Lara Beach
Turtle bay in the Akamas — no facilities, a rough track in, and nesting loggerheads.
Discover Cyprus BeachesBlue-flag sand to hidden coves VillagesStone lanes and mountain squares Food & DrinkMeze, bakeries, wine country Things to DoTrails, boats, ruins TrailsWaterfalls, ridgelines, gorges Places to StaySeafront to village houses SightseeingRuins, churches, monasteries Hidden GemsThe places you find by asking About CyprusHistory, culture and the island’s own story Good to Know15 practical answers before you go
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Destinations Ayia NapaTurquoise water, sea caves, long nights.ProtarasThe famous Fig Tree Bay, and quiet mornings.LarnacaPalm promenade, salt lake, easy arrivals.NicosiaOld walls, new kitchens, the capital’s edge.LimassolMarina glamour, wine country above it.PaphosMosaics, harbour light, Akamas beyond.TroodosPine air, painted churches, cool nights. VillagesAcross all six districts
Cyprus Passion
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Best for
History lovers, relaxed coastal days, archaeological sites and sunset walks
Note
A slower, more atmospheric side of Cyprus — with ancient ruins, seaside promenades and the Akamas close by
Nearby
Peyia and Coral Bay, Akamas, Chrysoroyiatissa, Tzelefos bridge
The destination 
A UNESCO World Heritage centre
Paphos sits on the southwest coast, and much of it is on the UNESCO list of world cultural treasures. The archaeological park holds four great Roman villas — the Houses of Dionysos, Theseus, Aion and Orpheus — alongside an agora, a theatre and the necropolis known as the Tombs of the Kings.
The castle at the harbour edge began as a Byzantine fort and has been fortress, prison and salt warehouse in turn. North and west the coast turns wild: the Akamas peninsula, its crystal water and its loggerhead and green turtle nesting beaches, and Aphrodite’s Rock on the road east.
Perfect for
Archaeology, harbour evenings, wild coastline, gorges and monasteries
Paphos today
- 24.2°CAir temperature, forecast modelFor 19 August 2026, 00:00 Cyprus timeSource: MET Norway28.15°CSatellite-derived sea-surface temperatureMeasured 16 August 2026Source: NOAA CoralTemp
Air: MET NorwaySea: NOAA Coral Reef Watch
01
Mosaics and tombs
Roman floors in the archaeological park and Hellenistic rock-cut tombs two kilometres north of the harbour.
02
The Akamas
230 square kilometres of untouched headland — Lara, the Blue Lagoon, Avakas Gorge. Some of it needs a 4×4 or a boat.
03
Mythology on the coast
Petra tou Romiou, where Aphrodite is said to have risen from the sea, sits beside the Limassol road.
Coast
All beaches Beaches and coast
Culture & history
All sightseeing in Paphos Sightseeing
Paphos Castle
The fort at the end of the harbour quay — Byzantine, twice rebuilt, once a prison, then a salt warehouse.
Tombs of the Kings
A Hellenistic necropolis cut into solid rock, with underground peristyle atriums — and, despite the name, no kings.
Akamas Peninsula
230 square kilometres of untouched headland — the last large unspoiled coast on the island, and a Natura 2000 site.
Avakas Gorge
A 3km limestone canyon on the edge of the Akamas — two to three hours on foot, best in spring and autumn.
Petra tou Romiou (Aphrodite’s Rock)
Where the goddess rose from the foam — sand on one side, pebbles on the other, and a myth about swimming round it three times.
Baths of Aphrodite
A natural grotto on the east side of the Akamas where legend puts the goddess bathing.
Agios Neophytos Monastery
Founded in 1170 by the monk Neophytos, who carved his hermitage out of the rock.
Panagia tou Sinti Monastery
A 16th-century monastery in the Xeros valley near Pentalia — long abandoned, and among the finest Byzantine buildings left standing in the district.
Chrysoroyiatissa Monastery
Our Lady of the Golden Pomegranate, founded in the 12th century above Pano Panayia and still working — with a winery in the courtyard.
Edro III Shipwreck
A cargo ship run aground on the rocks by the sea caves at Peyia in 2011, and left there — now the most photographed sunset in Paphos.
Paphos Harbour and Port
One of the most ancient ports on the island, first built in 320 BC and still in the same place — with the castle at the end of the quay.
Adonis Baths Waterfalls
A small waterfall and pool in the hills above Koili, where the Mavrokolympos water gathers. Privately owned, so there is an entrance charge.
Saint Raphael Church
Built at Pachyammos after a miracle reported by a village resident, on ground where hard fighting took place in 1964.
Days out
All things to do See and do
Akamas Peninsula
230 square kilometres of untouched headland — the last large unspoiled coast on the island, and a Natura 2000 site.
Avakas Gorge
A 3km limestone canyon on the edge of the Akamas — two to three hours on foot, best in spring and autumn.
Paphos Harbour and Port
One of the most ancient ports on the island, first built in 320 BC and still in the same place — with the castle at the end of the quay.
Inland
All villages Villages nearby
Peyia
One of the largest villages of the Paphos district, on the slopes above Coral Bay at the edge of the Akamas.
Other destinations
Driving on the left, cards and cash, whether you need a car at all — the practical questions, answered.
Good to Know