Seven days in larnaca, cyprus and around

If you ever find yourself traveling to Cyprus, here are some great things to do in Larnaca, Cyprus, whether you’re staying for a day, two, a week or a month. Whether you’re a family, just the two of you, or on your own, all by yourself. We don’t know about you, but three songs popped into our head as we were writing that last sentence. Can you guess which?

So, we recently went on a trip to Larnaca, which is a lively city in Cyprus. The third biggest one in the country, as Wikipedia told us. We know, never trust Wikipedia. Maybe we should try ChatGPT. Since this was our second trip to Larnaca, we can say with a TON of unshakable confidence, that by now we're an expert on the topic of Larnaca and Cyprus travel. We are a guide and have a degree and a certificate. Made by Adobe Acrobat.

We never share much about traveling or other experiences here, probably because, as our sister told us once years ago: “You’re like a scared bunny who always wants adventures and then ends up sitting on the couch.” And, we can confirm, research has shown this is an accurate description of us. She was not wrong and we're trying to change in order to become a superstar or influencer or a model. Anything to get attention.

And a huge step for us, was traveling more through the Mediterranean over the last 6-8 months. No, we didn’t need to go to the moon. There’s no food there. But most of us seem to like Mediterranean food, at least based on the popularity of these notable recipes made by a genius chef who’s also full of humility.

We're a little rusty with our writing since we've not written anything in almost a month, but we'll give you some great options and ideas of things to see and do in Larnaca and areas around, if you’re ever in Cyprus. We might focus more on the pictures than on the writing, because as we said we're pretty rusty and whenever we read posts like this, we usually just look at the pictures anyway. So we imagine everyone else does this and won’t read the timeless poetry surrounding the photos.

Update: we lied this post never ends. We spent 2 days writing it and it’s the definition of infinity scroll.

Things To Do and See In Larnaca

One thing we love about Larnaca and Cyprus in general is the weather. We were there in April and January this year and it was pretty warm, almost summer in April and this is the way to our heart. When the weather is good, there are many things to do.

A bonus is that the people are friendly and the city’s clean, unlike most bigger cities these days. You can’t see trash anywhere. It’s as if a fairy goes through the streets every 5 minutes and cleans and vacuums and disinfects. Or people just don’t throw their garbage all over the place.

Well, here are some great things anyone can do for free when in Larnaca.

Finikoudes Promenade Finikoudes Promenade

Walk Along The Finikoudes Promenade

So this is what we did most of the time – walk along the promenade surrounded by palm trees on both sides, right next to the main beach in Larnaca. No wonder we made 10,000 steps for breakfast.

Finikoudes Promenade

On the other side of the street, there are plenty of shops, restaurants, coffee shops and bars where you can have some drinks or food. Or you can just sit on a bench and watch the sea without a phone like a complete lunatic. That’s what we did.

St. Lazarus Church

The Saint Lazarus Church

So this church is probably the main “thing to see” in Larnaca. It is over a thousand years old, beautiful architecture, right in the city center, surrounded by many restaurants and shops.

The church was built in the late 9th century and named after Saint Lazarus from the New Testament of the Bible. That’s the same Lazarus who was raised from the dead by Jesus. He lived his last thirty years in Cyprus and when he died, he was buried there. Since this was the second time he died, this was also his second tomb (the first one, where Jesus raised him from the dead, is in Palestine).

So, in the 9th century, the emperor back then requested the remains of Lazarus to be moved to Constantinople (today’s Istanbul) and built the Saint Lazarus church over the tomb kinda as a monument. Definitely worth a visit, especially if you’re in Larnaca, you can’t miss it.

Zouhouri Mosque Zouhouri Square Zouhouri Square

Zouhouri Square

Very close to the St. Lazarus church is the Zouhouri Mosque with its Zouhouri Square. It is a wonderful spot to take a break and enjoy a snack or some coffee from the shops around.

loukoumades

We shared some loukoumades with ice cream, those are typical Greek / Cypriot doughnuts. It was peaceful and we enjoyed this place. And, as we found out later, it often hosts events, markets and festivals.

