Discover Limassol

Limassol combines medieval architectural history, archaeological collections, theatre history, and art in public spaces. It also offers a self-guided route through the historic centre and a maritime touch. If you’re looking for hotels in Limassol, this mix of themes can help you prioritise your interests for a stay in the city.

History from the Middle Ages to archaeology

Limassol Medieval Castle was built over two older structures: an Early Christian basilica dating from the 4th to 7th centuries AD and a Middle Byzantine structure dating from the 10th to 11th centuries AD. These two periods give the building’s history a much longer arc than the Middle Ages alone.

The Cyprus Medieval Museum is housed in the Medieval Castle of Lemesos (Limassol). It displays medieval pottery, tombstones, silver plates from the Byzantine period, weapons, crosses, and coins. The Limassol Archaeological Museum covers a different period: it displays artefacts from the Neolithic period and from more than 9,000 years of history. For a thematic overview, this means an explicitly medieval collection sits alongside a broader archaeological timespan.

Museums with different focuses

The Cyprus Theatre Museum opened in 2012 and is located in the Panos Solomonides Cultural Centre. The Limassol Municipal Museum also serves as the home of the city archives. The city therefore offers a range of cultural points of interest: a museum focused on theatre and an institution that also serves as the municipal archive.

The Takis Pattichis Museum of Industrial Pharmacy is located next to Limassol Medieval Castle. Industrial pharmacy adds another clearly defined subject. Together with the archaeological and medieval collections, this range of themes makes it easier to choose based on the kind of history that interests you.

Art, city route, and marina

The collection at Prokymea (Molos) Sculpture Park includes more than 20 large-scale sculptures; the park runs along the Molos seafront promenade. The collection complements the historical museum themes with sculpture in public spaces and adds a distinctive artistic touch.

A self-guided route through Limassol’s historic city centre offers step-by-step directions, historical information, and photographs of the sights on its own website. It provides a different way to find your bearings than choosing a museum by collection or function: the historic centre forms the setting, with practical directions as well as images and background information. If finding your way between several sights is important to you, you can include this route as a separate way to explore the city.

Limassol Marina offers berths for yachts both in the water and on land. This distinction describes two types of berths and adds a maritime dimension to the cultural and historical themes. The destination can therefore be seen through a range of different themes: museums, art in public spaces, historic routes, and the marina.

Limassol in its regional context

The wider destination of Limassol also includes the perspective of the Lemesos region. Its capital lies between Amathus to the east and Kourion to the west; the region extends up the southern slopes of the Troodos Mountains. In the wine-growing villages of the Krassochoria in the Limassol region, old winemaking traditions are maintained and Commandaria, a sweet dessert wine, is still produced. The destination’s range of themes therefore extends from city museums and sculptures to regional viticulture and landscapes.

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Go to the main travel overview: Limassol.