Kato Pafos is the popular port area of the city of Pafos. To the south a string of luxury hotels hug the shoreline for several kilometres backed by a long road that has the occasional taverna and minimarket. The road dips down into the port area where tourist-targeted souvenir shops, cafes, car rental outfits and the like proliferate. A tree-lined promenade curves right around the bay edged on one side by the busy main road and with a concrete wall on the seaward side. There is just one one small strip of sand, the municipal beach, heavily loaded with sunbeds. The promenade ends at the picturesque, traffic-free harbour area which is stuffed with restaurants and cafes, a small museum and a squat medieval fort are perched on the point. The harbour is usually chock-full of yachts.
Every sort of taste is catered for - British pubs, beefburger and pizzas, Mexican, Indian - and remarkably little in the way of Cypriot or Greek. Inland there are yet more shops and pavement cafes, some less crowded - and cheaper -restaurants and several historical sites, all well marked with brown and white sign.
This view of Kato Pafos harbour is taken from the fort. The harbour has little traffic and there are a dozen or more tavernas along the shore but expect to pay premium prices for mediocre food if you eat there. In the distance, and climbing up the hills behind you can just make out Ano Pafos.
At the end of the harbour is Pafos fort. It's more of a watchtower really and there is little to see inside, though a lot of renovation work has been done recently. The views from the top are good.
Tables spill out from the tavernas along the harbour at Kato Pafos. Cafes and tourist shops are to the left and street vendors will sell you anything from sponges and cartoon portraits to trips in a glass-bottom boat.
This is a view south out of Kato Pafos. Palms line the promenade until the road heads inland up the hill while the path turns right close to the shore and leading eventually to a string of hotels seen in the distance.
This view looks north into Kato Pafos, a sea wall lines the long promenade which is edged by a busy road. On the opposite side of the road are any number of restaurants, burger joints, trinket shops, car rental outfits and other tourist grabbing outlets.
The municipal beach at Kato Pafos looks very, well . . . municipal. A small stretch of sand is edged by two concrete walls and covered in sunbeds. A small cafe at one end to provides snacks and drinks.
On the edge of Kato Pafos is a long stretch of steeply shelving sand and rock known as Alykes beach. Large hotels run right along the back of the beach with sun beds laid out on the more accessible parts. The sea has shingle and stone underfoot.
On the outskirts of Kato Pafos is another municipal beach at Vyrsoudia. There is a large dirt car park off the road and a descent down a small cliff face to this pleasant sandy outcrop. There are toilets and a small cafe with tavernas on the roadside.
Further out of Kato Pafos you enter hotel land proper. Beaches are mostly small, sandy coves between outcrops of rock. The sea has stone and shingle underfoot. Rocks have been dumped out at sea to create sheltered bays for hotel guests but all too often they only capture great gobs of trapped seaweed. Ladders are provided at the end of the man-made piers to give swimmers access to the sea, but most end up using the hotel pools.
Another view from the fort at Kato Pafos shows the wide harbour wall curving round to provide shelter for the boats. Offshore rocks are thought to be the remains of a matching watchtower that once stood at the other end of the harbour.