The largest port in Cyprus is the Limassol old port, built in the 1950s while the island was under British rule. It was put up to support the port at Famagusta — a supplementary port — and its position in the eastern Mediterranean made it one of the busier points in Mediterranean transit trade.
It was built for both commercial and passenger traffic, and can handle vessels up to 820 feet berthing in 45 feet of water.
The rebuild
After a competition to revamp the port, designs were drawn up to turn it into something more useful to the city — a leisure centre as much as a working quay. The port closed for a period while that happened. The plans added offices, shops, cafés, restaurants and large squares with pedestrian walkways, and a place to hold cultural events.
The old port now draws locals and visitors alike to shop, sit at the cafés beside the boats and wander. Nearby stand the historic Limassol Castle, the old town’s commercial centre and the embankment — a large part of why upgrading the port made sense, since the whole quarter benefits.
More sightseeing around Limassol
Limassol Marina
The first super-yacht marina in Cyprus — shops, restaurants and residences on the water.
Molos Promenade
The seafront park and walkway that runs to the marina — sculpture, lawns, sea on one side.
Ayia Napa Cathedral, Limassol
A Byzantine-style cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary on Ayiou Antreou Street, with roots in a modest 13th-century church.
Limassol Municipal Garden
A recently renovated garden on the coastal road in the middle of the city — shade, an open-air theatre and the wine festival each September.