All activities / Museums & Galleries / Paphos
Museums & Galleries in Paphos
A city on the west coast of Cyprus whose Kato Pafos archaeological park and rock-cut Tombs of the Kings form a UNESCO World Heritage Site listed since 1980. The town pairs Roman villa mosaics and a Hellenistic necropolis with a harbour castle and a mythological link to the birth of Aphrodite.
Why here
Paphos is one of the richest open-air archaeology sites in the Mediterranean, and you can read it across a single day. The Archaeological Park of Kato Pafos protects a group of grand Roman villas whose floors carry some of the finest ancient mosaics anywhere: in the House of Dionysos, panels of gods, myths and the wine harvest survive in colour, alongside the Houses of Theseus, Aion and Orpheus, all linked by boardwalks over the ruins of an Odeon, an Agora and a medieval castle. A short way north, the Tombs of the Kings is a necropolis cut straight into the coastal rock, its grandest chambers ringed by Doric columns and modelled on the houses of the living, echoing the tombs of Alexandria. Both have been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1980 and are run by the Department of Antiquities. Seeing the mosaics and the tombs together lays out the whole Hellenistic and Roman story of a city that was once the capital of Cyprus.
Best months
Both sites are open-air and open year round, so this pairing works in any season, though spring and autumn are the most comfortable for walking the sites under the sun. Summer midday is hot with little shade, so an early start helps. Winter is mild and quiet. The mosaics are viewed from raised boardwalks and the tombs involve steps and uneven rock underfoot.
Getting there & around
The Archaeological Park sits at Kato Pafos beside the harbour, an easy walk from the seafront hotels, and the Tombs of the Kings is about two kilometres north along the coast, reachable on foot, by local bus or by a short taxi hop. Each has its own entry ticket. Wear sturdy shoes and carry water and sun cover, as both sites are exposed. Allow a couple of hours for the park's mosaics and an hour for the tombs; a licensed guide adds the mythological and historical context.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (2)
Archaeological Park of Kato Pafos
OrganizerThe Archaeological Park of Kato Pafos, managed by the Cyprus Department of Antiquities, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. Its centrepiece is a group of Roman villas, the Houses of Dionysos, Theseus, Aion and Orpheus, whose floors carry some of the finest ancient mosaics in the Mediterranean, illustrating Greek myth and everyday life. The open site also takes in the Odeon, the Agora, the Asklepieion and the medieval Saranta Kolones castle, connected by boardwalks.
Tombs of the Kings
OrganizerThe Tombs of the Kings, part of the same UNESCO-listed Kato Pafos site and run by the Department of Antiquities, is a necropolis of monumental tombs carved into solid rock, dating from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Despite the name, high-ranking officials and aristocrats were buried here rather than kings, and the grandest tombs open onto peristyle courtyards ringed by Doric columns, echoing the rock-cut tombs of Alexandria. It lies on the shore just north of Pafos harbour.