Larnaca.
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Overview

Larnaca (Greek Λάρνακα Larnaka) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus. With 85,000 residents in 2015, metropolitan Larnaca is the island's third largest city.

Understand

Larnaca has a reasonable claim to being the oldest city in Cyprus, with evidence of habitation up to 6,000 years ago. Major landmarks are the Church of St. Lazarus, and the Hala Sultan Tekke.

Modern Larnaca, like other Cypriot coastal towns, is divided into an older city centre and a wide sprawl of hotels and restaurants along the beach.

Get in

Shared taxis (dolmus) connect Larnaca to Nicosia and Limassol.

Get around

On foot Larnaca is a thin ribbon of a town and you can walk around most of it. The seaside Larnaca Promenade (Phinikoudes) is particularly pleasant for a stroll in the evening.

It can be used for multiple passengers on the same journey.

The bus 425 goes from the airport to the town centre every 20 minutes during the day.

By taxi By law, taxis should charge by the meter, but many cabbies will refuse to use it.

See

The Church of St. Lazarus. An Orthodox church dating to the 9th century. It is reputedly built around the tomb of the biblical Lazarus, brother of Mary.

Larnaca Salt Lake. In winter (November to March), flocks of pink flamingos can be seen here.

Hala Sultan Tekke. The mosque is said to be the tomb of Umm Haram, the foster mother of Mohammed.

Faneromeni Church. This mashup of various architectural styles used to stand in the centre of the city — until 1974. There is a marble mausoleum next to it.

Archaeological Museum of the Larnaka District. Small but interesting museum. It displays objects from Prehistoric times up to Roman times. There's also a replica of the Stele of King Sargon II (722-705 BC) of Assyria. The original is on display at Berlin Pergamon Museum.

Do

Football: AEK Larnaca play soccer in the First Division, the top tier in Cyprus. Their home ground AEK Stadium (capacity 7400) is 2 km west of the city centre. Anorthosis also play in the First Division. They were forced to relocate from Famagusta, now part of Turkish Cyprus, and play at Papadopoulos Stadium (capacity 10,200) 2 km north of the centre. Diving: the main reason to dive in Larnaca is the wreck of the Zenobia, a ro-ro ferry that sank in 1980 on her maiden voyage only a few hundred metres from the harbour due to a fault in the ballast computer. Fully loaded with trucks and their cargo, the ship now lies on its side at a depth of 42 m, with the top of the wreck at 18 m and thus easily accessible even to PADI Advanced Open Water divers. If your flight comes in right, you can even see the shadow of the wreck as you land at Larnaca airport.

@lpha Divers. A PADI Five Star Gold Palm Instructor Development Centre and a British Sub-Aqua Club Premier & Technical Centre.

Dive-In Cyprus. A PADI 5-star dive center and Regional SDI/TDI office that specializes in dives to the Zenobia, it can also arrange nitrox and penetration dives for the technical diver. Full range of PADI, TDI, TecRec and SDI courses available.

Aquadream Scuba Diving Academy. A safe and friendly dive centre in Larnaca centre. Daily dives to the Larnaca wrecks and to the best dive sites on the island.

Windsurf City. Wind surfing, foil, standup paddle boards and more. Staff are extremely friendly and lessons enjoyable.

Buy

The nearby village of Lefkara is famous for its lace and silverware, and Larnaca being the nearest large town to the village, sells both in plentiful supply.

Independent jewellers and watchmakers are abundant, particularly among and just off the main Ermes/Ermou Street.

Oro Fino Jewellery. Italian and Greek designs, diamonds to zircons, precious to semi-precious stones. The shop features Newd Skin Jewel and brand watches like Guess, D&G and DKNY.

Academic & General Bookshop. An excellent bookshop with a wide selection of English books

Eat

The beaches of Larnaca are littered with identical seafood restaurants catering to tourists. The easiest way to find a good place is to simply walk along until you find a restaurant packed not with tourists, but with Cypriots!

Budget Eating in Larnaca can be quite expensive. However, if you're travelling on a budget, there are a few bargains to be had. Possibly the cheapest way is by grabbing a hotdog at the 'Enjoy kiosk' on, you guessed it, Phinikoudes Avenue.

Edesma Cyprus Taverna - Souvlaki Place. Authentic Cypriot taverna, great food, service, atmosphere. The specialties of the kitchen are seasoned with white wine and home-made zivania. Direct, friendly welcome. Delicious halumi, chicken, feta salads.

