Wherever you want to travel in Cyprus, your options are to arrive in airports of Paphos or Larnaca. I believe Larnaca is chosen more, because it is has more flights operating and also is more active place for the holiday and for daytrips to organize. From the airport of Larnaca you can easily reach the city center by public transport for just 1.5 eur, which is a usual bus ticket price for the trips in a city. The main stop for these buses in the city is in the Central Bus Station, which is located in Finikoudes. And this is actually the main central location from where you can start your trip easily. During our last trip to Cyprus we also arrived and departed from Larnaca International airport, but we spent only our last day in Larnaca, as the rest of the trip was planned to spend in Ayia Napa and Paphos areas. So let me share with you what discoveries we had this time in this sunny city.
Finikoudes has also a big public beach, which is always full of people at any time of the day and the year. This is a great place, where you can enjoy your meal in one of the beachfront cafes with a nice sea view, get a coffee takeaway and rest on the sand or wear your best swimsuit and jump into the water. The sand here is not that soft and yellow as in Ayia Napa or Paphos, but for not very peaky people it can be good too. It has more grey color, mostly “pressed” and sometimes with some small stones. But for those, who just want to spend a day on a beach and take some tan, it doesn’t matter.
One of the main attractions in Larnaca that everyone goes to see is the st. Lazarus church. I’ve already shared some facts about this place in one of my previous posts from Larnaca, but can mention once again, that every time it is worth to come here, walk around, visit the church and the catacombs inside, visit the museum adjacent to the church. During the daytime it is quite crowdy, but if you come here early morning, you will feel the peaceful atmosphere, and listen to the birds’ songs and ring bells only. This is amazing!
Larnaca is not only the the ancient history and architecture, but a nice place to stroll in its cozy streets in the city center. Especially around the st. Lazarus church you can see several streets going up and down and all of them are full of nice cafes, souvenir shops and places just to stop and admire. Every corner here is nice and sweet, people always smile to you, welcoming to enter or just take a picture with a nice background. And such places were almost in every step. In the evening those places that were calm and empty during the day, transform to another place, with neon lights, full of youth, drinking cocktails and dancing. That’s totally another mood an fun!
And one of the discoveries during our last trip to Larnaca came accidentally. As most of you know, I’m from Armenia, and I was traveling here with my best friend, also Armenian. And of course, when we were walking here, we’re talking to each other in Armenian 🙂 🙂 And when we saw a shop called “Avedis Worx“, we were surprised, because it’s an Armenian male name and means, the shop belongs to Armenians (yeah, we are everywhere 🙂 ). Then we heard a voice, asking if we are from Armenia. We turned around, and saw a young man in front of that shop. He welcomed us and told that in another shop next to it we can meet his mom and can say hi. And we did so. We saw a nice lady, who was surprised seeing us talking to her (she didn’t expect that 🙂 ) She gave us some tips where we can go around and wished us a good trip. It was a surprise for us as well, which made us smile. After we’re back home, I made a research and found out that the shop was opened at 1947 by Avedis Guezukutchukian when he came to Cyprus from Aleppo, Siria, and was the first, who “cut” keys in Larnaca. Today his descendants continue his work and even adjust it more to modern needs (by style). So if you are in Larnaca and need to make a key for your house door or car, you can go to Kleanthi Kalogera street and look for “Avedis Worx” 😉
I’ve heard and read that the other beach in Larnaca has nicer sand, but didn’t have chance to check it myself. Instead at the end of the day we had a walk to its direction to enjoy the evening, we reached a rocky “border”, which was separating Finikoudes and Makkenzie beaches. There was a small harbor here, were a lot of small fishing boats were parked. Also from the restaurants nearby you can feel the smell of grilled fish. But look at this sky, what a purple sunset we had! This was magical.
The evening walk can bring you more discoveries than you think. Usually during the daytime people are trying to see mainly the planned landmarks, places that they marked on a map in advance that they want see or visit. But when you are “free” in your actions and you’re just enjoying the city without rush, you can find real gems hidden in the corners. Here is one of such places we’ve found far from the crowds, on the way to Makkenzie. Just a cute street with colorful houses. I don’t know what was inside, but the entrance door was open and you are free to check. Also it could be a nice place for an interesting photoshoot 😉
And finally, where to eat?
The answer is one – when you are in Cyprus, the Mediterranean cuisine is the preferred one. And if you are a seafood lover as me, then go directly to Ocean Bascet, which is just behind the Finikoudes bus station. We were 2, the menu was big, prices – not bad too. After a long and hard time, we chose the platter for two. Till our order was processed, we also had some bread with different sauces as a welcome set, not to stay hungry until our order comes. It took just a few minutes and the platter was on the table. And what can I say? Just looking at this picture my mouth is getting watered hahaha 🙂 All those prince prawns and huge mussels, calamari and calamari heads, fish and chips, served with rice.. soo yummy…. But I would say you should be very very hungry to eat this all or it’s better to share for 3, instead of 2, because the portion was quite big, that we couldn’t finish it. And all those delicious food cost us only €31. Believe me, it’s not expensive and it’s worth it!
This was our second trip to Cyprus and both times we were thinking of visiting the famous Salt lake, where periodically pink flamingos can be met. But again, this time too we didn’t have chance to go there. I could capture it only on my way to the airport, from the window of the bus (you can notice some reflections on the glass). The lake looked like a desert. Seems because of the heat the water was gone and only the thick layer of salt was left. However, it looked mysterious and I’m glad I could see it even like this, for some seconds.
Looks like the Cyprus became one of my favorite places for a beach holidays, and who knows, maybe I will be back again and at that time I will start my trip from the places that were on my plan but didn’t visited yet. And some more interesting articles will come for you to read.
Stay tuned, see you somewhere else 😉
My Life in Travel 