Famagusta and Salamis: A Walled City and a Roman Ruin in One Day

Famagusta is the one day trip we push hardest, because you get two entirely different periods of history fifteen minutes apart, and a good beach to finish on. From Kyrenia or Esentepe it is about ninety minutes each way.

Start with Salamis, not the city

Counter-intuitive but right: Salamis is exposed, unshaded and much better before eleven. It is a full Roman city — gymnasium, baths with mosaic floors still in place, a theatre that seated 15,000 and still works acoustically, and streets you walk down rather than look at over a rope. Allow ninety minutes; it is bigger than it looks from the car park.

Wear proper shoes and take water. There is very little shade and the stone throws heat back at you.

Then the walled city

Fifteen minutes south, and a complete change of century. The Venetian walls still ring the old town, and inside them the streets are narrow enough to stay cool at midday.

• Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque — a French Gothic cathedral with a minaret, which tells you the history of the island in one building.
• Othello Castle — the tower Shakespeare set the play in, with a walk along the ramparts and a view over the harbour.
• The ruined churches — the old town had dozens; several stand roofless between the houses and are free to wander into.

Lunch

Eat inside the walls. There are courtyards behind the main square doing proper kebab and meze at prices below Kyrenia harbour, and you will be sitting in shade.

Finish at Glapsides

Ten minutes north of the city, wide and shallow and sandy — the natural place to end the day. It shelves gently, which makes it a good one with children. Our beaches guide covers where it sits against the rest.

A note on Varosha

The abandoned resort quarter south of the city has been partially opened to visitors. It is a strange, sobering place rather than a sightseeing stop, and there are areas that remain closed and signposted as such. Photograph the buildings, not the checkpoints or any military installation.

Practical notes

• Combined tickets are not a thing — Salamis and each monument charge separately, all of them a few pounds.
• Take cash for entry fees.
• Parking is easy at Salamis and outside the walls; do not try to drive far into the old town.
• April, May, October are ideal. July and August are doable if you start early and give up on the middle of the day.

All of it is comfortably a day out from the north coast. See which holiday homes are free for your dates.