine's Monastery, in Sinai
Kenya
- Mombasa Old Town
[Morocco]
- Old Meknes in Morocco
- old Essaouira, in Morocco
- Old Fes, in Morocco
- old Marrakech, in Morocco
- Tétouan in Morocco
- El Jadida in Morocco
Niger
- Historic Center of Agadez
[Tanzania]/[Zanzibar]
- Stone Town in Zanzibar City
[Tunisia]
- old Kairouan, in Tunisia
- Medina of Sousse in Tunisia
- Medina of Tunis in Tunisia
Asia and the Pacific
Bangladesh
- Old Town in Dhaka
China
- Forbidden City and Old Town remnants of Beijing
- Mountain Resort temple town in Chengde
- Old Town of Dengfeng
- Old Town of Kaiping
- Old Town of Lijiang
- Old Town and Potala Palace of Lhasa
- Historic Centre of Macau
- Walled old town area of Nanjing
- Old Town of Pingyao
- Old Town of Qufu
- Old Town of Suzhou
- Historical centers of Xidi and Hongcun
- Old Town of Yinxu
- Old Town of Zhouzhuang
Fiji
- Historical Port Town of Levuka
India
- Old Town and monuments of Agra
- Historical center of Alchi
- Historical center of Amritsar
- Old Town of Delhi
- Old Goa
- Historical center of Hyderabad
- Historical ruined center of Mandu
- Historical center of Mumbai
- Old Town and palace of Udaipur
Indonesia
- Old Town of Jakarta, within and 4 Outlying Islands
- Old Town of Semarang
- Historic City of Surabaya
- Historic Town of Bandung
- Historic Town of Medan
- Historic Monuments of City of Ternate
- Historic Monuments of Banda Neira
- Historic Monuments of City Of Tidore
- Historic Center of City of Yogyakarta
- Old Mining Town Of Sawahlunto
- Old Town of Padang
- Old City of Bukittinggi
- Historic District of Lasem
- Historic Center of Solo
- Historic Town of Cirebon
- Ancient City of Banten
- Historic Center of Palembang
- Historic City of Tegal
- Historic Town of Bogor
Japan
- Historic remnants of old Kyoto
- Historic remnants of old Nara
- Historic remnants of old Nikkō
- Historic centers of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama
Malaysia
- Core heritage zone in George Town, a World Heritage Site
- Old Town in Ipoh
- Old Town in Petaling Jaya
Pakistan
- Old Town in Karachi
Philippines
- Old Town remnants of Intramuros in Manila
- Old Town of Vigan
- Old Town of Malolos
- Old Town of San Fernando
- Old Town of Pila
- Old Town of Taal
- Old Town of Balayan
- Old Town of Baclayon
- Old Town of Iloilo
- Old Town of Laoag
- Old Town of Loboc
- Old Town of Carcar
- Old Town of Silay
- Old Town of Baclayon
- Old Town of Dapitan
South Korea
- Bukchon Hanok Village
- Insa-dong
- Nampo-dong
- Hahoe Folk Village
- Yangdong Folk Village
Syria
- Ancient City of Damascus
- Ancient City of Aleppo
Thailand
- Rattanakosin Island of Bangkok
- Talat Noi and Song Wat Road of Bangkok
- Kudi Chin of Bangkok
- Ban Sing Tha of Yasothon
- Old Phuket Town of Phuket
- Chak Ngaeo of Chonburi
- Chanthaboon Riverside Community of Chanthaburi
- Chiang Khan of Loei
- Chum Saeng of Nakhon Sawan
Uzbekistan
- Tashkent
- Samarkand
- Bukhara
- Khiva
Vietnam
- Old Town of Hanoi
- Old Town of Hội An
- Old Town of Huế
Europe
Austria
UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Austria:- Graz
- Krems an der Donau
- Salzburg, Altstadt Salzburg
- Vienna
- Hall in Tirol
- Innsbruck
- Linz
- Steyr
- Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Historic Center of Sarajevo
- Stari Most
- City of Višegrad
Bulgaria
- Old Town in Plovdiv
- Old Town in Lovech
- Old Town in Nessebur
Croatia
- Old Town of Dubrovnik, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old Town of Split with Diocletian's Palace, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old Town of Trogir, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old Town of Varaždin
