Paphos Castle, the tower on the harbour

Paphos Castle is small, and it doesn’t need to be anything more. A stone tower at the end of the breakwater, with the harbour in front and the sea behind, that has been a fort, a prison, a mosque and a warehouse. Here’s its story, what to see inside and when to go. The rest of the harbour quarter is in Kato Paphos.

What is Paphos Castle?

The Pafos tourism board places it on the ancient breakwater, on the western side of the harbour. What you see today is the result of several interventions over seven centuries, so a little history helps before you go in.

Seven centuries in one tower

The Franks built it in the mid-13th century to replace the Byzantine fort of Saranta Kolones, which an earthquake had destroyed in 1222. They seem to have raised two towers, the one on the harbour and a round one about 50 m to the west, of which traces remain, linked by a wall. The Genoese took them in 1373, made changes and dug the moat.

Both towers were still in use in the 15th century, until a strong earthquake destroyed one of them towards the end of that century. Just before the Ottoman conquest of 1570, the Venetians blew up what was left so the Ottomans couldn’t use it. What survives is the Ottoman restoration of 1780 of the western Frankish tower, with its Venetian additions, recorded in an inscription above the only entrance.

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What’s inside?

The ground floor has a central hall with small rooms along each side, used as prison cells in Ottoman times, and two underground cells for prisoners serving long sentences. Upstairs lived the small Ottoman garrison, which used the central room as a mosque. On the roof there are twelve battlements for as many cannons, which the Ottomans removed in 1878, when they handed the island’s administration to the British.

Under the British the castle was used as a salt store until 1935, when the Antiquities Law declared it an ancient monument. Since then it has been restored and protected by the Department of Antiquities.

Hours, tickets and opera

Between 16 September and 15 April it opens every day, 8:30 to 17:00, and in summer it stays open until 19:30. The tourism board gives a €2.50 ticket, though on the same page it adds that tickets are bought at the archaeological park entrance and cover all its sites. I’d ask when you get there.

Every year the square in front hosts the Pafos Aphrodite Festival, an international open-air opera that has staged La Traviata, Aida, Carmen and Turandot. The entrance to the Paphos Archaeological Park is close by, and for a bed near the harbour see hotels in Paphos. The island’s others are in castles in Cyprus.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Paphos Castle and pick one that fits your day.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Paphos before you arrive rather than at the desk.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Pafos on Booking.com and filter by area before price.