Things to do in Limassol, Cyprus
Friday, March 18th, 2011
Located on the south of the island, conveniently between Paphos and Larnaca airports, Limassol is home to some of the best beaches in the Mediterranean, along with museums, galleries, a water park, shops, restaurants and even castles as the island celebrates its own rich history; making it an ideal location for all kinds of travellers.
Instead of wandering round aimlessly looking for the first ‘British’ pub you see, why not make a list of things you want to see or do before you go, and head down to the pool and enjoy a cool drink in the sun, and make a plan of action about where you’re going to head first?
If you’re after ideas of things to do, hopefully our guide to what is on offer in Limassol below will inspire you:
- Lemosos Castle - one of the most popular tourist attractions in Limassol, the castle is said to be the place where Richard the Lionheart married Berengaria in 1191. It is now a museum dedicated to armoury and weapons from the battles that have taken place in Cyprus over the years. Located just outside Limassol, the castle should definitely be on your to do list.
- Kolossi Medieval Castle is a 13th century structure in Kolossi village, once home to the production of the Island’s main export; sugar. It was originally built in 1210….
- Limassol Archaeological Museum opened in 1948, and is home to antiques from archaeological digs from all over the island, with items from the 9000BC right through to the late Roman times.
- Municipal folk art museum – housing artefacts from the 19th century through to the present day, including tapestries, paintings, clothing and small items of furniture, the folk art museum won the Europa Nostra award in 1989.
- Fasouri Watermania Park – open from April to October, the water park has over 30 different slides and rides, including kamikaze slides, racing slides, wave pools and a lazy river course.
- Galatex beach centre – the central hub for cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs in Limassol. In the daytime, it is fairly quiet, however at night when all the revellers come out; expect bright lights and loud music from the various different clubs.
- Limassol municipal garden & zoo – home to many different species of plants, flowers and even palm trees, the municipal gardens also have a dinosaur park and a zoo to keep families and children entertained. The zoo has over 300 animals including tigers, lions, panthers, bears, monkeys, deer and many different birds.
- The annual wine festival – every year over 100,000 people visit the municipal gardens to attend the Wine Festival of Cyprus to celebrate the history of wine production on the island, with food, drink, music and dancing.
- Scuba diving – there are many scuba diving centres offering courses around the shoreline of Limassol, with some great sights on show, such as the Pharses II wreck and the M/Y Diana yacht wreck, although you’ll need a scuba diving certification from one of the local centres before you can explore the waters yourself.
If you don’t fancy sightseeing, there are many beaches in Limassol where you can just have a lazy day and sit in the sun for an hour or two, such as Pissouri Bay beach, Melanda beach, Lady’s mile beach, Kourion beach, Governor’s beach, and probably the most famous beach on the island; Aphrodite’s beach – said to be the birthplace of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. Water sports are on offer at most of the beaches, with banana boats, jet skis and windsurfing available.
If you’re wondering what the weather will be like in Limassol, Cyprus enjoys a hot Mediterranean climate where you can expect temperatures to top 30°C in the summer months, so just remember to take your sun cream with you!
Finally, while you’re in Cyprus, you have to have at least one local meal, so try Meze; almost like a Cypriot/Greek version of Tapas with many small dishes including
- Olives
- Tsakistes with garlic and herbs
- Taramosalata
- Talattouri
- Octopus
- Prawns
- Yoghurt
- Artichoke salad
- Hummus
- Aubergines
- Koft
- Spicy lamb or beef
There will be other dishes on a Meze menu, including vegetarian meals to ensure that no one is left out when it comes to sampling the local food.
This guest post was supplied by the team at travelsupermarket.com, a comparison website which specialises in offering cheap holidays to Cyprus.
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Get away from the crowds: Prague has many excellent parks and none better than the Vojan Park, the oldest partly preserved garden in Prague. It is a part of the former fruit garden, founded after 1248 after a bishop´s court was demolished it became a garden of the Carmelite convent in Prague in the 17th century. Kampa Park not far away is also a nice place to enjoy the beautiful views of Prague.
