Limassol is on the southern coast of Cyprus. It’s the second largest city in Cyprus and is known for its medieval castles, ancient ruins and collection of pottery and tombstones.

Limassol is the island’s financial and commercial hub. Since the closure of Famagusta’s main port in the 1970s, its served as the main port in Cyprus.

Known as the city of wine, Limassol has a wine making tradition dating back thousands of years, and is the centre of the Cypriot wine industry.

Limassol is home to Cyprus’s biggest carnival which is held over a two week period held every February or March.

Columbia Beach

Columbia Beach is a restaurant on one of the most popular beaches in Limassol.

You’re probably wondering why I’d write about a restaurant?

It’s the setting and the ambience that did it for me. You’ve got a pool in the middle of the restaurant. The outdoor seating area is a few seconds walk away from the beach. The music to get you in the mood and the location.

It’s got the lot.

Food wise it’s more on the high end. I’m usually more of a street food or local restaurant kind of person but it’s nice to change it up and Columbia Beach was a good place for that.

You can check out the picture of the chicken tikka kebab and judge for yourself.

Old Town

Limassol Old Town isn’t the biggest. You can explore everything in a few hours including the quaint alleys, street art and local food.

You can find Limassol Castle where it’s said Richard the Lionheart married Berengaria of Navarre in 1191. Today the castle is home to the Cyprus Medieval Museum.

The Ayia Napa Cathedral is a Greek Orthodox Cathedral which was built in the early 1900s on the ruins of the Byzantine Church, and is known for its castle like towers.

And yes it’s entirely separate from the famous resort town of Ayia Napa.

Not far from here you’ve got the Marina which connects the port to the old town.

Kourion Beach

Kourion Beach is 15km west of Limassol in Episkopi Bay.

It was a place recommended for a sunset. I turned up and was surprised to see a minimal amount of people for place that was good for a sunset.

Getting here is pretty easy if you type it into Google Maps. Just don’t do what I do and follow it where it takes you off road and through a field.

Instant regret and knowing I was past the point of no return, I prayed and hoped my car rental would survive (thankfully no harm done).

I felt like a complete idiot when I took the road coming out of the beach and realised I could have saved a lot of time had I followed my instincts and stayed on the road instead of following Google Maps.

It was worth it though. The breeze was welcome during the hot June days and the temperature of the sea was ideal.

There’s 1km of sand and pebbles with surrounding cliffs. Kourion Beach is popular for water sport enthusiasts.

Kakopetria

Kakopetria is a town on the foothills of the Troodos Mountains.

Located roughly an hour away at 670m altitude, Kakopetria is known for producing good quality apples and producing other fruits and vegetables including pears, plums, apricots, peaches, potatoes, vines, cherries and tomatoes.

Every Christmas the villages in the surrounding areas operate over a 6 week period offering cultural events, stands with local products and crafts, workshops, activities and more.

It was a spur of the moment thing coming here and I lucked out with timing. I half expected Kakopetria to be busy but it was quiet. I got to walk around and enjoy the tranquillity you get from a remote mountainous village and have brunch just as more people and coaches were arriving.

If you enjoy a day trip and exploring remote places, then it’s worth spending a few hours in Kakopetria. Walking tours seem to be a popular thing here if you’re in to that.

Limassol was ok. It wasn’t anything special compared to Paphos or Larnaca (more on Larnaca in the next post). You don’t need more than a couple of days here. One day to explore Limassol and another to take in a day trip.

I could have skipped Limassol but that’s hindsight for you. How wonderful it is! It’s in between Paphos and Larnaca so I figured why not stop here for a few days. The bonus was being able to relax and go with the flow without having an itinerary.

The traffic in Limassol is the worst in all of Cyprus. Regardless of whether you stay here or not, if you’re going to visit Paphos and Larnaca you’ll have to deal with the traffic in Limassol.

The weird thing is for a place that hasn’t got much, the property prices and hotel prices are expensive. I stayed in a place out of the centre of Limassol (the perks of having a car rental). It was peaceful and was nice staying somewhere out of the way.