Cyprus' largest town, Lemesos, known in English as Limassol, is a popular beach resort and boasts a beautiful, lively pedestrian promenade along the sea.

The central part of the coastline near the centre of town is lined with a beautiful promenade full of palm trees, resting places and restaurants. Limassol is an ideal place for a beautiful beach holiday in the city and a base for travelling around Cyprus, as it is strategically located in the middle of the island.

Beaches and swimming

Limassol's beaches are all covered in fine black-grey sand interspersed with pebbles and start just after the end of the central promenade. A continuous strip of beaches interrupted only by the occasional stone jetty then stretches over 10km east of the centre, constantly lined with hotels, restaurants and shops. However, the environment is clean and very pleasant by city standards.

The most popular beaches in Lemesos are Armonia (location on google.com/maps) or Dasoudi (location on google.com/maps), which has even been awarded the blue quality flag.

Sights and attractions

Among the most popular places in Limassol is the aforementioned Promenade, a more than 1 km long strip of greenery, small sports fields and relaxation areas leading from the Limassol Marina, the largest yacht berth in Cyprus, which is a romantic place especially for lovers.

Among the main historical monuments is Limassol Castle, located right in the centre of the city. Built sometime during the 12th century, the medieval defensive castle is open to the public for a fee 4,50 eur.

Accommodation in Limassol

Limassol, along with Ayia Napa and Paphos, is one of the 3 main resort towns in Cyprus, so there's plenty of accommodation to choose from. There is a significant difference in prices in high season (around 80 eur per night) and low season, when prices drop to 45 eur per night in cheaper hotels. Anyway, of all the 3 main resorts, Limassol is the cheapest.

Cheap hotels under 65 EUR - Le Village Hotel, Metropole Hotel, Olosuites
Best hotels by the beach - Harmony Bay Hotel, Crowne Plaza Limassol, Mediterranean Beach Hotel

Transportation

Public transport in Limassol is provided by buses of the transport company EMEL and as everywhere in Cyprus, there is a uniform fare. A single journey ticket costs at 1,50 eur, a full day ticket at 5 eur and there is also a national day ticket at 15 eur valid on all public services throughout Cyprus.

There are two bus stations in Limassol.

The central station of all lines - en.mapy.cz
Station at the port for intercity services - en.mapy.cz

The intercity bus service is easy to navigate. The public services here are operated by a single company, InterCity Buses, with its green buses. From Limassol they run the following routes:

Larnaca (timetable: intercity-buses.com/larnaca) - 4 eur one-way, 7 eur day ticket for the route
Paphos (timetable: intercity-buses.com/paphos) - 4 eur one-way, 7 eur full day ticket for the route
Nicosia (timetable: intercity-buses.com/nicosia) - 5 eur one way, 9 eur full day ticket for the route
Mountain villages (timetable: en.limassolbuses.com) - tickets on all routes cost 1,50 eur