Kato Paphos, the harbour quarter and Nea Paphos

Kato Paphos is the Paphos of the postcards, with its harbour, castle and fishing boats, its open-air mosaics and its palm-lined front. It’s the lower part of town, and nearly everything UNESCO protects in Paphos is here or a short walk away. Here’s what you’ll find, how to get about and why I’d stay in this quarter.

The harbour and the castle

The small harbour of Kato Paphos, with the medieval castle square at the end of the quay, is the heart of the quarter. It’s a meeting point, a terrace strip and an open-air stage, and the Akamas Municipality tourism site highlights opera under the stars in front of the castle. Its history, from 13th-century Frankish tower to Ottoman restoration in 1780, is told in Paphos Castle.

What is on record is that the western coastal path, which the council built with EU funding, starts at the harbour and the castle.

Nea Paphos in the open air

Behind the harbour the archaeological park begins, the part of Kato Paphos UNESCO listed in 1980 together with the Tombs of the Kings and Kouklia. UNESCO talks of the remains of villas, palaces, theatres and fortresses, and of mosaics that rank among the finest in the world. I explain it properly in Paphos Archaeological Park.

The council also has a project to link the quarter’s archaeological sites with three squares, pedestrian streets, marked routes and an elevated footbridge, across some 20,000 m². On top of that, Kato Paphos is having its streets, pavements and squares rebuilt with EU cohesion funding for 2021 to 2027.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Pafos before prices climb.

What else is there to see in Kato Paphos?

About 800 m inland from the castle is the church of Agia Kyriaki Chrysopolitissa, surrounded by the columns of a 5th-century basilica. Tradition places in its grounds the pillar where St Paul is said to have been flogged. About 400 m further north, on Apostolou Pavlou Avenue, steps lead down to the Agia Solomoni catacomb, a chapel inside Hellenistic tombs.

The other church I’d look out for here is Panagia Theoskepasti, which the Metropolis of Paphos describes as built on a rock. Work on it finished in 1926 and it was thoroughly restored in 1990.

The coastal path to Chlorakas

This is my favourite thing to do in the quarter. The path leaves the harbour and runs to the boundary between Paphos and Chlorakas, 4.25 km on its main line plus 2.6 km of side paths, 6.85 in all, on a walkway at least four metres wide with the sea in view throughout. Along the way, the council says, it passes through Natura 2000 land, the Nea Paphos excavations and the edge of the Tombs of the Kings. Late afternoon is the time to do it.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Pafos and choose by the reviews.

Getting around and staying

The harbour bus station is right by the entrance to the excavations. From there the 610 runs up to the municipal market in the Paphos old town, the 611 to the Tombs of the Kings and Geroskipou beach, the 606 to Geroskipou and the 631 out past Kouklia to Aphrodite’s Rock. The airport is about 8.5 km away as the crow flies.

Poseidonos Avenue is home to many of the town’s big hotels, such as the Almyra hotel, Amavi, Annabelle and Olympic Lagoon Paphos. Its beaches, such as Vrysoudia and Alykes, are in Paphos beaches. The rest of the options, area by area, are in Paphos hotels. The castle square hosts the Pafos Aphrodite Festival, open-air opera.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Paphos on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Pafos before prices climb.