| Acropolis Made up of ancient ruins and buildings, the Acropolis is situated near the new Paphos Lighthouse. Built in second century, the Odeon is made of pure limestone. Today it is used to stage musical and live performances. The structure is semi circular in shape with 12 rows of seats. It occupied an important place in ancient Cypriot history and even today with the influx of tourists its value hasn’t diminished. To the south of the Odean are the remains of the Roman temple of Asclepius, God of Medicine and to the north are remains of ancient town walls. Paphos Fort The Paphos Fort or castle is located at the Kato Paphos harbor. It was originally a Byzantine fort, but was remodeled by the Lusignans. But in 1570 the Venetians destroyed the castle, but during the Ottoman rule the castle was restored to it old glory, expanded and reinforced. Built of strong and large stones, the castle is connected to the harbor via an arched bridge. There are very few windows but the view from the top of castle is superb. The fort is noted in the UNESCO list of world heritage sites and is fully protected. Adonis Bath 
The history behind Adonis Baths relates to the love story between Aphrodite and Adonis. Both Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Persephone, Goddess of Underworld loved Adonis. This led to a fight between Aphrodite and Persephone and the court ruled that Adonis should spend one third of his time with Aphrodite, one third with Persephone and the remaining is reserved for him. But Adonis cheated on Persephone by spending the one-third time reserved for him, with Aphrodite. Persephone got angry and got him killed by a wild boar. After hearing the news, Aphrodite ran towards Adonis and while doing so she bled from her feet. The route through which Aphrodite ran and where blood dripped from her feet has caused lilies to grow, so is the saying. Tombs of the Kings As the name suggests, no kings are buried here. But actually it’s the resting place of 100 Ptolemaic aristocrats who died in Paphos between 3 B.C. and 3 A.D. Located northwest of Paphos harbour, near the Coral bay the structure consists of solid rock formations featuring Doric pillars and walls decorated with frescoes. Ongoing archaeological excavations have discovered the Church of Paleoekklisia, which depict Byzantine frescoes. Address: Tombs of the Kings / Villa of Dionysos, Kato Paphos, Paphos, Cyprus Tel: +357 26 306 295 | | The Mosaics of Paphos Situated near the Paphos harbour, are some superbly preserved mosaic remains dating from third to fifth century A.D. These mosaic floors can be seen in the Villa of Dionysos, Orpheus and Aion, and the Villa of Theseus, in the form of pavements. A farmer accidentally discovered these mosaics while he was ploughing his field. Till today, the villas are being excavated and the mosaics that are being found depict scenes from Greek mythology and are made from small cubes of marble stone along with glass paste. These small marble cubes are called tesserae. The wide range of these beautiful designs can be seen in the Villa of Dionysos where nearly 5,985 sq.ft of area consisting of 14 rooms are covered with the mosaics. Address: Kyriakou Nikolaou Street, Kato Paphos, Paphos, Cyprus Tel: +357 26 306 217 Ayios Neophytos Monastery 
Ayios Neophytos Monastery has been believed to be founded by the Cypriot writer Neophytos in 1159. He carved his home out of the mountain rock, which has today become a monastery in his name and here you will find some beautiful frescoes dating back to Byzantine Empire. Today only a few monks stay in the monastery which has a museum, with has many religious items like manuscripts, holy utensils, old books, priestly garments, jewelery and collection of Cypriot pottery and maps on display. Every January the monastery holds a two day religious fair where you can find Cypriot crafts, art pieces and monastic goods for sale. Baths of Aphrodite 
Located in the Akamas Peninsula near the little fishing village of Latchi, is the famous mythological site ‘Baths of Aphrodite’. It is believed that on this romantic site, Aphrodite used to take her baths in the pools of the natural cave. The cave is surrounded by a fig tree with beautiful natural wildlife. There are many myths surrounding the pools and one of them is that if one bathed in them, they are restored of their fertility. But now days nobody is allowed to enter the pools. The site can be reached by the nature trails of Akamas. Address: Akamas Peninsula, near Polis, North Paphos, near Latchi village, Cyprus Chrysoroyiatissa Monastery 
The Chrysoroyiatissa Monastery, which is situated at 610 mtrs high, gives an outstanding view of the surrounding flora and fauna. It was founded in 12th century, but the existing building dates back to 18th century. The monastery is dedicated to Virgin Mary or the Cypriot ‘Our Lady of the Golden Pomegranate’. Inside the monastery there is a variety of religious icons and treasures on display. One statue that attracts the most attention is that of Virgin Mary which is made of pure silver. On 15th August a celebration is held in honor of Virgin Mary as it is believed on this day she slept but didn’t wake up. The word death is not used as the ‘Our Lady of the Golden Pomegranate’ is in deep sleep, but her other senses and organs like heart and brain are working. | | Petra Tou Romiou (Aphrodite’s Rock) Petra Tou Romiou or Aphrodite’s Rock is not something to be missed. Supposed to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, Goddess of love, it is believed that she emerged from the sea at this bay. Aphrodite herself chose the famous rock to begin her life as a human. It is said that Aphrodite first travelled to the island of Cythera, but she found it too small and therefore reached Paphos and settled here. The name Petra Tou Romiou which means ‘Rock of the Greek’, comes from the story of the Byzantine frontier guard who used to throw these ‘petras’ in the sea to destroy Arab ships during a raid by the Saracens on Cyprus. Paphos District Archaeological Museum houses a number of archaeological artefacts and remains that were found during the excavations in and around the Paphos area. The objects found here relate back to the Historic and Pre Historic times. The museum consists of five exhibition rooms. In the first room, one will find items related to prehistoric sites of Paphos while the second room contains objects of the Archaic and Classical eras. The third room represents the Hellenistic and Roman periods while the fourth and fifth room houses objects found at Kato Paphos area. Address: Griva Digeni 43, Pafos (Ktima), Paphos, Cyrus. Tel: +357 26 306 215 Saránta Kolónes (Forty Columns) 
Saránta Kolónes are ruins of an ancient castle located to the north of Paphos harbour and when translated into English literally mean Forty columns. The name comes from the fact that the original castle was built on the base of 40 granite columns. The columns are said to be constructed by the Lusignans in 13th century on the previous site of the Byzantine castle. The castle itself is said to be constructed in 7th century to protect from Arab invaders and later the Lusignans remodelled it. Today, the castle is in ruins but there are some places to explore like the dungeons and towers. Address: North of Paphos harbour, Kato Paphos, Paphos, Cyprus The Byzantine Museum of Pafos The Byzantine Museum of Pafos displays articles dating to the 7th century till the 18th century. The main attraction of this museum is the Byzantine era artefacts that are on show. Among them is the icon of Agia Marina, which is from the 8th or 9th century and is one of the oldest collections available in Cyprus. The museums main aim was to preserve and to carry forward Cyprus rich history and tradition for the future generation. Some of the articles that are on display are woodcarvings, ecclesiastical works of metallurgy, sacerdotal vestments and embroideries, manuscripts, old printed books and frescoes. Address: Adjoined to the Bishopric, (near Ag. Theodoros Church), 5 Andrea Ioannou Str., Pafos, Paphos, Cyrus. Tel: +357 26 931 393 | |