Limassol
Cyprus
- Coastline
- Birthplace of Aphrodite
- Coast life
- Gods and goddesses
A city of excess, Limassol is not shy. A seemingly endless tourist strip runs from the city centre in frenzied neon-flashes of shops, bars and restaurants, the palm-lined avenues and festival-fever has earned the city’s moniker of ‘Little Miami’.
Since the days of the ancient city-kingdoms of Amathus and Kourion, Limassol has been a bustling port and with the welcome arrival of boutique hotels and state-of-the-art spas, the appetites of the culture- and party-hungry are equally sated with antiquities and after-hours offerings. The increasingly gentrified Old Town has witnessed a recent influx of Athenian A-listers, serious superyachters and the travel cognoscenti drawn by the warm weather, cool bars and frozen Zivania shots, Grappa’s feisty Cypriot cousin.
Pictured: Londa
Boutique hotels in Limassol
Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and boutique hotels in Limassol
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Getting there
Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.
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Worth getting out of bed for
Highlights the best Limassol has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.
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Eating, drinking & dancing
We've tracked down the best cafés for people-watching, the bars with the coolest cocktails, the most accomplished restaurants and the liveliest local nightlife in Limassol. All you have to do is make sure you've packed your favourite threads…
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Smith Maps
Our interactive map of Cyprus will help you find your way to your Smith hotel, as well as explore this Mediterranean island.
moreLocal knowledge
- Taxis
- Shared and private taxis are plentiful but it’s advisable to book in advance. Urban taxis for journeys within the city can be hailed in the street or picked up at a taxi rank; rural taxis for journeys out of town should be booked by phone or hired from a base station, unless you pick one up at an airport taxi rank.
- Tipping culture
- A ten per cent tip is usual for good service.
- Siesta and Fiesta
- Limassol is about as lively as it gets and consequently there are many establishments, which stay open, all day and well into the night. Most shops, however, open at 08h30 and close at 19h. Lunch breaks vary from an hour in the winter months to several hours during the summer season. Most shops close at 13h on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
- Packing tips
- A destination that offers a myriad of choices, from beach lounging and bar hopping to mountain hiking and skiing, means that you should come prepared for everything.
- Recommended reads
- Lawrence Durrell’s Bitter Lemons of Cyprus and A Birdwatching Guide to Cyprus by Arthur Stagg and Graham Hearl.
- Cuisine
- Cypriot food is a fusion of Greek and Turkish cuisine. Barbecued meats such as lamb and chicken are delicious. Order traditional Cypriot meze, and scores of diminutive dishes will arrive, hot and cold, and for the full Cypriot experience end with a glass of Commandaria, a sweet desert wine with a pedigree dating back to the time of Richard the Lionheart. Coffee shops are the traditional heart of Cypriot social life; dark, rich coffee comes predominantly in the form of sketo, metrio or glyko in increasing levels of sweetness.
- Currency
- Cyprus pound.
- Time zone
- GMT+2.
- Dialing codes
- Code for Cyprus: 357.
- Do go/don't go
- In early spring and autumn the region enjoy fine weather but without the high temperatures and crowded beaches of July and August. Winter is still mild but there is often snowfall in the Troodos Mountains allowing you to sunbath on the beach in the morning and ski in the afternoon.
