Travel guide to Cyprus holidays

Cyprus is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the Mediterranean. UK holidaymakers in particular, arrive in their thousands every year to bask in the island's 300 plus days of sunshine.

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia. It lies in the eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Turkey and at what was, in ancient times, the seafaring crossroads of Europe, Asia, and North Africa.

Its strategic importance made it much sought after and there have been lengthy occupations by Greeks, Levantines, Turks and latterly the British.

Cyprus has a large central plain, the Mesaoria, with several large mountain ranges. The climate is typical Mediterranean, with hot dry summers and mild winters, though there can be winter snow in the Troodos mountains.

The capital city, Nicosia, is virtually in the centre of the island. All the other major cities are coastal - Paphos to the southwest, Limassol in the south, Larnaca southeast, Famagusta to the east and Kyrenia in the north.

Since 1960 Cyprus has been a sovereign republic and a member of the European Union since 1994. A Turkish invasion in 1974 forcibly partitioned north and south but relations are now much more relaxed.

Holidays in Cyprus are hugely popular all year round and the country is a firm favourite with holidaymakers who return year after year.