- Gradec and Kaptol, twin old towns of Zagreb
Czech Republic
- Staré Město in Prague
Cyprus
- Walled city of Nicosia
- Walled city of Famagusta
- Old town of Limassol
Denmark
- Den Gamle By in Aarhus
Estonia
- Old Town of Narva
- Old Town of Tallinn, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old Town of Tartu
Finland
- Old Town of Porvoo
- Vanhakaupunki in Helsinki
France
UNESCO World Heritage old towns in France:
- Albi
- Avignon
- Bordeaux
- Carcassonne
- Lyon
- Provins
- Strasbourg
- Auxerre
- Besançon
- Lille
- Nice
- Rennes
- Rouen
- Saint-Malo
- Toulouse
Georgia
- Old Tbilisi in Tbilisi
- Historical Center in Mtskheta, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old Town in Kutaisi
- Old Town in Batumi
[Germany]
- UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Germany:
- *Bamberg
- *Goslar
- *Lübeck
- *Quedlinburg
- *Regensburg
- *Stralsund
- *Wismar
- Northern Germany:
- *Bad Doberan
- *Binz
- *Celle
- *Eckernförde
- *Flensburg
- *Friedrichstadt
- *Güstrow
- *Hamelin
- *Hann. Münden
- *Heringsdorf
- *Lüneburg
- *Neustrelitz
- *Putbus
- *Ratzeburg
- *Schwerin
- *Stade
- *Waren
- *Wolfenbüttel
- Eastern Germany:
- *Bautzen
- *Erfurt
- *Görlitz
- *Meissen
- *Pirna
- *Stolberg
- *Weimar
- *Wernigerode
- Southern Germany:
- *Baden-Baden
- *Dinkelsbühl
- *Freiburg
- *Füssen
- *Heidelberg
- *Konstanz
- *Landshut
- *Lindau
- *Nuremberg
- *Ravensburg
- *Rothenburg
- *Schwäbisch Hall
- *Tübingen
- *Würzburg
- Western Germany:
- *Bacharach
- *Beilstein
- *Bernkastel-Kues
- *Cochem
- *Hattingen
- *Landau
- *Lemgo
- *Limburg
- *Linz am Rhein
- *Marburg
- *Monschau
- *Montabaur
- *Rüdesheim
- *Soest
- *Trier
- *Wetzlar
- *Xanten
Greece
- Old Town in Rhodes, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old Town of Corfu, UNESCO World Heritage Site
Ireland
- An Seanbhaile in County Roscommon
Italy
- UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Italy:
- *Assisi
- *Ferrara
- *Florence
- *Mantua
- *Modena
- *Naples
- *Pienza
- *Pisa
- *Ravenna
- *Rome
- *San Gimignano
- *Siena
- *Siracusa
- *Urbino
- *Venice
- *Verona
- *Vicenza
Other notable old towns include:
- Northern Italy
- *Bassano del Grappa
- *Bergamo
- *Bologna
- *Bolzano
- *Castelfranco Veneto
- *Chioggia
- *Cittadella
- *Genoa
- *Palmanova
- *Parma
- *Pavia
- *Polcenigo
- *Sacile
- *Trento
- *Treviso
- *Trieste
- *Turin
- *Udine
- *Vittorio Veneto
- Central Italy
- *Ancona
- *Arezzo
- *Camerino
- *Colle di Val d'Elsa
- *Gubbio
- *Loreto
- *Lucca
- *Massa Marittima
- *Montalcino
- *Montefiascone
- *Monteleone di Spoleto
- *Montepulciano
- *Orvieto
- *Perugia
- *Tivoli
- *Viterbo
- *Volterra
- Southern Italy
- *Bari
- *Catania
- *Lecce
- *Palermo
Latvia
- Vecrīga in Riga, UNESCO World Heritage Site
Lithuania
- Senamiestis in Vilnius
- Senamiestis in Kaunas
- Senamiestis in Klaipėda
- Senamiestis in Trakai
Montenegro
- Old Town of Kotor, a World Heritage Site
- Old Town of Budva
- Old Town of Herceg Novi
- Stara Varoš
- Stari Bar
Netherlands
- Oude Stad in Nijmegen
- Oude Stad
Norway
- Old Town, Oslo
Poland
- Kraków Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Warsaw Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old City of Zamość, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Medieval Town of Toruń, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Poznań Old Town
- Old town of Chełmno
- Old town of Sandomierz
- Old town in Gdańsk
- Old town in Lublin
- Old town in Przemyśl
- Old town of Szczecin
- Old town of Stargard Szczeciński
- Old town of Trzebiatów
- Old town of Wrocław
- Police Old Town
- Old town of Nowe Warpno
Portugal
- Old town in Póvoa de Varzim, named "old town" since 1343.
