Limassol: castle, seafront, Kourion and the wine villages

By Talk Cyprus. Published 19 October 2026.

Last verified 19 October 2026

South of the Green Line. Greek: Lemesos. Turkish: Limasol.

Limassol (Lemesos, Limasol) is the main city of the south coast and a working port. It stretches along the shore, with a small old town and castle at its centre, and a district behind it that climbs into the foothills of Troodos. Within an hour’s drive you have one of the island’s great classical sites, a crusader castle, a salt lake full of flamingos in winter and the villages that make Commandaria. For swimming, see our beaches guide.

In town

The old town and castle. The castle stands near the old harbour on the site of an earlier Byzantine fort. It dates from the 13th century and was enlarged by the Venetians. The story that Richard the Lionheart married Berengaria of Navarre here in 1191 is a legend, not a recorded fact. The Ottomans used the castle as a garrison and prison from 1570, and the British as a police station. Today it holds the Cyprus Medieval Museum: pottery, tombstones, Byzantine silver, weapons and coins. Entry was €4.50 when we checked. A short walk away is the Grand Mosque (Kebir), a Latin church converted in 1570 and enlarged in 1902, still a focal point for the city’s Turkish Cypriot residents.

Molos. The seafront park on reclaimed land in the centre was redeveloped in 2015. It is a long open promenade with a sculpture collection, piers and playgrounds, and it is where much of the city walks in the evening.

The marina and old port. The marina sits beside the old harbour, within walking distance of the castle. It has berths for more than 660 boats, shops, gardens and footbridges between the levels. The old port next to it was turned into a public space with squares and exhibition areas in 2014.

Along the coast

Kourion. About 19 kilometres west of Limassol on the Paphos road, on a bluff above the sea. The theatre was built in the 2nd century BC and extended in the 2nd century AD, and it still hosts summer performances. The House of Eustolios has 5th century mosaic panels under a protective roof, and there are more fine floors in the House of Achilles and the House of the Gladiators, plus a 5th century basilica. The stadium lies about a kilometre west, beside the road. Entry was €4.50 when we checked.

Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates. About three kilometres west of Kourion. Apollo was worshipped here as god of the woodland from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Most of what you see dates from restorations in the 1st century AD. Entry was €2.50 when we checked.

Amathus. About 11 kilometres east of the centre, one of the ancient city kingdoms of Cyprus. There is a Roman agora with porticoes and a fountain, a bath, a temple of Aphrodite on the acropolis hill and the remains of early Christian basilicas. One of the two huge stone vessels from the temple went to the Louvre in the 19th century, and a replica stands in its place. Entry was €2.50 when we checked.

Akrotiri salt lake. South west of the city, about 10.65 square kilometres, the largest inland body of water on the island. Thousands of flamingos arrive between November and March, along with cranes, waders and birds of prey. The lake and wetlands are a protected Ramsar site and lie within the British Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri. Numbers vary with rainfall, so check locally before making a special trip.

Pissouri. A hillside village about 30 kilometres west of Limassol, near the white cliffs of Cape Aspro. It was once a small port exporting carobs, and some of the old stone carob stores have been converted. Below it, Pissouri Bay has a sand and pebble beach and a small resort.

Inland

Kolossi Castle. A tower castle west of the city, first built in the 13th century and rebuilt in its present form in the 15th. After 1291 it was the Grand Commandery of the Knights of St John, and the name Commandaria is thought to come from that commandery. Beside it are the ruins of a 14th century sugar mill. Entry was €2.50 when we checked.

The wine villages. The official Krasochoria wine route runs from Limassol up through villages such as Lofou, Vouni, Koilani, Omodos, Vasa and Arsos, with 16 wineries along the way. The local grapes are Xynisteri for white and Mavro for red. Omodos and the higher villages are covered in our Troodos guide.

The Commandaria villages. Fourteen villages on the lower slopes, including Zoopigi, Kalo Chorio, Agios Mamas, Doros, Lania, Monagri and Louvaras, hold the right to make Commandaria. It is a sweet wine from Xynisteri and Mavro grapes dried in the sun on mats, then aged at least two years in oak.

Getting there

Larnaca and Paphos airports both serve Limassol. The Limassol Airport Express bus runs from Larnaca in roughly 50 to 75 minutes, and there is also a municipal airport bus to both airports. Timetables follow flight times, so check before you travel. See flights to Cyprus and car hire. The A1 motorway links Limassol with Larnaca and Nicosia, and the A6 runs west to Kourion, Pissouri and Paphos. Kourion, Kolossi and the salt lake are easiest with a car.

All areas, north and south