Larnaca is Cyprus's third city and main gateway — most visitors arrive here and then move on, but those who linger find more to reward them than the city's modest reputation suggests. The name means "funerary chest" in Greek, which neatly captures the archaeology: ancient Kition underlies much of the modern city, and tombs keep turning up in construction.
The seafront promenade, Finikoudes, gives the city its visual centre — a kilometre of palm-lined waterfront with cafes at one end and the castle at the other. Behind it, the Skala quarter preserves the old Ottoman street pattern and the great Byzantine church of St. Lazarus. A short drive inland or south opens up the salt lake, the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque, and the airport, where divers departing for the Zenobia wreck pass arrivals who have never heard of it.