Paphos is a city of 70,000 on the southwest coast of Cyprus and one of the most mythologically and archaeologically significant places in the Mediterranean — the birthplace of Aphrodite (according to Greek mythology, she rose from the sea foam at the Petra tou Romiou rock, 15 km east of the city), the location of an extraordinary UNESCO archaeological park with 4th-century CE Roman floor mosaics (the finest in the Eastern Mediterranean), and the first port of call for the Apostle Paul on his first missionary journey to Europe (Acts 13) where he converted the Roman Governor Sergius Paulus in 46 CE, making Cyprus the first country to be ruled by a Christian governor. The UNESCO Paphos Archaeological Park holds four exceptional Roman villa complexes — the House of Dionysus, the House of Theseus, the House of Aion and the House of Orpheus — each with floor mosaics of mythological scenes (the rape of Ganymede, the triumph of Dionysus, Theseus killing the Minotaur) preserved in extraordinary condition. The Paphos Fort at the harbour (originally Lusignan, rebuilt by Ottomans in 1592), the Tombs of the Kings (4th century BCE necropolis carved from the rock, where Macedonian-style underground tombs have Doric columns carved directly into the limestone) and the Byzantine castle of Saranda Kolones (destroyed by earthquake 1222) form additional layers of 2,700 years of continuous habitation. Paphos was designated European Capital of Culture in 2017, and its coastal position (long sandy beaches at Coral Bay, Latchi and the Akamas Peninsula nature reserve) make it the most complete leisure-and-culture destination in Cyprus.
Nea Paphos was founded around 320 BCE by Nikokles, the last king of Palaepaphos, and later became the capital of Roman Cyprus. Most of the villas in today's archaeological park date from the 2nd to 4th centuries CE. Their floors were found by chance in 1962, when a farmer ploughing his field hit the House of Dionysus. Kato Paphos was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1980. The House of Dionysus has the richest set of mosaics: Dionysus giving wine to Ikarios next to the "first wine-drinkers", Narcissus gazing into his pool, Pyramus and Thisbe, and a lively hunting frieze. The House of Theseus shows the hero fighting the Minotaur and the rare scene of the baby Achilles' first bath. The House of Aion's late mosaic of a beauty contest between Cassiopeia and the Nereids is the most finely made of all. Beyond the villas, walk to the restored 2nd-century Odeon, the Agora and the ruined Byzantine fort of Saranta Kolones. The site is open daily from 08:30 to 19:30 in summer (roughly mid-April to mid-September) and from 08:30 to 17:00 in winter. Entry costs €4.50. Insider tip: come at opening time. The low sun brings out the colours of the tiny stones, and you beat the tour coaches and the midday heat. There is almost no shade, so bring water and a hat. The park sits right behind Kato Paphos harbour. Afterwards, have fish meze at a taverna on the waterfront or at Hondros on Apostolou Pavlou Avenue, then walk to the medieval castle on the quay. The Tombs of the Kings are 2 km to the north.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePaphos Castle stands at the western end of the harbour breakwater, and its history explains its squat, solid shape. A Byzantine fort first guarded the anchorage. The Lusignans rebuilt it in the 13th century, and the Venetians pulled it down in 1570 so the advancing Ottomans could not use it. In 1592 the Ottomans built the square keep that stands today. The British later used it as a salt store until 1935. The Department of Antiquities now runs it. It is open daily 08:30–19:30 from mid-April to mid-September and 08:30–17:00 in winter, and entry costs €2.50. Inside there is little to see beyond the vaulted ground-floor hall and the old dungeon cells. The rooftop terrace, though, gives the best view over the harbour, the lighthouse and the mosaic fields of Kato Paphos. In early September the castle is the backdrop for the open-air opera of the Pafos Aphrodite Festival. The harbour is still a working one. Small fishing boats unload their catch in the early morning, and glass-bottom and cruise boats (about €15–30) leave for Coral Bay and the Akamas coast. For food, skip the quayside places with touts outside and order a fish meze (about €25–35 per person). Expect grilled sea bream (tsipoura), charred octopus, calamari and crisp fried marides, and finish with a small glass of sweet Commandaria. Insider tip: arrive for the last hour before closing and watch the sunset from the roof. Then walk two minutes to the Paphos Archaeological Park (€4.50), or follow the seafront path past the lighthouse towards the Tombs of the Kings. Kato Paphos is the lower town by the sea, and the Poseidonos Avenue promenade runs east from the harbour to the hotel strip.