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Agia Napa, on the south shore of a peninsula that juts towards Cyprus’s southeast tip, has risen to fame as one of the world’s great dance party destinations, but there is much more than mere nightlife to this purpose-built sunshine resort. Agia Napa’s core – and the favourite evening rendezvous for party-goers – is its main square, which is packed with bars and café tables. Yet, only steps away from the hedonistic crowds is a tranquil oasis, the medieval Agia Napa Monastery, while down on the sea front the Limnaki (“little harbour”) still has some of its village character, even if, these days, the fishing boats are outnumbered by excursion vessels carrying holidaymakers to outlying beaches (see Agia Napa).

On the east coast of Cyprus and only 8 km (5 miles) from Agia Napa, Protaras has mushroomed into prominence around a clutch of sandy beaches where the warm, shallow water is a vivid turquoise. During the day, the beaches are lined with sunbathers while the sea is dotted with the bright sails of windsurfers and catamarans. At night, Protaras comes into its cosmopolitan own, with a main street lined with bars, cafés and restaurants to suit all tastes. There are plenty of excursions to be made to nearby sights and attractions, such as Fig Tree Bay (see Fig Tree Bay, Protaras and Beaches).

The flumes and lagoons of Waterworld are an Agia Napa landmark, 2 km (1 mile) west of the town centre. There’s plenty of family fun here, with gentle rides and shallow pools for younger kids and roller-coasters and slides for teenagers.

The Pierides Museum was founded by a wealthy collector and philanthropist, and displays as its most colourful and interesting exhibits village costumes and old-fashioned tools and farm implements that, astonishingly, only ceased to be in everyday use as recently as a decade ago. There’s also a huge collection of delicate Roman glass and some fine old embroidery, lace and silver jewellery. In addition, this well laid-out collection features some fascinating ancient relics, most notably the famous “Howling Man”, a 5,000-year-old terracotta figure. Red-and-black bowls and vases and terracotta figures excavated from archaeological sites all over Cyprus have found a home here, as well as a collection of medieval maps, weapons and armour. The Pierides Foundation also sponsors Larnaca’s fossil museum (see Pierides Foundation Museum, Larnaka).

Huge rusting cannons stand guard over the waterfront from the battlements of Larnaka’s medieval fort, from which there are good views of the bay. Inside, the District Medieval Museum’s collection occupies a gallery on the first floor, with ferocious swords and daggers, medieval armour and flintlock muskets outshining an assortment of 12th- to 18th-century pottery and displays of Byzantine, Lusignan and Ottoman odds and ends. Occasionally in summer open-air theatrical performances are staged here.

Carved limestone column drums and capitals from ancient sites stand in the garden of the Archaeological Museum. Inside is one of the best introductions to the southeast’s fascinating archaeological sites, with its displays of Stone Age, Bronze Age and Roman discoveries brought here from Chirokitia, Kalavassos and many other local excavations (see Larnaka Archaeological Museum).

This impressive monastic eyrie, founded by a Byzantine empress (the mother of Constantine the Great) is poised high above the coastal plains on a 700-m (2,300-ft) crag in the foothills of the Troodos mountain range. Still home to a community of 20 monks, it claims as its most holy relic a fragment of the True Cross – its name in Greek means “Cross Mountain” (see Stavrovouni Monastery).

This village chapel, dedicated to St Catherine, was built by King Janus and his queen, Charlotte de Bourbon, in 1421. Within are colourful remnants of some unique frescoes.

Famed for the lace-making skills of its womenfolk and the silversmithing skills of its men, Lefkara is home to a multitude of craft shops selling lace, embroidery and jewellery. If you’re not in the mood to buy, marvel instead at the beautifully made treasures in the Museum of Traditional Embroidery and Silversmithing.

An aura of almost unimaginable age hangs over Chirokitia, where archaeologists have discovered the foundations of a settlement that thrived on this hilltop almost 9,000 years ago. Some of the round stone houses have been reconstructed, and UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site.