Larnaca – Things to know

Larnaca has an eventful history. With its palm-lined promenade, it is a popular tourist destination on the south coast of the island. Old and new mix in the town, which, despite its many hotels, is not purely a tourist centre.

With the handover of Cyprus by the Ottomans to the British, Larnaca was rapidly upgraded from an Ottoman provincial town after their arrival; in line with European standards, the British renewed roads and infrastructure, began draining the salt marshes and established a town parliament headed by a mayor. With the end of British colonial rule, the Turkish occupation of the northern part of the island and the loss of Famagusta, Larnaca experienced an upswing as a port, business and tourism location and, after the closure of Nicosia airport in the demilitarised zone, was given the most important airport on the island.
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