Pissouri

Pissouri is two places: an old village on the hillside arranged in tiers around a square of tavernas and a church, and a bay two kilometres downhill with a shingle-and-sand beach, chalk cliffs at the western end and a strip of hotels. The village has kept its shape better than most on this coast, with stone houses and narrow lanes above the square, and the walk or drive between the two is the usual pattern of a day here.

Background

The village lies approximately thirty kilometres west of the centre of Limassol, and its administrative area ranks third in size within Limassol District. About 1100 people live here permanently, roughly half of them Cypriots and most of the rest British. Some sources link the name to an ancient city called Voousoura, mentioned by Stravonas. A legend tells of the 300 Alamanoi saints landing on this coast on a pitch-dark night in the 7th century. Resin was produced here from Byzantine times through the Middle Ages and the Frankish era. Villagers built the Church of Apostle Andrea through voluntary work in 1883, and its carved wooden Icon Stand, made in 1890, took ten years to finish.

Source: Wikipedia, "Pissouri"

What's there

• The village square - tavernas and the church at the centre of the tiered village.
• The bay - a crescent beach two kilometres below the village.
• The white cliffs - chalk headland at the western end of the bay.
• The old lanes - stone houses on the slope above the square.

When to go

April to June and September to November are the best. Summer is hot and the bay busy. Winter is quiet with reduced taverna hours in the village.

Good to know

The beach is coarse shingle in places rather than fine sand. Village and bay are two kilometres apart and the walk back up is steep. Development along the bay is heavy.

Nearby

Aphrodite's Rock is west along the coast, and Limassol is east.

Key facts