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Cyprus has become one of Europe’s holiday hot spots through an appealing blend of culture and decadent self-indulgence. Located roughly in the middle of the southern coast, Limassol is the perfect place to start exploring this fascinating country.

The island, Europe’s largest, offers priceless archaeological treasures amid vast stretches of mountains and craggy shoreline. Limassol is an industrial center as well as a tourist port, but it has been landscaped with aesthetics in mind and sports a pedestrian-friendly downtown area. Don’t miss the 12th-century fort where Richard the Lionheart married Berengaria of Navarre. A museum there commemorates the event as well as other aspects of local medieval history.

The tumultuous history of Cyprus led, after it achieved independence in 1960, to a division between the Greek and Turkish halves of the island. On the Greek side, a new tourist industry had to be built from scratch, but it has met with great success: popular destinations here include the sandy beaches of Paphos and Ayia Napa.

Language: Greek     Currency: Euro (EUR)