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideCarved into the sandstone plateau just north of Kato Paphos, this UNESCO-listed necropolis dates from the 4th century BCE, when King Nikokles founded Nea Paphos as the new Ptolemaic capital of Cyprus. It was used until about the 3rd century CE. No architect is recorded. The tombs were cut straight into the bedrock by local stonemasons copying Alexandrian houses, and systematic excavation only began in 1977 under the Cypriot archaeologist Sophocles Hadjisavvas. No kings are buried here. The name comes from the grandeur of the graves, which belonged to Ptolemaic officials and the city's wealthy families. Tomb 3 is the one to see first: a sunken peristyle courtyard lined with Doric columns, with burial niches (loculi) opening off it. Tombs 4 and 8 have the best-preserved colonnades. In Tomb 8, look for traces of plaster and the small crosses left by early Christians who later used the chambers as refuge. The site is open daily from 08:30 to 19:30 in summer (mid-April to mid-September) and from 08:30 to 17:00 in winter. Admission is about €2.50, but check at the gate because the Department of Antiquities has been revising fees. Insider tip: arrive at opening or in the last hour before closing. There is almost no shade on the plateau, and the late light shows the carving best. Bring water and shoes that grip, because the rock-cut steps are worn smooth. The site sits between the sea and the hotel strip on Tombs of the Kings Road. Bus 615 from the Kato Paphos harbour station stops at the gate. Afterwards, walk or cycle about 2 km south along the coastal path to the Paphos Archaeological Park's mosaics and the harbour fort. Finish with a meze of halloumi, sheftalia and fresh fish at one of the harbour's tavernas.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePaphos harbour has served sailors and fishermen since Nea Paphos was founded in the late 4th century BC. Today the tavernas along its quay in Kato Paphos keep it going with the island's most sociable meal: the meze. When you order it, 15 to 20 small plates arrive in waves over about two hours, so pace yourself. First come bread, olives, tahini, taramosalata, talattouri (the Cypriot tzatziki) and village salad. Next comes grilled halloumi, a PDO cheese since 2021, which you should eat hot before it turns rubbery. Then come loukanika sausages cured in red wine, afelia (pork braised in wine and crushed coriander seed) and finally souvla, big chunks of pork or lamb slow-turned over charcoal and served with pourgouri, the cracked-wheat pilaf. Expect to pay €20–28 per person for a meat meze and €28–38 for a fish meze, usually with a minimum of two people. Half a litre of house wine costs €8–12 and a KEO beer about €4–5. Most harbour tavernas open daily from about 11:00 or 12:00 until 23:00, with shorter hours from November to March. The view is of the medieval fort at the end of the quay. It began as a Byzantine structure, was rebuilt by the Lusignans in the 13th century, pulled down by the Venetians in 1570 and rebuilt by the Ottomans in 1592. Entry costs €2.50. The Paphos Archaeological Park, a UNESCO site since 1980 with its Roman mosaics, is a five-minute walk away, so you can visit it in the afternoon before dinner. Insider tip: the tables right on the water charge for the view. Walk a street or two back into Kato Paphos for the same meze at lower prices, or book a front table for sunset, around 19:45 in midsummer. Finish with a glass of Commandaria, the amber dessert wine from the hills above Limassol.
