Larnaca Travel Guide

Cyprus' third largest town, Larnaca, is situated to the east of the island on the sunny south coast. Home to the international airport, it is very much a tourist town with a pretty, palm-fringed seafront promenade (Phinikoudes), a sandy beach and a large marina. Its population is 60,000 and its origins go way back to Mycenean times (13th century BC). Most famously, St Lazarus (who Jesus raised from the dead) resided here as Bishop of Cyprus.

Larnaka's narrow back streets of Ak Deniz and Bozkurt are lined with ceramic workshops where artisans sell direct to the public. The main shopping street of Zenon Kitieos ends with the bustling fruit and vegetable market. The action is mainly found on the seafront, which offers back-to-back cafés, tavernas, shops and bars.

Key attractions include the Salt Lake just outside the town, where colonies of flamingos spend the winter, the Medieval Museum and Cultural Centre in the 17th-century fort at one end of the promenade, the Church of St Lazarus and two major museums, the Pierides Museum and the Archaeological Museum. The Mycenean ruins of Kition are located just north of the town.