Cyprus

Nicosia is the world’s last divided capital city — bisected since 1974 by the UN Buffer Zone (the Green Line), with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on one side and the Republic of Cyprus on the other. The Cyprus Museum (finest Bronze Age and Classical collection in the island). The Venetian walls.

💡 The Ledra Street crossing point lets visitors cross freely between south and north Nicosia — the contrast between the two sides, architecturally and commercially, is striking. The Selimiye Mosque (formerly the Gothic Cathedral of Saint Sophia, 14th century) is in the northern half.

1h30 from Nicosia. Paphos was the capital of Cyprus under Rome and the mythological birthplace of Aphrodite. The Paphos Archaeological Park (walk-in UNESCO World Heritage Site): Roman mosaics from the 3rd century CE covering 2,000m² of floor, with extraordinary colour retention after 1,700 years.

💡 The Paphos mosaics are among the finest in the Eastern Mediterranean — scenes from Greek mythology (Dionysus, Theseus and the Minotaur, the Triumph of Dionysos) in house-sized panels. They were discovered by a farmer ploughing in 1962.

The Rock of Aphrodite (Petra tou Romiou) — the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite from the sea foam, a stack of sea-carved rocks in turquoise water south of Paphos — at sunrise. The Tomb of the Kings (underground rock-cut tombs from the 4th century BCE, larger and more dramatic than the name suggests).

💡 The Tomb of the Kings is misnamed — no kings were buried here. It is a necropolis of 100 rock-cut tombs from the 4th century BCE, many with Doric-columned facades cut directly into the rock. Entry is €2.50.

1h30 from Paphos. The Troodos Mountains have 10 UNESCO World Heritage Byzantine painted churches scattered through pine and cedar forest — the most concentrated collection of Byzantine fresco painting outside Istanbul. Kykkos Monastery (the wealthiest in Cyprus, 11th century) for the Icon of the Virgin attributed to St Luke.

💡 The frescoes at Asinou Church (12th century, a small stone building in a walnut grove) are the finest single concentration of Byzantine painting in Cyprus — covering every surface of the barrel-vaulted interior. The church is kept locked; the key is held by the priest in the village 5km away.

1h from Troodos. Limassol (Lemesos) is Cyprus’s second city and most energetic — the old town behind the castle has been renovated into a restaurant and bar district. Commandaria wine (the world’s oldest named wine still in production, made in 14 villages in the Troodos foothills, documented by the Crusaders in 1191) from a local winery.

💡 Commandaria is documented in historical records from 800 BCE and was the wine that Richard I of England served at his wedding to Berengaria of Navarre in Limassol in 1191. It is still produced in the same 14 villages under EU protected designation.

1h from Limassol. The Akamas Peninsula is the most remote part of Cyprus — no permanent settlements, coastal hiking trails, sea turtles nesting on the beaches (April–September), and the Avakas Gorge (a narrow limestone slot canyon accessible on foot). The Blue Lagoon at Lara Bay.

💡 Lara Bay is a nesting beach for loggerhead and green sea turtles — protected and monitored by the Fisheries Department. Between June and September the beach is partly closed at night. Turtle tracks (imprints from females coming ashore) are visible at dawn.

Cross to Northern Cyprus at the Ledra Palace crossing. Famagusta (Gazi Maãusa) — the walled city where Shakespeare set Othello, with the Cathedral of St Nicholas converted to a mosque — and Varosha, the beach suburb abandoned in 1974, partially reopened since 2020 but still largely frozen in time.

💡 Varosha (Maraş) is a ghost neighbourhood abandoned by its Greek Cypriot population during the 1974 Turkish invasion — 25,000 residents left in hours, leaving possessions, cars and food. Parts were reopened to visitors from 2020. The experience is genuinely eerie.