Petra tou Romiou is a natural sea stack, so it has no founding year and no architect. Its limestone and chalk formed in the Late Cretaceous, when the sea stood far higher than it does today. The name means "Rock of the Greek." It comes from the Byzantine hero Digenis Akritas, who is said to have hurled the boulder at Saracen raiders. The older story is better known: Aphrodite rose from the foam on this stretch of coast, about 25 km southeast of Paphos on the old B6 road to Limassol. The site is open around the clock and costs nothing to visit. You pay only for parking or food at the tourist pavilion on the inland side of the road, and a pedestrian underpass takes you safely under the traffic to the shingle beach. The water gets deep quickly and the swell can be strong, so swim close to shore unless the sea is flat. Local lore says anyone who swims around the rock three times gains lasting youth or true love. Before you leave, drive a kilometre east to the lay-by on the headland. The whole bay is framed from there, and at sunset the chalk cliffs turn apricot. Sunrise gets far fewer visitors and gives the same colours. Insider tip: skip the pavilion's standard menu and continue 10 km east to Pissouri village, where tavernas serve grilled halloumi, village sausage (loukaniko) and a full meze for around €20–25 a head. Complete the Aphrodite theme at the Sanctuary of Aphrodite in Kouklia (ancient Palaepaphos), 8 km west. It is a UNESCO-listed ruin with a small museum, and entry is about €4.50. Opening hours change with the season, so check the Department of Antiquities website before you go. Please leave the pebbles on the beach: taking them is discouraged, and the beach is slowly losing them.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Akamas Peninsula has no single founding date. Its best-known protection is the Lara–Toxeftra Turtle Conservation Project, which the Cyprus Department of Fisheries set up in 1978. Most of the peninsula is now protected under the EU's Natura 2000 network. It is open ground rather than a gated park, so there are no opening hours and no entrance fee. There is also no architect, but the drystone shepherds' huts and the Byzantine ruins near Pegeia show how people used this land long before the tour jeeps arrived. From Paphos you reach it two ways. The southern route runs about 25 km through Coral Bay and Agios Georgios. The northern route runs about 48 km to Polis and the fishing harbour of Latchi. Loggerhead and green turtles nest at Lara Bay from June to August, and the hatchlings emerge until late September. Mesh cages mark the nests: never step inside them, and keep to the firm sand near the waterline. Avakas Gorge is a 3 km walk between limestone walls in places only a few metres apart. Go early, and skip it after heavy rain. At the northern end, the Baths of Aphrodite grotto is the start of the Adonis and Aphrodite trails, which are loops of about 7.5 km with wide views over Chrysochou Bay. Boat trips from Latchi to the Blue Lagoon cost about €25–40. Guided 4WD safaris cost about €50–70 per person. Afterwards, eat grilled fish or octopus at the Latchi harbour tavernas, or have village meze in Neo Chorio or Kathikas. Insider tip: most rental contracts void your insurance on unpaved roads, even for 4x4s. Check the small print, fill up the tank in Polis or Peyia, and carry at least two litres of water per person, because there is no shade or shop past Lara.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Baths of Aphrodite are a natural grotto on the Akamas peninsula, about 11 km west of Polis and roughly 50 minutes' drive north of Paphos town. There is no founding date or architect: a spring trickles down a limestone cleft into a shaded pool under an old fig tree. According to legend, Aphrodite bathed here and met Adonis when he stopped to drink. Entry is free and the site is open at all hours. Swimming in the pool is prohibited. From the car park by the tourist pavilion it is a five-minute walk on a paved path, and the small botanical garden along the way labels native Akamas plants. The Baths are also the trailhead for two waymarked loops, the Aphrodite and Adonis trails. The 7.5 km Aphrodite trail climbs to the ruins of Pyrgos tis Rigainas and the Moutti tis Sotiras viewpoint, then returns along the coast. For Fontana Amorosa, follow the coastal track about 6 km west, roughly 2 hours one way on foot, over rough limestone past quiet coves. Legend says anyone who drinks from its spring falls in love, though the spring itself is modest. The real attraction is the empty coastline and the turquoise water around it. Take at least 2 litres of water per person. There is almost no shade, and from June to September you should start before 8am. Insider tip: hike out to Fontana Amorosa and arrange a return by boat from Latchi harbour. Operators there run Blue Lagoon trips for about €20–30 per person, with snorkelling stops along this coast. Afterwards, eat at one of the fish tavernas on Latchi harbour. Order the fresh catch weighed by the kilo, grilled octopus or a full fish meze, and pair it with a glass of local Xynisteri. Polis nearby has a relaxed square with cafés and is a quieter base than Paphos.