Falafel Abu Dany. Delicious small veggie place on the street, with three tables outside. Buda bowl, faul, falafel salad, lovely and healthy.

Souvlaki.gr. Delicious food and staff very friendly. Massive portions. Really good souvlaki wrapped in pita. Everything is fresh and super tasty. It's usually pretty crowded there.

Za'atar Lebanese Bakery. This is a nice simple restaurant with some options on the menu. Everything is freshly made. The pizza and the falafel sandwich is delicious. Delicious freshly baked lahmajun. Nice area to sit outside and under cover.

Bigbun. Very nice and cool place to grab a bite. Legit taste of burgers, they even have veggie ones. Crispy and golden fried potatoes were made from fresh potatoes. Interesting options. Very nice service.

Yummy India. Tasty and well spiced. Lots of options for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Chana masala, dhal makhani and mattar paneer are delicious. The ambience is good.

Militzis. No points for presentation, but the food is good and the restaurant is often packed.

Hobo's Steak House. A lively cafe/restaurant popular with many Cypriots, right on the main promenade. Food is varied from Cypriot to international cuisine.

Vlachos Taverna. Great local food; salads are lovely.

Nippon. Expensive but renowned Japanese restaurant serving sushi. Bookings are essential, as it is packed every night. Offers a wide range of delicious maki, California rolls and teppanyaki.

Drink

In the city centre an area just off the main promenade called "Laiki Yeitonia" fulfils the need for most Bars and Small scale Nightclubs. is the most popular of these, along with Times.

Driving about 15–20 minutes away from the City Centre to the east in the direction of Ayia Napa is the Larnaca-Dhekelia Road. This is the main 'strip' for high quality hotels, nightclubs, bars, etc., and is where most British Tourists can be found.

Blue Pine Bar. Near the American Academy has a huge selection of spirits (all real which is unusual for Cyprus) and has a real atmosphere. The decor is wood and dim lighting and lots of Jack Daniels and Blues music paraphernalia. Comes alive after 22:00. By far the best bar in Laranaca for chilled music and spirits.

Caramel Club. Disco club. Music of all tastes from international Dj sets till morning and elegant dress code. Mixed Russian/Greek/Briton crowd

Savino. Lively rock bar with many seats and often a good crowd. Live music on occasion.

Nusa Beach Bar. Cocktail bar on Kastella beach with outdoor seating facing the sea.

Sleep

There are countless hotels and hotel apartments of varying degrees of luxury by the seaside. Budget

Frangiorgio Hotel Apartments. A modern hotel 1-minute walk from the town's main beach and shopping areas. It has 24 furnished apartments with equipped kitchens, air-conditioning systems, heating, satellite TVs, double glazed windows, private balconies and telephones. Other facilities include: daily cleaning of rooms, laundry service, bar, fax service, internet facilities, 24-hour reception and an in-house 24-hour mini market.

Sandbeach Castle Hotel. Piale Pascha. A fairly typical 2-star hotel, a bit of a hike from the city centre, but not too far from the dive shops. Clean and generally acceptable.

Golden Bay Beach Hotel. Part of the Lordos Golden Hotels in Cyprus. 5-star hotel located near the town of Pyla, 10 km from central Larnaca.

Blue Serenity Private Villa. Pervolia 10 min in car. A brand new family villa - 3 bedrooms - fully air conditioned - private pool. Nice quite getaway place.

Paschalis Hotel Apartments. About 200 m from the beach. 10 minutes by car from Larnaca town and 20 minutes from Larnaca International Airport. A family run complex offering 12 modest and spacious one-bedroom, self-catering apartments with equipped kitchen, bath or shower room, lounge/dining room and private balcony. All apartments are light and refreshing with open-plan living space totalling 50 m², sleeping up to four adults or families of up to five including children and/or infants. Private swimming pool or the local beach via an easily accessible path across from the apartments.

Pyla Village & Pyla Palms & Pyla Gardens Resorts Apartments. Private apartments with pool, 10 km from Larnaca. 5 minutes drive from beach, and 8 to 12 minutes walk to Pyla town.

Sveltos Beach Apartments. Self-catering apartments 10 m from the sea with views over Larnaca Bay towards Cape Greco.