Larnaca or Paphos: which city in Cyprus should you visit first?
Craving lazy days on the sand with some Cypriot culture thrown in? You've come to the right place. Larnaca and Paphos boast dreamy beaches surrounded by some of Europe's cleanest bathing waters.
Touch down in either location and you'll be on the sand or exploring remnants of Greek and Roman empires within 30 minutes. And separated by just a 90-minute drive, you can easily visit both. The question remains, where do you start?
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Location, location, location
The sprawling metropolis of Larnaca* on the southeast coast draws in beach bums with its wide, sandy beaches and lively bars. The palm-fringed Finikoudes Promenade is the focal point of the city and behind it, you'll find bric-a-brac shops, restaurants and a farmers' market, which are all filled with the chatter of locals catching up over a coffee.
There's no obvious distinction between resort and town here and despite its size, Larnaca maintains that small, 'lived-in' feel. Accommodation offerings range from well-known all-inclusive hotels to kitsch boutiques, many available to book on a package holiday.
Likewise, Paphos* on the southwest coast is well served by package holiday companies offering everything from luxury adults-only escapes to family all-inclusives.
Three times the size of Larnaca, it's a city that embodies a real local-global paradox as traditional tavernas rub shoulders with popular food chains and ancient archaeological sites rest alongside high-rise hotels. What's more, legend has it that Greek Goddess Aphrodite was born here, as you'll quickly notice with references to her everywhere.
Beaches
Larnaca Bay's city beaches are much of a muchness, all amply lined with restaurants, bars, clubs and shops. Finikoudes Beach is the most central, sandwiched between Larnaca Marina and its medieval fort along Finikoudes promenade.
Others of note are Kastella Beach, bookended by a smaller marina and an outdoor gym, and the neighbouring Mackenzie Beach where there are watersports on offer. All wave the Blue Flag symbol and have toilets, showers and sun loungers for rent.
Just off the coast between Kastella and Mackenzie beaches rests the Zenobia shipwreck, one of the top 10 best wreck dive sites in the world. No prior experience is needed, you can take some basic training and a guided dive with qualified instructors.
Paphos also boasts a number of Blue Flag beaches, each with clear, azure waters and soft sands. Alykes is the easiest to reach from the town centre while a short drive north will deliver you to Coral Bay, a sheltered crescent where you can snorkel among colourful fish and perhaps even sea turtles.
Speaking of which, Lara Beach is home to a protected nesting site, which you can visit. But you can't get more beautiful than the birthplace of the Goddess of Beauty herself; Aphrodite's Rock (Petra tou Romiou) juts out from a pebble enclave to the east of the city and swimming there is said to bring eternal beauty.
For an alternative to the beach, Paphos has several water parks for families to splash about in, the biggest naturally being named the Aphrodite Waterpark, which boasts a lazy river, high-speed slides and various pools.
Historic sites
While both cities possess impressive artefacts from the Greek and Roman empires, Paphos is the next best thing to visiting Rome or Athens and could easily be a city break destination for sightseeing in shoulder season. Once the capital city of Cyprus and now considered the island's cultural capital, Paphos is a history buff's dream.
Key attractions are spread across the UNESCO World Heritage towns of Kato Pafos and Nea Pafos. Between both, see remarkably preserved relics from ancient Greece and Rome, such as the Tombs of the Kings necropolis, and a treasure trove of pottery, mosaics, tombs, theatres and villas in Nea Pafos Archaeological Site.
Larnaca's historic attractions are a little more understated than those of Paphos, but the great thing about them is most are within walking distance from the beaches for an afternoon out of the sun. Just minutes from Finikoudes Promenade are the medieval fort, Ottoman-era Zohouri Mosque, and the restored 9th-century Church of St Lazarus.
Constructed from stone, it's a nice cool attraction to visit on a hot day. Inside, admire the beautiful Greek Orthodox interior and visit the tomb of Saint Lazarus himself in the crypt.
Then there's the Archaeological Museum of Larnaca District and the Archaeological Site of Kition, one of the 10 Ancient Greek city-kingdoms in Cyprus and home to Zeno of Kition, the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.
Around 30 minutes by car outside of Larnaca is the UNESCO World Heritage Neolithic Settlement of Choirokoitia, which was occupied between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE. It's affordable to visit and you'll need a couple of hours to explore.
Fabulous food & drink
Wherever you go in Cyprus, good food is a given. Larnaca and Paphos are both located on the Greek side of the island and you can therefore expect hearty Greek crowd-pleasers like koftas, salads sprinkled with feta, giros, mezes (also known as deliciously endless feasts) and lots of fresh seafood.
That said, as both cities are well-established tourist hubs, you will find a range of international cuisine too, so don't fear if you have to cater to a picky eater.
Magnificant Troodos Mountains
For some reprieve from the summer heat, hire a car and venture into the Troodos Mountains for nature trails and agritourism experiences such as wine tasting at family-run vineyards and cooking workshops, as well as more historical sites.
The trail to the Kalidonia Waterfalls, the island's tallest falls, is 90 minutes away from either city and walkable in a couple of hours.
Just 35 minutes from Larnaca is the traditional village of Lefkara, known for Lefkara lace, whose art form is officially listed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Saunter around its artisanal shops, perhaps taking a lace-making workshop yourself, before tucking into a hearty meze in a buzzing local taverna.
Kalopanayiotis is another idyllic mountain village. It's a little further at around a 90-minute drive from either Larnaca or Paphos, but worth the journey to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Monastery of Agios Ioannis Lampadistis and soak up the bucolic beauty there.
The Marathasa Valley surrounds it, with ample opportunities for wine tasting at the likes of new, cutting-edge Marathasa Winery suspended above the village.
Just when you think these villages couldn't get any prettier, the Christmas markets descend, while Mount Olympus turns into a ski resort.
Compare weather
Use the graphs below to compare the weather in both destinations. Find out more about the climate in Larnaca and the climate in Paphos as well as conditions across the region in our complete guide to the climate in Cyprus.
Larnaca vs Paphos
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- Hours of sunshine
- Days with some rainfall
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Maximum daytime temperature (°C)
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