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLatchi sits on Chrysochou Bay, about 35 km north of Paphos by road through Polis. It began as a working fishing shelter. There is no single founding date and no named architect. Its concrete breakwater and marina were built up over the late twentieth century, and small caïques still land their catch here most mornings. Tourist boats share the harbour with them. The waterfront is one short strip of family-run tavernas, and most of them buy fish straight off the boats. Order by the kilo: the waiter brings the tray to your table and you pick your fish. Line-caught lavraki (sea bass) and fagri (sea bream) usually cost €55–75 per kilo, and one fish of about 600 g feeds two people. A full fish meze of 15–20 small plates costs roughly €28–35 a head, with a two-person minimum. Look for grilled octopus, calamari, marinated gavros (anchovy) and fried barbouni (red mullet). In spring and after the autumn rains, try karavolous: land snails fried in olive oil with rosemary and a little vinegar. Drink a chilled Xynisteri from a Paphos-district winery, such as SODAP's Kamanterena label from Stroumbi. A carafe of house white costs about €10–14. Kitchens generally open at noon, close in the late afternoon and reopen from about 18:30 until 22:30 or 23:00. From November to March many close one weekday or only open at weekends, so phone ahead. Insider tip: book a table on the harbour wall for about 30 minutes before sunset. The light falls across the bay towards Pomos, and the evening boats come in while you eat. Make a day of it by walking the Aphrodite nature trail from the Baths of Aphrodite, 3 km west, or by taking a glass-bottom boat to the Blue Lagoon in the morning. Then have a late lunch or dinner here before driving back via Polis.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Palaepaphos (Old Paphos) sits on a limestone ridge above the village of Kouklia, 15 km east of Kato Paphos. Worship began here around 1200 BCE, when Late Bronze Age settlers built the first open-air temenos. Myth says Aphrodite came ashore near this spot. For about 1,600 years, until the cult was banned around 400 CE, this was her most important sanctuary in the ancient world, and pilgrims sailed here from all over the Mediterranean. The building has no known architect. What you see today is mostly the Roman rebuilding from the 1st–2nd century CE, laid over the Bronze Age sanctuary's massive ashlar walls. Since 1980 it has been part of the Paphos UNESCO World Heritage listing. The site is usually open daily from 08:30 to 17:00 in winter and to 19:30 from mid-April to mid-September. Entry costs €4.50. Check the Department of Antiquities website before you go, because hours change on public holidays. Start in the museum, which is housed in a 13th-century Lusignan manor house. Its central exhibit is the conical black stone that was worshipped as Aphrodite before sculptors gave her a human form. Then walk out to the Leda and the Swan mosaic (a replica, since the original is in Nicosia), the Roman south stoa and the remains of a medieval sugar refinery. Near the entrance, a few family tavernas in Kouklia serve village meze, kleftiko and halloumi from local flocks. Insider tip: arrive around 15:30, when the tour coaches have left and the low sun lights up the ashlar blocks. Afterwards, drive 10 km further east on the B6 to Petra tou Romiou, Aphrodite's legendary birthplace, in time for sunset. Bus 631 from Paphos harbour also stops at both.