Larnaca Salt Lakes with the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque

Larnaca Salt Lakes

Me and you aren’t the only ones who like those salty lakes. Flamingos do too! In fact, they like them so much that they spend the whole winter there. So if you’re in the mood for even more walking and exploring you can go birdwatching and walking around the lakes (get bug spray). You’ll also get to see the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque.

We saw some flamingos in January in Larnaca (we know blurry!)

Overall the city center is a great place to spend a few days in Larnaca and to just walk around and explore.

the beach Europe square Larnaca Marina the fashion show

One evening we even stumbled upon a fashion/beauty/dance show in the city center with a small market. Which is always great. There’s something about warm weather, people and music.

Other Things To Do And See In Cyprus (Around Larnaca)

Now, we did make it out of Larnaca as well, thanks to our brother-in-law’s courage to drive on the opposite side of the street. Actually, we also stayed in a hotel outside of Larnaca as it was more quiet, spacious and clean, than the city accommodation we initially booked.

driving in Cyprus

We're glad we did get a car, as we saw so much more from the island! The nature is notable, there are beaches, there are mountains and as you drive along the coast there are huge fields of artichokes, wheat and other crops, which was one of our favorite things about the country. There are plenty of fun things to do for families, couples or even if you’re on your own, in and out of Larnaca.

view on the way from Larnaca to Pano Lefkara

Pano Lefkara

This is a small mountain village 35 minutes away from Larnaca, known for its lace and silver handicrafts. We bought some jewelry for our mom there and we had some coffee and cakes.

the welcoming comittee Pano Lefkara Pano Lefkara Pano Lefkara

But we mostly walked around and took photos, we're not going to lie. It’s pretty tourist-y, but we are tourists we liked it nevertheless and went both times there.

Visit a farm or a winery

On the way to the Lefkara village, you can stop at a winery or a farm. Since we're not a fan of wine and we've already been to many wineries, we visited the Golden Donkey farm.

the donkeys thousand year old olive tree this happened for like 1 minute

In this farm you can see the donkeys, a thousand-year-old olive tree and buy some donkey milk and ice cream. Some of us got the ice cream and to our surprise – no unpleasant surprises along the way.

View of the Holy Monastery Panagia Machaira The Holy Monastery Panagia Machaira

Visit a monastery

There are plenty of monasteries in Cyprus, but the one we decided to go to was The Holy Monastery Panagia Machaira. It’s right in the middle of the mountains, so the drive was pretty scenic and the nature was stunning.

Views on the way to The Holy Monastery Panagia Machaira

However, if you’re driving for a monastery only – there wasn’t much you can see in this particular one. You can visit the church and the shop, but that’s pretty much it. However, it was so peaceful and beautiful that we actually liked it there. And we loved the trip to get there.

Camel Park Larnaca

Camel Park

One of the fun things for families to do in Larnaca is visit the camel park. There aren’t only camels there, but there are plenty of them. And if you wish you could even ride. We did that and this is something we don’t think we will repeat by choice. We were scared out of our mind that the camel will throw us off and stomp on us. And she walked slow. We guess, now we’re clear on whether we should take horse riding lessons or not. Other than that we all loved spending a few hours there.

Macronissos beach caves near Cape Greco

Ayia Napa

We were tourists, so we did visit this tourist resort. It wasn’t traditional, but the nature, specifically the beaches were gorgeous. White sand, crystal clear water. Next time we're in Cyprus, we'll definitely book a stay there and enjoy the beach. We highly recommend Macronissos and Nissi beach, if you’re ever there.

Kourion Mosaic view from Kourion

Visit Kourion

This is one of the most impressive archeological sites in Cyprus overlooking the valley and the sea. You can get there by car in about an hour from Larnaca and we believe even public transportation from Limassol.