- Old town in Oporto
- Old town in Guimarães
- Óbidos, Portugal walled city
- Old town in Évora
- Old town in Lisboa
Romania
- Old town of Arad
- Old town of Botoșani
- Old town of Brașov
- Old town of Brăila
- Old town of Bucharest
- Old town of Cluj Napoca
- Old town of Constanța
- Old town of Craiova
- Old town of Oradea
- Old town of Sibiu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old town of Sighișoara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old town of Timișoara
Serbia
- Tešnjar, Valjevo - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
- Stari Grad, Sremski Karlovci - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
- Stara čaršija, Grocka, Belgrade - Two quarters of Old City are a Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
- Stara čaršija, Novi Pazar - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
- Stari Grad, a municipality in Belgrade
- Stari Grad, a neighborhood in Novi Sad
- Stari Grad, a municipality in Kragujevac
- Stari Grad, the remains of a fort in Užice
Slovakia
- Staré Mesto in Bratislava
- Staré Mesto in Košice
Spain
- UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Spain:
- * Alcalá de Henares
- * Ávila
- * Baeza
- * Cáceres
- * Córdoba
- * Cuenca
- * Salamanca
- * San Cristóbal de La Laguna
- * Santiago de Compostela
- * Segovia
- * Toledo
- * Úbeda
- Andújar
- Bilbao
- Burgos
- Cádiz
- Girona
- Granada
- Ibiza
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
- León
- Lorca
- Lugo
- Madrid
- Oviedo
- Palma de Mallorca
- Pamplona
- Peniscola
- San Sebastián
- San Roque
- Sanlúcar de Barrameda
- Seville
- Tarragona
- Teruel
- Trujillo
- Vitoria-Gasteiz
- Zamora
Sweden
- Gamla staden, Malmö
- Gamla stan, Stockholm
- Gamlestaden, Gothenburg
- Gammelstaden, Luleå Municipality
Switzerland
- Bern, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Zürich, District 1
Turkey
- Istanbul, Historic Peninsula
- Ankara, Historic city center
- Amasya, Historic city center
Ukraine
- Stare Misto in Lviv
- Old Kyiv
United Kingdom
England
- UNESCO World Heritage old towns in England:
- * City of Bath
- * Maritime Greenwich
- * Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City
- Old Town, Barnsley
- Old Town, Chard
- Old Town, Cumbria
- Old Town, Eastbourne
- Old Town, Hastings
- Old Town, Isles of Scilly
- Old Town, Northumberland
- Old Town, Southampton, a district of the city of Southampton
- Old Town, Swindon
- Old Town, West Yorkshire
Scotland
- Old Town, Edinburgh, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the New Town, Edinburgh
Overseas territories
- , a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Middle East
Israel
- Old City of Acre
- Old City of Beersheba
- Old City of Haifa
- Old Jaffa
- Old City of Jerusalem
- Old City of Nazareth
- Old City of Ramle
- Old City of Tiberias
- Old City of Safed
- Old City of Lydda
[Lebanon]
- Old Byblos
- Old Sidon
- Old Tripoli
- Old Tyre
- Beirut Central District
- Old Batroun
- Deir el Qamar
- Rachaya
Palestine">State of Palestine">Palestine
- Old Nablus
- Old Bethlehem
- Old City of Hebron
[Saudi Arabia]
- Diriyah in Riyadh
[Syria]
- Ancient City of Aleppo, in Syria
- Ancient City of Bosra, in Syria
- Ancient City of Damascus in Syria
[Yemen]
- Old City of Sana'a in Yemen
- Old Walled City of Shibam in Yemen
- Zabīd in Yemen
North America
Canada
- Historic District of Old Quebec, Quebec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old Town Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Old Montreal, Quebec
- Old Town, Toronto, Ontario
Cuba
- Old Havana
