Old town

For other uses, see Old Town (disambiguation).

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: