The coastal city of Paphos lies on the southwestern-most shore of Cyprus. Easily reached via the A6 highway, it is a very direct route from the primary airport on the island in Larnaka, and is just under an hour’s ride from the major port city of Limassol. Paphos is also home to Cyprus’ second largest airport. The city is a bustling resort town that enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate and is considered to have the mildest temperatures on the island.

Paphos Activities – Having Fun in Cyprus

The city consists of two parts: Old and New Paphos. Old Paphos has been inhabited since Neolithic times and was the center of the cult of Aphrodite at Petra Tou Romio and various pre-Hellenistic fertility deities. New Paphos contains the modern buildings and resorts, as well as ruins and archaeological sites from the Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods.

We visited Pafos on two occasions during our stay on Cyprus: once on my birthday and another time with Briana’s dad while he was visiting us.

Waterfront

Go for a Swim

The Paphos waterfront is a lively resort area with numerous cafes, restaurants, and souvenir shops. You’ll also find plenty of public “beaches”, or rather swimming spots. The waters surrounding Cyprus tend to lend themselves to go swimming, but often lack any sand but instead have large pebbles. In this case, there aren’t even pebbles, just a spot to jump in. We didn’t partake in any swimming, but dozens of swimmers were enjoying themselves.

Grab a Bite

We ate at two different locations on the waterfront. Once for my birthday, which had a pretty good basket of fish n’ chips, and a really strong Irish coffee. Generally, I think of an Irish coffee as a bit of Bailey’s in the coffee, but they just threw in a bunch of whiskey on this one.

The other place (Mar Bianco Cafe Bistro) was right along the main boardwalk with Briana’s dad who treated us to some wonderful Cypriot food. In both cases the food was plentiful, a trend we found across the entire island.

We also enjoyed a delicious smoothie from an ice cream shop on our first outing.

The famous Pink Pelican of Paphos Harbor will also make itself seen frequently, and has become a bit of a tourist attraction. While sadly not the original, you’ll find him most days at the Pelican Bar which is aptly named for the bird.

Paphos Castle

At the very end of Paphos Harbor, you’ll find the historical Paphos Castle. Originally built as a Byzantine fort, it was reconstructed in the 13 century after the earthquake of 1222. It was dismantled by the Venetians in 1570 and then fortified by the Ottomans when they captured the island. The castle has served as fortress, prison, and warehouse throughout its long history guarding Paphos harbor, but today stands as a listed landmark.

We didn’t go inside while we were in Paphos, but we did take a few pictures of it. It is a little bit on the small side, but apparently well worth the visit. It costs €2.50 to enter. At the time we were strapped for cash and were more interested in the Archaeological Site.

Visiting hours are:

• Winter (Nov 1 – March 31): 8:00am – 5:00pm
• Spring (April 1 – May 31): 8:00am – 6:00pm
• Summer (June 1 – Aug 31): 8:00am – 7:30pm
• Autumn ( Sep 1 – Oct 31): 8:00am – 6:00pm

Archaeological Site Paphos

This was one of our favorite things that we did while on Cyprus. I chose to do this on my birthday after we dropped off the homeowners of our housesit at Paphos Airport. The Archaeological Site Paphos is just a few hundred meters north of Paphos Castle along the waterfront.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site is a vast complex of monuments. Here we found beautiful and well-preserved mosaics in the House of Dionysus – the god of wine.

The house of Theseus, named after a mosaic showing the Greek hero Theseus fighting the Minotaur.

The House of Aion and the House of Orpheus also contain great mosaics.

The Roman Odeon stands as a well-preserved amphitheater and still operates during the summer for musical and theater performances. The Hellenistic theater, a theater cut into the rock is also still used to this day.

As well there are the remains of an Agora dating to the 2nd Century BCE and the Asklipion, a temple that served as a hospital named after the god of medicine.

To visit:

• Winter (Nov 1 – March 31): 8:00am – 5:00pm
• Spring (April 1 – May 31): 8:00am – 6:00pm
• Summer (June 1 – Aug 31): 8:00am – 7:30pm
• Autumn ( Sep 1 – Oct 31): 8:00am – 6:00pm
• Price: €4.50

Be sure to bring some water, it gets hot!

Tombs Of The Kings

Another one of our favorites, and an awesome UNESCO site to check out located about 4km north of the archaeological site is the Tombs of The Kings. The tombs themselves are not actually of kings but rather belonged to the rich aristocrats of the 4th century BCE through to the 3rd century CE.

The tombs carve and cut into the native rock. Some are more simplistic while others contain Doric columns and fresco walls. All contain alcoves in which the dead were placed (though none now remain.)

The site consists of 7 tombs spreading out over a large area. Tomb 3 is the largest and most impressive of the tombs.

We enjoyed climbing about through the stone caved ruins and trekking through the rough desert landscape.

To visit:

• Hours: Year Round: 8:30am – 7:30pm 
• Price: €2.50

Ayia Kryiaki Chrysopolitissa

The Panagia Chrysopolitissa church was built in the 13th century over the ruins of the largest Byzantine basilica on Cyprus. The church was originally 7 aisled, but due to damage throughout the years has been reduced and rebuilt into a 5 aisled church.

The church still operates today but also serves as a historical site. Mosaics remain on display and can be viewed from the cat-walks that surround the standing building.

As well, you can view St. Paul’s Pillar, where tradition states that Paul was flogged before the Roman Governor Sergius Paulus was converted to Christianity.

You can visit the interior of the present standing church. The church is smaller, but well decorated and contains many paintings.

Panagia Theoskepasti

 This is another church, just a little down the road from Panagia Chrysopolitissa. We weren’t able to visit it, but it is still operating and you can attend services. The church was built in the 10th century and is today listed as a part of the greater Paphos UNESCO World Heritage Site. The original church was destroyed, unfortunately, but was rebuilt upon its foundations in 1923.

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