Guide to Paphos Old Town. Where to go, what to do, what to see
The town of Paphos in Cyprus is divided into two distinctive areas. Paphos Old Town, also known as Ktima, with which we deal in this article, and Kato Paphos.
Paphos Old Town is about 2km inland from the seashore and Kato Paphos. It is the part of the town where most of the locals live, and there are many interesting places to see here as a visitor, like traditional markets, museums, and historical sites. The nightlife of Paphos Old Town is also nice, with many places to dine or enjoy a drink.
Kato Paphos (meaning Lower Paphos) is the coastal part of Paphos. It is the part of the city next to the sea, widely known as a top tourist resort, with many hotels, restaurants, and attractions catering to visitors.
Table of Contents - what is included in this article
Guide to Paphos Old Town. Where to go, what to do, what to see
A short history of Paphos Old Town
Eight things to do in Paphos Old Town
2. Walk around the town, discover wonderful neoclassical buildings
3. Enjoy a coffee or a meal at the restaurants and cafeterias at the edge of the cliff of Paphos
4. Visit Paphos Archaeological Museum
6. Paphos Old Town nightlife - explore and enjoy it
7. Enjoy the sunset while sipping your coffee or eating
8. Visit the many religious monuments around the town
A short history of Paphos Old Town
The town of Paphos has a long history of over 4000 years. Because of its lengthy history, it was proclaimed as the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2017, together with Aarhus, Denmark. It was inhabited in the prehistoric Iron Age, and the first Greeks came and colonized Paphos and Cyprus in the second millennium BC. Paphos was one of the seven ancient Cities – Kingdoms of Cyprus. After the unification of Cyprus under one ruler, Paphos was the first capital of the island for about 600 years.
Paphos thrived for very long periods through the ages, during the Roman and then the Byzantine periods of Cyprus. Later, its significance declined, and this happened with the town as well. After many dark years during the Ottoman period, Paphos slowly started recovering. Today, Paphos Old Town is a very lively and interesting small city, known not only as a top tourist resort, but also as an academic, business, and cultural center.
Eight things to do in the Old Town of Paphos
1. Visit Paphos Old Market
During the day the market is a lively place with many shops and traditional workshops, many of them housed in beautifully restored stone buildings. Wander around at Makarios Ave., the main shopping street of the old town market. The shops on the street are housed on buildings more than 100 years old. Walk the street and its side roads and discover unique handmade items for you, your family, and even as gifts for friends back home. These items include not only souvenirs and other local crafts, but also handmade jewellery and leather goods, and traditional Cypriot goods, many of which are prepared locally.
There are traditional coffee shops as well, where you can enjoy Cypriot coffee with a traditional delicacy, and many places for a snack or to dine.
At the Hani of Ibrahim, an old, restored Hani, which was something like a hotel 200 years ago for travelers, and with stables for their animals like donkeys and camels, there are some very interesting shops with handmade artworks, as well as shops with traditional products. It is an area not to miss to visit during your excursion.
The central square of Paphos with beautiful buildings and nice cafeterias and restaurants is close to the market, so don't forget to visit it as well.
Here you can find not only shops like cafeterias and restaurants but also places to shop for clothes and the likes.
2. Walk around the town, discover and admire wonderful neoclassical buildings
There are many neoclassical buildings in Paphos.
The Central Square of Paphos with the wonderful Schools, the Paphos Town Hall, and the Municipal Library is an area to visit. Easily accessible on foot from the old market, you will have the opportunity to admire the wonderful neoclassical buildings and many statues of notable Paphian persons from the past, carved in white marble. There is also a park next to the Town Hall, which you can visit to sit under the trees and enjoy a few moments of serenity and calm.
3. Enjoy a coffee or a meal at the restaurants and cafeterias at the edge of the cliff of Paphos
With wonderful views of Kato Paphos and the Mediterranean Sea, there are many nice places to sit and enjoy your coffee, a snack, or a meal. There are a few very nice traditional coffee shops, if you find one of them stop for a dessert and a Cyprus coffee.
4. Visit Paphos Archaeological Museum
Boasting such a long history, a visit to the Paphos Archaeological Museum, with exhibits dating more than twelve thousand years old, is a visit well worth your time, and it’s free.
The Paphos Municipal Art Gallery and the Paphos Ethnographic Museum are also very interesting to visit.
At the Art Gallery, also with free entrance, you can admire paintings of local artists, while at the Ethnographic Museum, you can see through the exhibits how the life of Paphos and Cyprus was 200 – 300 years ago.
5. Street art of the Old Town
While walking around across the Old Town, notice the beautifully painted walls of various buildings, creating an interesting collection of graffiti and street art. Most of them were painted on the occasion of the promotion of Paphos as the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2017.
