7 Things to See and Do in Cyprus

Cyprus is an island country in the Mediterranean. Some people consider it Asia, but I think its more like Europe in its culture. The island is heavenly influenced by Greek culture in the southern part, with Turkey controlling the north.

Here are 7 things you can do if you visit the island nation.

1. Try the world’s oldest wine – I did not know until I arrived that Cyprus lays claim to the world’s oldest “named wine still in production”; dating back to 800 B.C. The wine is a sweet dessert wine called Commandaria. I had a taste during dinner one evening. According to the waitress, they don’t export it so you can only try it while in Cyprus which I have not verified.

2. Eat the local food – A lot of the food is similar to Greek food and I will write some reviews in a future post.

3. See some ruins – while the ruins I saw were not on par with those I have seen in other places like Greece, Turkey, Jordan etc, they do have some sites worth checking out. One of them is called the Paphos Mosaics.

Cyprus is also the birthplace of the Greek goddess Aphrodite and there are various places related to her, but in my opinion, they are not worth checking out.

4. Day trip to Ayia Napa – Depending on what you are looking for, there are a few options on where to stay in Cyprus. We stayed in Limassol, the second largest city. Its basically in the middle on the south coast of the island. However, the water was not as nice as on the eastcoast. That is why, you should do a day trip to Ayia Napa (apparently, in the Summer, its also the party capital at night), and ideally rent a boat. Then you can check out the gorgeous crystal blue water, the cliffside sea caves, and the Musan underwater museum. This was one of my favorite things to do (along with the painted churches below). Basically, you can snorkel or dive and see some really amazing statues underwater.

5. Visit the painted churches – when visiting Cyprus, I recommend you rent a car. The island is small enough that you can see a lot, if not most of the island in a couple of days (we stayed for about 5 days). One of the coolest things we did was drive around and look for the 10 painted churches. These are basically 10 small churches scattered mostly around the interior of the island, with beautifully painted ceilings and walls. Note that you should check the opening times and method of access before going as each one is different. Some were closed when we arrived, but we were lucky enough to see a couple. Its worth spending the day on this.

6. Visit Northern Cyprus – Whereas the south is an independent country, the North, or the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is controlled by Turkey. You can look up the history, but its worth spending half a day to walk across the border. To do this, go to the capital of Nicosia, then find Ledra street. Its a pedestrian street that you can stroll to the border. There, you will have to present your passport to both the Cyprus police, and TRNC officials to cross both ways. Once on the other side, you will notice Turkish flags, Islamic culture, and various other differences.

7. Stroll around Limassol at night – Limassol has some cool walking areas to check out at night including the sea walk, marina, and the city around those areas where you will see some interesting architecture, restaurants, and bars.

Cyprus was country #71 for me. I enjoyed my time there and if you get a chance to check it out, the above are some of the things I thought were worth doing. Obviously there are other things, but these are what stood out for me.