Paphos is a coastal town of around 35,000 people in the south-west of Cyprus — the capital of the western district, and the wealthiest of the island's small cities thanks to a steady drip of European package tourists, mostly German, Scandinavian and British.
The town splits into two halves. Kato Paphos, the lower town, hugs the seafront — modern hotels, the old harbour with its castle, and the great open-air archaeological park full of Roman villas and Byzantine ruins. Ktima, the upper town, sits inland on the hill: this is where Cypriots actually live and shop, around the municipal market and Makariou Avenue.
The headline sights are the ancient mosaic floors of the House of Dionysus and its neighbouring Roman villas — some of the finest in the Mediterranean. Add the Tombs of the Kings, the Byzantine Museum, St. Paul's Pillar, and the mythological coast around Petra tou Romiou (the birthplace of Aphrodite), and you have several days of touring without leaving the district.
Paphos is at its best in May, June and September, when the weather is hot but not brutal and the harbour tavernas still have tables free. August is too crowded; the package crowds bring noise and queues. Avoid the December rains.