Limassol

Limassol is the second biggest town in the island of Cyprus. The town has developed tremendously since the bitter division of the island between a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south in 1974. Its port is the biggest and busiest in the island and it handles most of the exports and imports to the country. It is also the biggest port in the Mediterranean transit trade. The town has benefited economically during the Lebanese civil war of 1975 – 1990, when many Lebanese businesses and capital left their own country and settled in Limassol. In addition the town has seen growing investment by Russian business interests since 1990 and this is evident in the number of signs in Russian. Limassol is also home to many shops, a very good selection of hotels, fine weather and cultural events all year round.

Attractions

Start your tour of the city with a visit to the Archaeological Museum. It houses artefacts that date back to 2000 BC. Then you can pay a visit to the medieval castle. In its present form it was rebuilt by the Ottoman Turks when they occupied the island in 1571. However, it was originally built by the Venetians who ruled the island before the Ottomans. The ancient cities of Amathus and Kourion are also located within a short driving distance. Another impressive landmark near by is the medieval tower of Kolossi.

Limassol is located in the centre of the south coast of Cyprus and benefits from its proximity to very beautiful beaches and the mountain range of Olympus. It is not unusual to combine in one day both swimming and skiing and this makes Limassol a highly appealing destination. Limassol is by far the biggest seaside resort in Cyprus.

Limassol has a fun loving reputation and as a result it is the place where several annual events take place like the Wine Festival each September, where you can sample different wines for free over ten days: The town hosts its own Carnival with masquerade parties, balls and grand parades, taking place in between February and March each year, the Limassol Festival in the summer, with a variety of concerts, theatre and other events and the ancient Drama Festival at the archaeological site of Kourion, where you can watch ancient Greek plays in their natural staging arena.

Shopping

Limassol caters for many different shopping styles. If you are looking for modern fashionable boutiques, then St Andrews street, close to the seafront promenade offers a good selection of shops. Another street to look out for when shopping is Makarios street. However, shopping can be extended to a variety of traditional products, like Zinovia, a Cypriot drink, and haloumi, the local cheese.

Nightlife and Eating Out

Limassol offers the complete Cypriot / Greek food experience with both traditional tavernas and sophisticated restaurants including French, Italian, Chinese, Thai and Russian cuisine. Most traditional restaurants are located near the city centre but a lot of restaurants, bars and clubs are located in the long seafront to the east of the city centre, where most of the tourist accommodation and nightlife is based.

Tourist Information

Georgiou A' 22 CY 4047 LimassolPotamos tis Germasogeias (eastern entrance of Dasoudi Beach)Tel: 357 25 32 32 11

Spyrou Araouzou 115A CY 3036 LimassolTel: 357 25 36 27 56

Limassol Harbour (service to all passenger-boats)Tel: 357 25 57 18 68

Opening Hours: every morning except Sunday & on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoonswww.visitcyprus.org.cy

Airport

There is no airport in Limassol, but the town is conveniently located in fairly equal distance from the two airports in the Greek Cypriot part. Larnaca International Airport is located to the east and is the main hub to the island. However, Pafos airport, where the majority of charter flights land to, is located in equal distance to the west of the town. There are regular bus connections to these airports, where you can also hire taxis.