☰Day Trips

Nicosia's central position makes it an excellent base for exploring Cyprus. The ten Byzantine painted churches of the Troodos Mountains — collectively a UNESCO World Heritage site — are less than an hour away, and the mountain villages make for cool relief from the summer heat of the capital. Larnaca on the southern coast is the closest beach city (under an hour by motorway), with good beaches and the remarkable Church of Saint Lazarus in its old town. Limassol and Paphos are both within 90 minutes and offer fine archaeological sites and Crusader castles alongside the beach. The village of Lefkara, about 40 km south, is famous for its handmade silver and lace and is a pleasant half-day stop.