Aphrodite’s rock

Aphrodite’s Rock

Last, but definitely not least we saw Aphrodite’s rock on the way to Paphos coming from Limassol. It was us and plenty of other tourists. But the fact that it was “crowded” didn’t take away from the beauty of this rock, which they say is the birthplace of Aphrodite.

view over Aphrodite’s rock (there’s a stop when you’re driving from Limassol)

We're not into Greek mythology, but our mom is and she told us how Aphrodite was born from the foam of the sea waves. Now you might be thinking “WTF?” and it gets even better. Because one of the gods for some reason, cut off and threw the testicles of some other god into the sea and so the seafoam was a result of that and ended up in birthing Aphrodite. Now we must say it’s a beautiful rock and Aphrodite was the Goddess of beauty and love, so we can imagine people told stories like that.

To Eat and Shop

Honestly, we feel this is probably the main thing we did there. We didn’t do rocket science. Did however do a lot of research about food! And we must say, we came, we saw and we ate.

In Larnaca we did enjoy other cuisines – for example, we had sushi, French toasts, pizza and things that were not traditional. But as we went into the mountains, we had the more traditional food as well, which was fresh and tasty! We arrived from Rhodes, Greece, so we were already riding the Mediterranean wave. And it just kept going in Cyprus. Overall Cyprus is international, but also traditional (when you go more into the inner part of the island) and we love a mix of both.

One of the highlights for us was that the vegetables were high-quality and cheap. We know this is a weird one, but besides the weather, this is another way to our heart – have good quality fresh vegetables. They had plenty, we guess because the agriculture is so big there and they were incredibly affordable. We got vegetables in the Larnaca Municipal Market as well as from a small fruit and veg stand on the road. Also, we got to visit two bigger grocery stores: Alphamega and Lidl. Lidl was no stranger to us, but Alphamega was a new thing in our life. And we mean, we are not mad about it. 37 cents for a huge bunch of spinach / arugula / parsley / or cilantro. We don’t know, about you, but we can get used to this.

Food In Larnaca

French Toasted Brioche in Edem’s Yard Bagel in Edem’s Yard

So anyway, here are some places where we ate and we can recommend to eat in Larnaca:

• Ocean Basket. Grilled or fried fish, calamari, shrimp and even sushi.
• Pizzeria 485. If you’re in the mood for pizza, this is a great place to have some in Larnaca.
• Edem’s Yard. A brunch place with eggs, bagels, pancakes and French toast.
• Zorbas Bakery – Can’t believe we didn’t take a picture, because we went there every day. This is basically a mix between a bakery, coffee shop and a grocery store with locations all over Cyprus. The most impressive thing is that it’s pretty affordable and that it’s open 24/7, which was great because we landed at midnight and needed some water. So if you need coffee, cookies, sandwiches, croissants, pizza, brownies or their typical snacks – this is a good place to visit.

Food Outside Of Larnaca

Now outside of Larnaca, one place we went to and we liked was this Taverna Vavatsinia “Takis”. It is located in the Vavatsinia village, which is in the mountains and we visited it when we were on the way to the Holy Monastery Panagia Machaira.

the meze menu

It was SO good. We had all the things. Most restaurants in Cyprus offer a meze, which to our understanding is a combination of most of the things they offer on the menu. Well, at least this taverna offered this and it did not disappoint.

the meze (at the beginning) village pasta halloumi and traditional sausage souvlaki

We ordered the meze for two people and it was plenty, we had leftovers too.

our plate at some point, the fries are actually kolokasi (taro) – typical root veg in Cyprus our final plate (some we took home)

Our plate kept evolving as they brought out more and more food. It came quickly and was satisfying and fresh. We loved this “style” because, whenever we go out to eat in a new country we want to try everything they have and here we did without gaining 3 pounds after lunch.

The dessert was boureki.

boureki Cypriot coffee

We also had some Cypriot coffee in the end, which wasn’t our thing – we like espresso more, but we did enjoy it after that lunch.

Well, we hope you got some inspiration, maybe you hadn’t thought about Cyprus, but now you do. We hope you got some ideas if you ever travel there!