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Things to do in Limassol
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Limassol



Limassol is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the eponymous district. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 183,658 and a metropolitan population of 239,842. Limassol has been ranked by TripAdvisor as the 3rd up-and-coming destination in the world, in its Top 10 Traveler’s Choice Destinations on the Rise. The city is also ranked 89th worldwide in Mercer's Quality of Living Survey (2017). In the 2020 ranking published by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Limassol was classified as a "Gamma -" global city.

Limassol was built between two ancient Greek cities, Amathus and Kourion, and during Byzantine rule it was known as Neapolis (new town). Limassol's historical centre is located around its medieval Limassol Castle and the Old Port. Today the city spreads along the Mediterranean coast and has extended much farther than the castle and port, with its suburbs stretching along the coast to Amathus. To the west of the city, is the Akrotiri Area of the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

Landmarks include:
  • The medieval castle is one of the ten castles of Cyprus. It was built by the Byzantines around 1000 AD. Around the same period, a chapel was also built there. Richard the Lionheart is supposed to have married his fiancée Princess Berengaria of Navarre on this site after her ship was grounded nearby in 1191 as she accompanied him to the Third Crusade, on his way to Holy Land. The Castle was used as a prison between 1790 and 1940 and it now serves as a medieval museum. The collection that the museum provides covers the era of 400 - 1870 AD. A visitor can see numerous exhibits: cannons, wood carvings of the 17th and 18th century, paintings and tombstones, statues, suits of armour, coins, terracotta, metalware and pottery, glass and marble articrafts.
  • The Archaeological Museum provides a very interesting collection of antiquities found in the district of Limassol, dating from the Neolithic Age to the Roman period. Some of the archaeological discoveries are: Stone axes of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic period, potteries and objects of the ancient cities of Curium and Amathus, as well as Roman terracottas, gold jewellery, coins, sculptures, columns, vases, earrings, rings, necklaces, marble statues etc.
  • The Folk Art Museum is based in a preserved old house which contains a collection of Cypriot Folk Art of the last two centuries. Objects in the collection include: national costumes, tapestry, embroidery, wooden chests, waistcoats, men's jackets, necklaces, a variety of light clothes, town costumes, country tools etc. The museum was established in 1985. More than 500 exhibits are housed in its six rooms. The museum was awarded the Europa Nostra prize in 1989. Here, the visitor can study Cypriot culture through the hand-made exhibits.
  • Public Garden is situated on the coastal road. It provides a great variety of vegetation: eucalyptus trees, pine trees and cypresses. Inside the garden, there is a small zoo. There, the visitor can see deer, moufflons, ostriches, pheasants, tigers, lions, monkeys, vultures, pelicans and other animals and different kinds of birds. Not far from the zoo there is the small natural history museum and the garden theatre that is reconstructed to host international groups.
  • A series of public sculptures commissioned by the Limassol Municipality, can be found on the reclamation (now Twin Cities park), spanning one mile (1.6 kilometres) of seafront reclaimed land. The sculptures were created by Costas Dikefalos, Thodoros Papayiannis, Vassilis Vassili and Kyriakos Rokos from Greece, and Helene Black from Cyprus.
  • Towers of Limassol BBC Relay, a powerful mediumwave transmitter.



leonedgaroldbury@yahoo.co.ukFeel free to Email me any additions or corrections


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