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideKolossi Castle is not near Paphos. It stands 14 km west of Limassol, about 55 km (roughly 45 minutes) east of Paphos on the A6, and pairs easily with ancient Kourion 7 km further on. The Franks built the first fort here around 1210 and handed it to the Knights Hospitaller. Their Grand Commandery gave its name to Commandaria, a sweet wine made from sun-dried grapes that 14 villages in the Troodos foothills still produce. The keep you see today is the 1454 rebuild ordered by Grand Commander Louis de Magnac. His coat of arms appears next to the Lusignan royal shield on the east wall. The three-storey tower rises about 21 m, and its walls are up to 2.5 m thick. You enter over a drawbridge. On the first floor there is a faded Crucifixion mural, and a spiral stair leads to the crenellated roof, which looks out over the Akrotiri plain. Next to the keep stand a vaulted stone sugar factory and an aqueduct. They are a reminder that sugar cane, not wine, earned the estate most of its money. The site opens daily from 08:30 to 19:30 between mid-April and mid-September, and from 08:30 to 17:00 the rest of the year. Entry costs €2.50, and an hour is enough. Insider tip: come at opening time or in the last hour, when the coach groups have left and the roof is cooler. Afterwards, drive 4 km to the Cyprus Wine Museum in Erimi for a Commandaria tasting (about €5–10). You can also carry on to Kalo Chorio or Zoopigi, where family wineries pour aged Commandaria. At a village taverna, order grilled halloumi and lountza, then finish with loukoumades and a small chilled glass of Commandaria.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideKourion sits on a limestone bluff 70 m above Episkopi Bay, about 50 km east of Paphos and 14 km west of Limassol. According to legend, Greeks from Argos founded it. Excavations show a city-kingdom here by the 12th–11th century BCE, and it prospered until the earthquake of 365 CE destroyed it. No architect's name survives, but the theatre shows how the city changed over time. It was built in the 2nd century BCE and enlarged by the Romans in the 2nd century CE, when it was also adapted for gladiator and animal fights. Restored to seat about 3,500, it now hosts summer concerts and Shakespeare performances. The House of Eustolios began as a villa and became a public bathhouse around 400 CE. Its floor mosaics show partridges and fish, and one Greek inscription names Christ as the house's protector. The nearby House of Achilles and House of the Gladiators have more mosaics, and the 5th-century Episcopal Basilica marks the city's Christian period. The site is open 08:00–19:30 from mid-April to mid-September, 08:00–18:00 until mid-October and 08:00–17:00 in winter. Entry costs €4.50. The Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates, 3 km west, has its own €4.50 ticket. Insider tip: there's almost no shade, so arrive at opening or in the last two hours before closing, and watch the sunset from the top row of the theatre. Afterwards, drive down to Kourion Beach for grilled fish or halloumi at one of the tavernas on the shore. Or stop at Kolossi Castle, 5 km east, built in the 15th century and linked to Commandaria, Cyprus's sweet dessert wine.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideCoral Bay lies about 12 km north of Kato Paphos, below the hillside village of Peyia. Its crescent of pale sand between two limestone headlands is the best beach within easy reach of the city. The beach is public and open around the clock. Sunbeds and umbrellas cost about €2.50–3 each, and lifeguards are on duty in summer. From the harbour, OSYPA bus 615 takes about 35 minutes and costs around €2. Head to the southern headland at Maa-Palaeokastro, where Mycenaean Greeks settled around 1200 BCE. Low stone walls of that Bronze Age settlement still stand, and a small museum there was designed by Italian architect Andrea Bruno. Check its hours locally before you go, because they change with the season. The wine to bring is Commandaria. It is made in 14 villages in the Troodos foothills from Xynisteri and Mavro grapes, which are dried in the sun before pressing. Hesiod described a sweet Cypriot wine around 800 BCE. The name comes from the Grand Commandery of the Knights Hospitaller at Kolossi in the 13th century, and it is often called the oldest named wine still in production. A bottle of KEO St John or Etko Centurion costs €12–25 at a Paphos supermarket. Serve it slightly chilled. For food, walk up to Peyia, where village tavernas serve a full meze for about €20–25 per person. Expect grilled halloumi, sheftalia (grilled sausages wrapped in caul fat), kleftiko (slow-roasted lamb) and snails in season. Insider tip: skip the crowded sand at dusk. Drive 3 km south to the Peyia sea caves, where the rusting wreck of the Edro III has sat on the rocks since 2011. Sit on the cliffs with your glass while the sun drops into the sea west of the Akamas Peninsula. It is quieter, wilder and a more fitting farewell to Cyprus.
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