Cyprus is far bigger on the inside than the map suggests. It’s a small island — the third-largest in the Mediterranean — but it’s been fought over, sung about and settled for more than ten thousand years, and it hides more surprises per square kilometre than almost anywhere in Europe. Here are twenty-one true ones (myths clearly labelled) to talk you into a trip.
The island where a goddess was born
Legend says Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, rose from the sea foam at Petra tou Romiou — “Aphrodite’s Rock” — near Paphos. It’s a story, but the rock is wonderfully real: a pale sea-stack in a sweep of turquoise bay you can pull off the coast road to see. Folklore says swimming around it is good for love and youthful looks.
“Copper” is named after Cyprus
One for the pub quiz: the English word copper comes from Cyprus, not the other way around. The Romans knew the metal as aes Cyprium — “the metal of Cyprus” — because the island’s mines supplied so much of it; that shortened to cuprum and then “copper.” Cyprus was a Bronze Age superpower precisely because it sat on all that ore.
People have loved cats here for 9,500 years
Forget ancient Egypt — the oldest known bond between a human and a cat was found on Cyprus. At the Neolithic site of Shillourokambos, a person was buried beside a cat around 9,500 years ago, roughly four thousand years before Egyptian cat art. The island still runs on cat energy: at the Monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats near Limassol, felines have prowled the grounds for centuries.
The world’s oldest named wine still in production
Cyprus makes Commandaria, an amber, honey-sweet dessert wine recognised as the oldest named wine still in production anywhere. It’s made from sun-dried grapes in fourteen villages on the southern Troodos slopes and named after the Crusader-era “Grande Commanderie.” Richard the Lionheart is said to have toasted it as “the wine of kings and the king of wines” in 1191.
Some of the world’s oldest perfume was made here
At Pyrgos-Mavroraki, near Limassol, archaeologists unearthed a roughly 4,000-year-old Bronze Age perfume workshop — one of the oldest known anywhere. The residues told a fragrant story: rosemary, lavender, myrtle, marjoram and pine, distilled long before perfume was a luxury industry.
Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites on one small island
For its size, Cyprus punches far above its weight:
- Paphos — the ancient city of Nea Paphos and its jaw-dropping Roman floor mosaics, first uncovered by a farmer ploughing his field in 1962.
- The Painted Churches of the Troodos — ten little Byzantine churches, their interiors covered wall-to-wall in centuries-old frescoes.
- Choirokoitia — one of the best-preserved Neolithic settlements in the eastern Mediterranean, lived in some 9,000 years ago.
Europe’s last divided capital
Nicosia (Lefkosia) is Europe’s last divided capital. A UN buffer zone known as the Green Line runs through the old city — a few metres wide in places — the legacy of the island’s division in 1974. You can walk up to it and, with your passport, cross at official checkpoints. Our Green Line crossing guide covers the rules and car-insurance quirks.
The mountains are a piece of the ocean floor
The Troodos massif is a slab of ancient ocean crust thrust up onto land, so well preserved that geologists study it worldwide. All that copper Cyprus is named for formed here, at ancient undersea hot springs. At the top sits Mount Olympus (Chionistra), 1,952 m high — and in winter you can ski on it.
You could ski and sunbathe on the same day
On a bright winter’s day you can ski in the Troodos in the morning and be on a beach by the afternoon. The island is one of the sunniest places in Europe, with around 300–340 sunny days a year. More in our best time to visit guide.
Flamingos spend their winters here
Between roughly November and March, thousands of greater flamingos turn the Larnaca Salt Lake pink as they feed on brine shrimp. There’s a flat, free walking-and-cycling trail around the lake — one of the loveliest, least-touristy things to do in the cooler months.
It has its own wild sheep — and sea turtles
The Cyprus mouflon (agrino), a handsome wild mountain sheep, lives only on Cyprus and is the national animal. On the beaches of the wild Akamas Peninsula — especially Lara Beach — endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles haul ashore each summer to nest.
That squeaky cheese is a protected treasure
Halloumi — the firm, salty cheese that squeaks against your teeth and grills without melting — carries EU Protected Designation of Origin status, so only cheese made on the island the traditional way can carry the name.
Dinner is a marathon, not a meal
Say yes to a Cypriot meze and you’re committing to an event: a slow parade of a dozen, twenty, sometimes thirty small dishes until you surrender. Full rundown in our food & drink guide.
They drive on the left
A quirk of British rule (Cyprus was under British administration from 1878): Cypriots drive on the left. Prefer not to drive? It’s very manageable by bus and taxi.
A flag that draws itself
Cyprus is one of only two countries whose flag depicts its own map (the other is Kosovo). The island is shown in a warm copper-orange above two green olive branches for peace — adopted at independence in 1960.
A modern, easy place to travel
For all its ancient layers, the Republic of Cyprus is a fully modern EU country: it joined the EU in 2004 and adopted the euro in 2008. English is very widely spoken. If you need help after hours, we keep live guides to night pharmacies and emergency care.
A ghost town frozen in 1974
On the east coast, the resort suburb of Varosha in Famagusta was a glamorous 1970s hotspot until the island’s division, when it was fenced off and abandoned overnight — a genuine ghost town of sun-bleached hotels, an eerie counterpoint to the island’s easy beach days.
Beaches for absolutely everyone
From the shallow sandbar at Nissi Beach to the wild coves of the Akamas, Cyprus’s coastline is its headline act. Many beaches fly the Blue Flag, and the island pioneered wheelchair-accessible beaches with SEATRAC sea ramps. See our best beaches guide and, with kids, Cyprus with kids.