Paphos Travel Guide

Paphos is a holiday town, with a thriving British ex-pat community, on the west coast of Cyprus. It is divided into two - the old town (Kato Paphos), where the hotels and restaurants are concentrated, which is built around the pretty harbour - and the newer town, Kitima, 3km up the hill.

Few tourist towns are UNESCO World Heritage sites, but Paphos has this privilege. In Ancient Greek and Roman times, it was the prosperous capital of Cyprus, coveted for its strategic location between the east and west Mediterranean. Traces of its glorious past are everywhere.

Paphos' key attraction is the exquisite floor mosaics of the Roman villa, where Dionysus offers grapes to King Ikarios, Zeus abducts Ganymede and Orpheus plays his lyre. But almost as enjoyable are visits to the Tombs of the Kings begun in the 3rd century BC and the incredible remains of a 4th century, seven-aisled basilica, Khrysopolitissa, said to have been built by St Paul himself.

Just northwest of Paphos is Coral Bay, a beautiful horseshoe bay. The adventurous should head for the wild, natural beauty of the Akamas peninsula to stay in age-old villages and explore the unspoilt countryside.