Visit To Limassol And Paphos

Visit To Limassol And Paphos

Major stop will be at the old port of Limassol. Limassol Marina, old Castle and city centre. Use some of your time for a relaxing coffee break at the new Marina. Then Curium ancient theatre. One of the most spectacular archaeological sites on the island. Noted particularly for its magnificent Greco – Roman Theatre, Kourion (Curium) is also proud home to stately villas with exquisite mosaic floors and an early Christian Basilica among other treasures. The route to Paphos takes us through the Afrodite Birthplace, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Finally, Paphos! Around the harbour of Kato Paphos you will find the world famous Mosaics, Medieval castle and the old port. Here you will have the opportunity to visit both sightseeing’s and have a lunch at a seafront traditional tavern. Our last stop will be at the Tomb of the Kings. The Tombs of the Kings is a large necropolis lying about two kilometres north-west of Paphos harbour in Cyprus. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Kolossi Castle, Agiou Antoniou 1 Road to Paphos, Limassol Cyprus

Kolossi Castle is a former Crusader stronghold on the south-west edge of Kolossi village 14 kilometres (9 mi) west of the city of Limassol on the island of Cyprus.[1] It held great strategic importance in the Middle Ages, and contained large facilities for the production of sugar from the local sugarcane, one of Cyprus's main exports in the period.

Duration: 20 minutes

Stop At: Local Archaeological Kourion Museum, Episkopi Village, Episkopi Cyprus

Kourion (Greek: Κούριον) or Latin: Curium, was an important ancient city-state on the southwestern coast of Cyprus. In the twelfth century BCE, after the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces, Greek settlers arrived on this site.

In the fourth century, Kourion suffered from five heavy earthquakes, but the city was partly rebuilt. The acropolis of Kourion, located 1.3 km southwest of Episkopi and 13 km west of Limassol, is located atop a limestone promontory nearly 100 metres high along the coast of Episkopi Bay.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Paphos Harbour Castle, Kato Paphos Harbour, Coastal Broadwalk, Paphos Cyprus

Paphos Castle is located on the edge of Paphos harbour.

It was originally built as a Byzantine fort to protect the harbour. It was then rebuilt by the Lusignans in the thirteenth century after being destroyed in the earthquake of 1222. In 1570 it was dismantled by the Venetians. After capturing the island, the Ottomans restored and strengthened it. Throughout the ages it has seen many uses. It has served as a fortress, a prison and even a warehouse for salt during the British occupation of the island. More recently the castle serves as a backdrop to the annual open air Paphos cultural festival which takes place in September.[1]

Duration: 20 minutes

Stop At: Kato Paphos Archaeological Park, Kato Paphos, Paphos Cyprus

The Pafos (Paphos) Mosaics are considered among the finest in the eastern Mediterranean and form part of the Archaeological Park of Kato Pafos, which has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list since 1980. They were discovered in 1962, after a farmer ploughing his field accidently unearthed one of them.

The Houses of Dionysos, Theseus, Aion and Orpheus are the villas of four Roman noblemen that date from the 2nd to the 5th centuries AD.Their intricate floor mosaics depict various scenes from Greek Mythology.

The 556 square metre floor mosaics at the House of Dionysos are decorated with mythological, vintage and hunting scenes. There is also a Hellenistic pebble mosaic representing the mythical sea-monster Scylla at the entrance.

The House of Theseus is named after its oldest mosaic of the Ancient Greek hero brandishing a club against the Minotaur. Newer mosaics depict Poseidon and Amphitrite and Achilles´ first bath.

The House of Orpheus has floor mosaics depicting Orpheus among the beasts, two panels representing Hercules and the Lion of Nemea, and an Amazon with her horse.

The House of Aion has the most spectacular mosaic of five figural panels depicting: the newborn Dionysos; Leda and the Swan; the beauty contest between Cassiopeia and the Nereids; Apollon and Marsyas, and the Triumph of Dionysos.

The Park also includes other sites and monuments from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages, such as the Asklepieion, the Odeon, the Agora, the Saranta Kolones (Forty Columns) Castle, and the Limeniotissa ruins of an Early Christian Basilica.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Tombs of the Kings, Paphos Cyprus

The famous ‘Tombs of the Kings’ form part of the Archaeological Park of Kato Pafos (Paphos) - one of the most important archaeological sites of Cyprus that has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list since 1980.

The monumental underground tombs are carved out of solid rock and date back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Rather than kings, it is actually high ranking officials and aristocracy that were buried here, but the size and splendour of the tombs – some decorated with Doric pillars - gave the locality its grand name.

Some of the tombs imitate the houses of the living, with the burial chambers opening onto a peristyle atrium. They are similar to tombs found in Alexandria, demonstrating the close relations between the two cities during the Hellenistic period.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Aphrodite's Rock, Kouklia 8500 Cyprus

Aphrodite’s mythical birthplace ‘Petra tou Romiou’ is an interesting geological formation of huge rocks along one of the most beautiful coastlines on the island, located on the southwest coast of the Pafos (Paphos) district.

According to the legend, the Ancient Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty - Aphrodite - was born of the sea foam here. Legend tells that she rose from the waves and was escorted on a shell to this particular beach.

The giant rock formations, which are seen at the same location are linked with another - more recent - legend which tells that the Byzantine hero Digenis Akritas heaved them there to keep the Saracens Arabs (7th-10th centuries) at bay. The name of Petra tou Romiou (‘rock of the Greek’ in Greek) comes from the hero.

It is said that in certain weather conditions, the waves rise, break and form a column of water that dissolves into a pillar of foam. With imagination, this momentarily looks like an ephemeral, evanescent human shape. Other popular myths tell that swimming around the rock three times will bring various blessings, including eternal youth and beauty, good luck, fertility and true love.

Duration: 20 minutes