Limassol, Cyprus: Crusader Castle, Commandaria Wine, and the Ancient Ruins of Kourion

Limassol Castle, in the center of the old town near the original harbor, is where Richard I is traditionally held to have married Berengaria before setting off for the Holy Land. The Byzantine building was expanded by Frankish and Ottoman rulers; the current structure dates primarily to the 14th century Lusignan period. The interior houses the Cyprus Medieval Museum with chain mail, swords, Byzantine pottery, and Crusader-era artifacts recovered from sites across the island. The castle exterior is modest by European standards; the museum inside is more substantial than the exterior suggests.

Kourion, 18 kilometers west of Limassol, is the most dramatically sited ancient site in Cyprus: a Greco-Roman city on a cliff 70 meters above the sea, with a theater rebuilt to its original 3,500-seat capacity and used for performances today, a House of Eustolios with intact Roman floor mosaics depicting birds and fish, a gladiatorial arena, and the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates — an important oracle sanctuary in the ancient world — all set against the Mediterranean visible in both directions. The site takes 2 to 3 hours to walk thoroughly; the theater's orientation gives views of the coast toward the Akrotiri Peninsula during the performance intermissions. Kourion is accessible by hired car or taxi from the port.

Commandaria, the sweet wine produced in the Troodos Mountain villages northeast of Limassol, is one of the oldest named wines in continuous production: documented since at least the 12th century, when Crusader knights controlled the wine-producing villages (commanderies) that gave the wine its name, and possibly produced since antiquity. The wine is made from two native Cypriot grape varieties — Mavro and Xynisteri — dried in the sun to concentrate sugars before pressing. The resulting wine is amber, sweet, and fortified; it was drunk by Crusade-era knights and described by medieval chroniclers as the Wine of Kings. The village of Kalo Chorio near Limassol has wineries that receive visitors, and the old town's wine bars serve Commandaria by the glass.

The Akrotiri Peninsula, 10 kilometers west of Limassol, includes the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area (a British military installation) and, at its southern tip, Cape Asprokremmos — a headland with flamingo-rich salt lakes where greater flamingos winter from October through March. The salt lake at Akrotiri is one of the most important wintering sites for flamingos in the eastern Mediterranean; up to 10,000 birds use it during peak winter months. Beyond the military restricted zone, the cape and salt lake are accessible to visitors.

The old town of Limassol, centered on the pedestrian zone near Anexartisias Street and Agiou Andreou Street, has the most concentrated set of traditional Cypriot meze restaurants on the island. A full meze — 20 to 30 small dishes arriving continuously over 2 hours — includes hummus, tahini, grilled halloumi, pickled vegetables, octopus, loukanika (pork sausages in red wine), souvlaki, and several preparations specific to Cyprus: afelia (pork braised in red wine with coriander), sheftalia (grilled pork and lamb sausage without casing), and stifado (rabbit or beef in a rich spiced onion sauce).