6. Paphos Old Town nightlife - explore and enjoy it
As the sun sets and the evening comes, the central square of the Old Town, the Old Traditional Market, and the narrow picturesque sideroads around them, transform in the night into a lively area with restaurants, bars, tavernas, live music, uzeri. Uzeri is something like a traditional coffee shop, where mainly ouzo (a traditional spirit) and beer are served, accompanied by traditional appetizers, called meze. Try it and you will remember me!
At the restaurants of the area, you may find fresh and delicious Cyprus cuisine. Eating in the Old Town is a good opportunity to eat traditional Cypriot food like souvlaki and sheftalia, which are more like homemade food, as they mainly serve local people, and you will avoid the tourist traps of the tourist area. That said, please remember that there are many very good places to eat in the tourist area as well.
Tip: before sitting, just walk around to feel and enjoy the rhythm of the old town. You will discover, one after the other, many unique places, you will hear live melodies from many shops and only then decide where you will sit, although it will be a difficult choice. But remember, hopping from one shop to another, is always a good choice in lively and unique places like the old market.
Tip 2: exploring the Old Town neighborhoods, outside the historic center and the market of Old Town, there are restaurants catering almost exclusively to local people. If you find one of them, even by chance, I recommend stopping and eating there, especially if many locals are dining. It will be a different food experience. One clarification: when I say locals, I include persons living permanently in Paphos and coming from many different countries, like the UK, Europe, etc. not just Cypriots.
7. Enjoy the sunset while sipping your coffee or eating
The boundary of the Old Town of Paphos is the edge of the cliff on which the town is built. The elevated position offers wonderful views of Kato Paphos and the Mediterranean Sea. On this edge, there are many very nice places to sit, for a drink or to dine. Arrange so that after walking around the market and the other attractions of the old town, you end up at the area above the main parking place of the market around the time of sunsetting. Select the shop of your choice and admire a fantastic sunset as the sun dives into the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, while enjoying a drink, a snack, or a full meal. An unforgettable experience!
8. Visit the many religious monuments around the town
Churches with interesting architecture and frescoes on the inside, religious caves, and a mosque that was a church hundreds of years ago, are among the many religious monuments to visit. Near the market, you may visit the church of Agios Kendeas and the mosque of Agia Sofia, which was a centuries-old church, converted into a mosque.
Useful information about the Old Town
Why is Paphos Old Town worth visiting
The Old Town is the historic center of Paphos. It is worth visiting, as it offers a wealth of activities for young and old, while there are also many places and attractions to visit and picturesque little roads to walk around and explore. Dining in the open air, admiring a wonderful sunset, visits to museums and art galleries, are just a few of the activities you can enjoy in the old town.
Is the Old Town safe?
Paphos Old Town is a very safe place to be, for the whole family.
Directions to Paphos Old Town and bus connections to the Old Town
From Kato Paphos there are dense bus connections to the old town, until late in the night. Using the bus you can ask the driver to tell you where to get down, depending on where you want to go and what to visit. While the old market will be your number one selection, you may also prefer to visit first the Paphos Archaeological Museum for example, and then just walk for 10-15 minutes to the central square of Paphos and the old market. So, decide what you want to see and ask the bus driver to help you accordingly, where to get off the bus.
If you drive with your own car to the old town, take the main road connecting Paphos and Kato Paphos. The distance is about 2-3 km, but because of the dense traffic, you will need up to 15 minutes to drive of it. At the end of the road connecting Paphos and Kato Paphos, you have the option to go straight up, which will take you to the Central Square of the Old Town, or turn left, which will take you straight to the parking place of the Old Market. I recommend following the second option. There is ample parking place near the old market of Paphos, so parking will not be a problem and most of the sightseeing is within easy walking distance.
Where to stay in the Old Town of Paphos
First things first: is it a good idea to stay in the old town? If you like to stay in a less noisy area, then the old town is one of the places to consider. There are no luxury hotels to stay here, but there are a few nice and decent accommodations. While there are things to do to spend your day in the old town, visiting the tourist area and the beaches is very easy, as buses pass every few minutes, from early in the morning until late at night.
A few of the accommodations I recommend are:
Axiothea Hotel
Casa Mespilea
Unique Staying Holiday Apartments
Kiniras Traditional Hotel and Restaurant
Various Airbnb accommodations
In conclusion
By visiting the Old Town of Paphos, you have the opportunity to do two things in one visit:
On the one hand, it is a good chance to mingle with the locals, especially the younger ones, and see how the locals live in their own environment, and have fun with them, in their own way. At the same time, by discovering the town through its long history, you seize the opportunity to take a glimpse into the long history and heritage of Paphos and Cyprus.
And all these while enjoying a fantastic escape away from the very busy, main touristic area of Kato Paphos.