Overview to Cyprus: Travel Guide and Tourist Information
Despite its slightly peculiar political situation (the island is shared between Turkey and Greece), Cyprus has always been a tourist hotspot. And, having recently become a member of the EU, the island is now attracting even more happy holiday-makers than before.
Given the island’s structure, it’s easy to think about it in two separate halves. To the south, Greek Cyprus is characterized by garish resort towns, thumping clubs, ancient ruins and sunkissed beaches. The Turkish-owned north is, in contrast, rugged and largely rural.
To the east, the island’s most renowned clubbing district is, in fact, only a small village of 1,000 inhabitants: Ayia Napa. Come summer, though, its numbers swell to 10,000 and it fully merits its reputation for hedonistic clubbing at night and lazy days on the beach.
But Cyprus is far from being all head-swirling parties, however. The town center is home to a splendid ancient monastery while, to the northeast, the city of Famagusta offers a good base from which to explore fine – and mostly relatively deserted – beaches.
The south is also home to fascinating ruins, among a whole host of historical sites ranging from the Stone Age to the Roman Empire. Of these, the sites of Kourian and Aphrodite’s Rock are particularly worth seeking out.
The capital, Nicosia, lies inland from the coast, straddling the boundary between the island’s two halves. Even though it's home to most of the island’s population, the pleasant, laidback Old Town is a far cry from the more manic towns on the coast.
To the north of the island, a host of picturesque towns and villages like the Kyrenia provide a perfect contrast to the south. Surrounded by hundreds of quiet coves, it’s the perfect place to tap into that most precious and largely overlooked of resources: the ‘real Cyprus’.