Dominican Republic
- Ciudad Colonial in Santo Domingo, oldest European city in America, UNESCO World Heritage Site
Mexico
- Historic center of Mexico City, Mexico City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Guanajuato City, Guanajuato, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Morelia, Michoacan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Zacatecas City, Zacatecas a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Queretaro City, Queretaro
- Campeche City, Campeche a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Tlacotalpan, Veracruz a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site
- San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Puerto Rico
- Old San Juan, UNESCO World Heritage Site, U.S. National Register of Historic Places
United States
California
- Old Town Eureka, California an original 19th Century Victorian commercial district in Eureka, California
- Old Town, Kern County, California
- Old Town, Marin County, California
- Old Town, Santa Barbara County, California
- Old Town, Ventura County, California
- Old Town, California, former name of Pine Town, California, in Lassen County
- Old Town Pasadena, California
- Old Sacramento State Historic Park, Sacramento, California
- Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, San Diego, California
- Old Town, San Diego, a neighborhood of San Diego
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
- Old Town, Brunswick County, North Carolina
- Old Town, Forsyth County, North Carolina
- Old Town Township, Forsyth County, North Carolina
Tennessee
- Old Town a location along the Natchez Trace named for the Mississippian mound complex there
- *Old Town, Franklin, Tennessee
- Thomas Brown House, also known as Old Town, NRHP-listed
Other US states
- Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona
- Old Town, Augusta, Georgia
- Old Town, Chicago, Illinois
- Old Town, Indiana
- Old Town, Wichita, Kansas
- Old Town, Maine, a city
- Olde Towne Gaithersburg, Maryland
- Old Town Lansing, Michigan
- Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Old Town, Staten Island, New York
- Old Town Chinatown, Portland, Oregon
- Old Town Fairfax, Virginia
- Old Town Alexandria, Virginia
- Old Town Manassas, Virginia
- Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia
South America
Argentina
Northeast
- Historic Center of Olinda
- Historic Center of Salvador, also known as Pelourinho
- Historic Center of São Luis
Center-West
- Historic Center of Goiás, Goiás
Southeast
- Historic Center of Diamantina, Minas Gerais
- Centro, in Rio de Janeiro
- Sé, in the Central Zone of São Paulo
South
- Centro Histórico, in Porto Alegre
Colombia
- La Candelaria, a historic neighborhood in downtown Bogotá
Ecuador
- Quito´s Historic Center has one of the largest, least-altered and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas. This center was, together with the historic centre of Kraków in Poland, the first to be declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 18 September 1978. The Historic Centre of Quito is located in the center south of the capital on an area of, and is considered one of the most important historic areas in Latin America.There are about 130 monumental buildings and 5,000 properties registered in the municipal inventory of heritage properties.
Uruguay
- Ciudad Vieja in Montevideo, "Old City" is the name of the oldest part of the city
Other uses
- The Girls of Old Town, a group of prostitutes in the comic series Sin City
- Old Town, a song by Phil Lynott, later covered by the Corrs