Paphos

UNESCO mosaics, a harbour castle, rock tombs cut into the cliff, and the island's densest run of five-star seafront hotels.

Paphos is two towns stacked on a hill. Kato Paphos, at sea level, is the tourist half: the harbour with its squat medieval castle on the mole, the Archaeological Park behind it, and Poseidonos Avenue running east lined with the biggest concentration of four- and five-star beachfront hotels on the island. Ktima, the upper town 200 metres above, is where Cypriots actually live — the municipal market, Makarios Avenue, the old Ottoman quarter of Mouttallos and a slower, more honest set of coffee shops.

The archaeology is not a sideshow here, it is the reason the whole town is UNESCO-listed. The Archaeological Park sits directly behind the harbour and contains the House of Dionysos, the House of Theseus and the House of Aion, Roman villas whose floor mosaics are among the best preserved in the eastern Mediterranean. A kilometre north on the coast road, the Tombs of the Kings are Hellenistic rock-cut chambers with Doric columns carved out of solid stone, open to the wind and the sea. Both cost around €4.50 and both are punishing at midday.

At nine in the evening the harbour walk is packed and slightly touristy — waiters holding menus, boat trips advertised for the morning, fish priced by weight. Bar Street off Agiou Antoniou is the loud strip and it is unapologetically for the British package market, with karaoke and €4 pints. Go up to Ktima instead: Kennedy Square and the lanes around the market have proper tavernas where a meze is €18-24 and nobody is trying to sell you a boat trip. The two halves are ten minutes apart by car, twenty-five uphill on foot.

This is the strongest base on the island if what you want is a serious sea-facing hotel with grounds and a spa. Coral Bay, fifteen minutes north, has the best sandy swimming; the Akamas peninsula and Lara turtle beach start an hour beyond that. Skip Paphos if you want nightlife with locals in it, or if you are here in January and February, when a real proportion of Kato Paphos restaurants close and the town feels half-shuttered — though the walking weather is superb.

Where to stay in Paphos

Poseidonos Avenue is the main event: a four-kilometre run of beachfront hotels east of the harbour, five-stars at €190-320 in high season and €110-160 in spring, most with direct beach access, and a flat 15-25 minute walk into the harbour. Tombs of the Kings Road, one street back, is the value line — good four-stars at €80-130 with the sea a five-minute walk away. Kato Paphos around Agiou Antoniou is cheap and central but the bar noise runs to 3am in summer; ask which side your room faces. Coral Bay, 12 km north, suits families who want real sand. Ktima has almost no hotels but a growing set of restored stone guesthouses at €70-110, and it is the choice if you want to live like a resident. Avoid anything advertised as "sea view" on the inland side of Tafon ton Vasileon — the view is a car park.

The essentials

Harbour, Tombs and the Coast Path (5 km)

Start at Paphos Castle on the harbour mole, walk the quay, then enter the Archaeological Park for the Dionysos mosaics and the Odeon. Exit north, pick up the seafront path past the Fabrica hill quarries and the lighthouse, continue along the low cliffs to the Tombs of the Kings, and return on the shore route past the Municipal Baths to the harbour.

Getting there & around

Paphos airport is 15 km east: bus 612 runs to Kato Paphos and 613 to the Karavella station in Ktima for €1.50, taking 25-35 minutes, and a taxi is €25-35. From Larnaca airport it is a 90-minute drive on the A1/A6, or the Kapnos coach for around €15. Locally, OSYPA buses cost €1.50 a single and €5 for a day pass; route 615 serves Coral Bay and route 611 works the Poseidonos hotel strip every 15-20 minutes in season. Kato Paphos to Ktima is a steep 25-minute walk uphill or a €7 taxi. You need a car for Akamas, Polis and Lara — buses do not go there usefully.