LIMASSOL CYPRUS

LIMASSOL (LEMESOS)

Limassol is Cyprus’ second largest city and the main commercial centre after the capital, Nicosia. It’s on the coast in the south of the island and is home to the main port in the Republic of Cyprus as well as being a popular holiday resort.

Also the centre of the wine industry in Cyprus, Limassol famously produces one of the oldest named wines in the world, Commanderia, a rich, sweet dessert wine. 

This bustling and cosmopolitan city is just a short drive from the southern slopes of the Troodos mountains, where you can see acres of lush vineyards and find beautiful hillside villages, which are known as the wine villages or 'Krassochoria'. Like Paphos, Limassol enjoys its fair share of ancient history and you can see the evidence for yourself at two of Cyprus’ most spectacular archeological sites, situated to the east and west of Limassol - the city sits between the two ancient city kingdoms of Amathous and Kourion, built on cliff tops with breathtaking views of the sea.

About Limassol

Like the other main areas of Cyprus, Limassol city is the capital of the administrative district of which it’s a part and takes the same name. It has 18 miles of glorious coastline and is popular with holidaymakers all year round because of its mild climate, its fascinating history and the way it effortlessly combines ancient and modern.

Not far from this buzzing, lively city are many beautiful traditional Cypriot villages, where life is at a far slower pace. Some of the most popular villages which are just a short drive from Limassol are Souni, just a little inland from the city, Laneia, which is further inland, towards the foothills of the Troodos Mountains, Pissouri, a favourite coastal spot a little west of Limassol and Pyrgos, a short distance inland and to the east of Limassol.

Take a look at the map of the island of Cyprus to see where Limassol is in relation to both Larnaca and Paphos international airports as well as other parts of Cyprus.

Like the rest of Cyprus, Limassol has plenty of ancient history but it wasn’t until around the 10th century that it became a significant town on the island and was known as Nemesos. In 1191, during the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart arrived in Limassol and freed the country from Byzantine rule and destroyed the city of Amathous. The city’s inhabitants went to live in what is now Limassol and you can still see the remains of this ancient city spread over a wide area and it’s thought that part of the site is still underwater. The town’s other major archeological site, Kourion, was built in the 2nd century BC and has a magnificent Greco-Roman Theatre which is now fully restored and used for romantic musical and theatrical performances under the stars.

In Cyprus, Limassol is known as the city of fun thanks to its wine festival, a 10-day extravaganza in September where you can sample those famous Cyprus wines and see a little traditional Cypriot folk dancing. The wine festival and the Spring Carnival are Limassol’s biggest events and the Carnival is a great occasion with a large local following and a wonderful parade through the main streets, led by King Carnival and his followers in costumes and masks. Large crowds of visitors and locals from all over the island line the streets to see the floats go by and enjoy the hundreds of parties around the town and the very special atmosphere.

Getting to Limassol

Getting to Limassol is relatively easy; you have the choice of either Larnaca International Airport  or Paphos International Airport, which are roughly equidistant from Limassol on the A5 Motorway (Larnaca to Limassol) or the A6 Motorway (Paphos to Limassol). Details of airlines flying to Larnaca airport can be found in the Larnaca section on this website and details of those flying to Paphos airport can be found in the Paphos area guide. If you’re flying to Cyprus out of season, you will find that Larnaca usually has a greater selection of flights available, but in the summer Paphos airport comes into its own with an enormous range of scheduled, charter and budget airlines flying there.

More information on Limassol coming soon….

So there, just a taste of what’s available to see and do in Limassol. Over the coming weeks, Cyprus Property World will be adding pages with further information about  Limassol, its restaurants, its night-life, cultural events, more detail about activities and more information about the historical and archeological delights of Limassol. If there’s anything we haven’t included that you’d like to see on these pages, please just drop us an email on and we’ll try and answer your questions and include the information at a later date on the website.

Have fun in Limassol!