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Fikardou (see Fikardou) has won a Europa Nostra award for its unique preservation of Cypriot village life and architecture. Some 40 restored houses display traditional red-tiled roofs, mud brick and stone walls, while two 18th-century homes – the Katsinioros and Achilleas Dimitri houses – function as a rural museum (see Fikardou Rural Museum).

The precarious-looking balconies of handsome old village houses overhang the narrow main street of this old-fashioned community, which is about 2 km (1 mile) above Kakopetria. The village is located above a fast-flowing mountain stream. An ideal base from which to explore the nearby Troodos churches.

Behind Limassol’s water-front, where newly planted palms nod in the Mediterranean breeze in front of modern high-rise buildings, lies an historic city of old-fashioned workshops and markets. Around the bulk of Limassol Castle, built by the island’s medieval Lusignan dynasty, are the slender minarets of mosques built in the city’s Ottoman heyday, Byzantine churches, narrow shopping streets and a plethora of cafés, bars and restaurants to suit every taste. The medieval museum, within the castle, is a must-see, with its suits of armour and ferocious weaponry, and there are great rooftop views from the castle battlements. The recently refurbished Central Market, in a graceful arcaded building dating from the British era in the early 20th century, is a great place to shop for handmade reed baskets, olive oil, loukoumi (Turkish delight) and other Cypriot delicacies. It is surrounded by old tavernas that make a change from the modern eating-places in the city’s resort area (see Historic Limassol).

Two pretty churches are the jewels of this village. Although they are not that old by Cypriot standards – the Church of the Archangel dates from the 18th century and the church of Agia Barbara is a mere late 19th-century addition – they are worth seeing nonetheless for the riot of ornate carving, silver-framed icons and votive candles that are so typical of the Orthodox faith.

The name of this village high in the northern Troodos foothills means “the evil rocks”. It was so titled by weary residents who had to clear their fields of hefty stones before they could begin farming. Attractively restored old stone houses and an old-fashioned watermill add to its charm (see Kakopetria).