Larnaca

Larnaca (Greek Λάρνακα Larnaka) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus. With 85,000 residents in 2015, metropolitan Larnaca is the island's third largest city.

Understand
Larnaca has a reasonable claim to being the oldest city in Cyprus, with evidence of habitation up to 6,000 years ago. Major landmarks are the Church of St. Lazarus, and the Hala Sultan Tekke.

Modern Larnaca, like other Cypriot coastal towns, is divided into an older city centre and a wide sprawl of hotels and restaurants along the beach.

By plane
Shared taxis (dolmus) connect Larnaca to Nicosia and Limassol.

On foot
Larnaca is a thin ribbon of a town and you can walk around most of it. The seaside Larnaca Promenade (Phinikoudes) is particularly pleasant for a stroll in the evening.

By bus
Bus fares (daytime) cost €2.40 cash or €1.80 with a pre-paid card (April 2024). A card costs €5 and is valid for 10 years. It can be used for multiple passengers on the same journey.

The bus 425 goes from the airport to the town centre every 20 minutes during the day.

By taxi
By law, taxis should charge by the meter, but many cabbies will refuse to use it. Metered fares should be 65 cent; to get in plus 22 cent/km, night surcharges apply after midnight.

Do

 * Football: AEK Larnaca play soccer in the First Division, the top tier in Cyprus. Their home ground AEK Stadium (capacity 7400) is 2 km west of the city centre.
 * Anorthosis also play in the First Division. They were forced to relocate from Famagusta, now part of Turkish Cyprus, and play at Papadopoulos Stadium (capacity 10,200) 2 km north of the centre.


 * Diving: the main reason to dive in Larnaca is the wreck of the Zenobia, a ro-ro ferry that sank in 1980 on her maiden voyage only a few hundred metres from the harbour due to a fault in the ballast computer. Fully laded with trucks and their cargo, the ship now lies on its side at a depth of 42 m, with the top of the wreck at 18 m and thus easily accessible even to PADI Advanced Open Water divers. If your flight comes in right, you can even see the shadow of the wreck as you land at Larnaca airport.

Buy
The nearby village of Lefkara is famous for its lace and silverware, and Larnaca being the nearest large town to the village, sells both in plentiful supply.

Independent jewellers and watchmakers are abundant, particularly among and just off the main Ermes/Ermou Street.



Eat
The beaches of Larnaca are littered with identikit seafood restaurants catering to tourists. The easiest way to find a good place is to simply walk along until you find a restaurant packed not with tourists, but with Cypriots!

Budget
Eating in Larnaca can be quite expensive. However, if you're travelling on a budget, there are a few bargains to be had. Possibly the cheapest way is by grabbing a hotdog at the 'Enjoy kiosk' on, you guessed it, Phinikoudes Avenue. Hotdogs are just €1 and rather enjoyable.

All these are in the city centre:

Drink
In the city centre an area just off the main promenade called "Laiki Yeitonia" fulfils the need for most Bars and Small scale Nightclubs. is the most popular of these, along with Times.

Driving about 15–20 minutes away from the City Centre to the east in the direction of Ayia Napa is the Larnaca-Dhekelia Road. This is the main 'strip' for high quality hotels, nightclubs, bars, etc., and is where most British Tourists can be found.



Sleep
There are countless hotels and hotel apartments of varying degrees of luxury by the seaside.

Go next

 * Agia Triada
 * Ayia Napa
 * Cape Greco
 * Kapparis
 * Lefkara, a small, beautiful town, 30 km away.
 * Protaras
 * Paralimni