The ‘Tombs of the Kings’ is a large necropolis found around two kilometres north of Paphos harbour. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site that rewards any visitor with an interest in ancient history.
Evidence suggests it was built during the Hellenistic period, in the 3rd century BC. Despite the name referring to a burial ground for kings, no kings were buried there: it was the place where higher administrative officers and distinguished Ptolemaic personalities and their siblings were laid to rest.
What it feels like
Visiting, you get a desert-like area with the sound of the ocean and its breeze coming your way — it makes you feel like you have gone back in time. Allow some time to explore: the structures are spread over a vast area. Make sure to see the open atrium below ground level, where you can cool off on a sunny day.
The tombs are carved out of solid rock and characterised by an underground, open-air, peristyled rectangular atrium. As the Department of Antiquities notes, their architectural characteristics relate them directly to Hellenistic prototypes from Alexandria, Pergamon and Priene.
More sightseeing around Paphos
Paphos Castle
The fort at the end of the harbour quay — Byzantine, twice rebuilt, once a prison, then a salt warehouse.
Akamas Peninsula
230 square kilometres of untouched headland — the last large unspoiled coast on the island, and a Natura 2000 site.
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.
Agios Neophytos Monastery
Founded in 1170 by the monk Neophytos, who carved his hermitage out of the rock.