The charming west coast town of Paphos (a UNESCO listed world heritage town), was in Hellenistic and Roman times, the capital of Cyprus.  Now life focuses around an attractive little harbour whose picturesque open air fish restaurants line a quayside of bright fishing boats and pleasure craft.

With a population of just 28.000 Paphos nestles in the lee of the Western Troodos Mountains, which add another dimension to this area of scenic beauty. The recent addition of its own international airport nearby has opened up the Pafos area, and the resort is graced with some luxury hotels along the coastline.

Paphos itself is really two towns, each with its own character; Ktima on the cliff has an air of holiday charm combined with history, and olden-day elegance is lent to the town by its classical style buildings leading to the shopping area.

Kato Paphos lies by the sea, two kilometres down the road. It has expanded over the last decade from a sleepy fishing village and harbour into a bustling, busy, sprawling cosmopolitan resort, which is still growing. The atmosphere is fun loving and friendly, with plenty of bars, pubs, discos, a few nightclubs and innumerable eating places providing anything from Italian cuisine to sizzling Souvlaki off the spit. Several beautiful hotels are surrounded by important archaeological sites.

The coastline to the north is peppered with small sandy coves but the areas best beaches are a 20-minute drive away. Paphos is an ideal centre from which to explore this region of wild coastline, unspoilt hillside villages and natural beauty; yet it takes less than an hour by car to reach Limassol.Paphos is entwined with Greek mythology, and the legendary birth of Aphrodite on her shores brought fame and worshippers there to follow the cult of the Goddess. Landmarks associated with Aphrodite are the chunky, rugged rocks of her beautiful birth shore known as the Aphrodite Rocks or "Petra tou Romiou", the evocative sanctuary of Aphrodite at Kouklia Village, one-time shrine and scene of pagan festivals for thousands, the Baths of Aphrodite at Polis, supposed source of fertility and the Fountain of Love, or Fontana Amorosa, a few miles further into the Akamas Peninsula.

Even the town's name is linked to the Goddess, for Pafos was the name of the mythological daughter of Venus and Pygmalion.

Paphos became the capital of Cyprus under the successors of Alexander the Great - the Ptolemies and in those days its harbour was a busy, thriving port. It continued as the island's first city for more than seven centuries, retaining its importance under Roman rule its most famous Governor Sergius Paulus, was converted to Christianity by St Paul in 45 AD. But Paphos history dates back a great deal further. In fact the whole area abounds in historical and archaeological treasures. The mosaics of Paphos were discovered in a cluster of buildings of the Roman period, principally the 3rd century A.D. They form a major historical treasure with a large range of subject matter. There are four main locations:

The House of Dionysos.
The House of Orpheus.

The Villa of Theseus
The House of Aion.

All the mosaics are all very well preserved and really are a must to see.
Located beside the sea at the northern end of Kato Paphos is the Tombs of the Kings. This is where the towns leading citizens were interred during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. As there were no kings around this period 3rd century B.C. to 3rd century A.D. it is thought that only the wealthy citizens were buried here.

3 of the richest museums are found in and around Paphos, and given the rich archaeological harvest of the Paphos area, they are all worth a visit.

Other places of great interest are the four churches in this area, each one seeped in history.

The harbour area is an ideal picture-postcard Mediterranean fishing harbour, with gaily painted craft tied up in rows, glass- bottomed boats, private yachts and cruisers. Remains of the ancient breakwater can be seen at the eastern end of the harbour.

Built by the Ottoman Turks, the Paphos Fort closely resembles the forts found at Larnaca and Limassol. Its turreted battlements and gloomy halls have been opened to the public as a museum.
Saranta Kolones (also known as the Byzantine Castle) takes its name from the Greek for forty columns. This being with reference to the many ruined columns found near by.

Paphos Forest

During ancient times, this forest was all but striped of trees for ship building. In 1907 Winston Churchill began to re-create this forest, an exercise that continues to this day.