Larnaka revolves around its seaside position, with a handful or excellent historic sites. It’s an ideal base for further exploration and local discoveries. The costal promenade – known universally as the Finikoudes – is where locals and visitors alike come for a morning coffee or an evening beer, to flop out on the beach during the day and to stroll at sunset. It’s the hub of the scene, with restaurants, cafes and bars galore.
Take a few steps inland, though, and a less tourism-centered side of Larnaka unfolds. The modern downtown district has stayed determinedly low-rise and has a proper community feel and working town atmosphere, while the old Turkish quarter of Skala is a slice of days-gone-by Cyprus, with plenty of quaintly dilapidated shutter-windowed and whitewashed houses. Between the two you will find the Byzantine church of Agios Lazaros and Larnaka’s little fort, both of which – in their own ways – have kept an eye on the town for centuries.
Makenzy beach is Larnaka’s most populist beach and has all the facilities needed for a day in the sun, including of plenty of restaurants and cafes rimming the promenade. For the adventurous ones, check out the famed Zenovia wreck dive, classed as one of the top five wreck dives in the world.
What is more, the villages around Larnaka have been famous since ancient times for their handicrafts, passed down through the generations from father to son and mother to daughter. There you can find some of the most charming places, like Kiti, Mazotos, Maroni, Lefkara and Kornos.
