The Paphos Harbour is situated in 'Kato Paphos' which literally means 'Lower Paphos'. The harbour is the life of Paphos where locals and holiday makers meet to enjoy the local cafes, bars and restaurants. The harbour is the ideal place to relax and watch the unhurried Cypriot lifestyle crawl by.
The Paphos Harbour has a lovely castle that was originally built as a Byzantine fort to protect the harbour. It was rebuilt by the Lusignans in the 13th century, then dismantled by the Venetians in 1570, who found themselves unable to defend it against the Ottomans, who in their turn restored and strengthened it after they captured the Island.
The harbour is also only a stones throw away form the Mosaics. The striking mosaics are a series of ancient Roman noblemen’s villas, dating from the third to fifth century AD, and are a must-see for visitors to Paphos. The site where the villas are still being excavated can be found about 300 metres from the Paphos harbour. The mosaics featuring mythological scenes are visible in the houses of Dionysus, Orpheus and Aion, and the Villa of Theseus. All were made of small cubes of marble and stone, called tesserae, with glass paste added to widen the range of colour. In the House of Dionysus, for example, 5,985 square feet (556 sq metres) of floor space in 14 rooms are covered with the gorgeous mosaics.
