If you are a lover of history, monuments and architecture, you should not miss this UNESCO-listed Paphos Archaeological Park, located south of Paphos city centre. The vast site, with many remains of ancient Greek and Roman civilisation, is most commonly referred to as Nea Paphos (or also Nea Pafos).
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A visit takes around an hour. Expect a not very well maintained site with many smaller archaeological digs scattered over a large area.
The House of Dionysus and the Roman Theatre
You'll spend about an hour or 2 at the Nea Paphos site and can admire numerous remains, some of them very well preserved. The monuments date back roughly to the 4th to 2nd century BC, but there are also Roman remains dating back to AD. Among the most important monuments in Nea Paphos are:
- Dionysus House - a villa for wealthy residents with more than 2,000m2 is the central monument of the complex. Particularly valuable are the well-preserved mosaics from the 2nd century BC, which are protected under a shelter.
- Villa Theseus - the largest of the local villas - probably served the leadership of the polis at the time. Here too, numerous mosaics and several columns of the villa's facade are preserved.
- TheRoman Theatre - the original Greek theatre dating back to the 4th century BC was rebuilt by the Romans after the turn of the century and is now the best preserved monument in the park.
Entrance fees and opening hours
Open daily from 8:30am to 7:30pm, but only until 5pm in winter.
Admission costs across the board for all 4,50 eur, or 8,50 eur and with a visit to the Archaeological Museum in the centre of Paphos.
Official website: www.mcw.gov.cy
How to get there
The main entrance can be found at the harbour in the southern part of Paphos (location at google.com/maps). There are several large free car parks nearby, as well as the main bus station of the city's Harbour lines.
For the centre of Paphos, take bus lines 603, 610 and 618. Towards the Tombs of the Kings and Coral Bay, take line 615 and for the beaches of Geroskipou, take line 606.
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