Destination Guide to Pissouri
 

Pissouri village has retained its traditional Cypriot character, while adapting very successfully to welcome visitors to the village.

The pedestrianised village square with its fountain, shops and restaurants is a particularly fine feature of the village. The square is the perfect setting for a snack, meal or just a drink while enjoying the atmosphere and summer sunshine.
 
Visitors can find almost anything they want in Pissouri - there are several shops and just every need is available. As far as tavernas, restaurants and bars are concerned, there is an amazing number and variety - and they are all good, serving food and drink of exceptional quality. 

The views from Pissouri village and its surroundings are spectacular. It is set on the eastern slopes of the ridge reaching the sea at Cape Aspro, about 500 feet high on average - the highest point on the ridge is about 800 feet.  To the East it is possible to see the countryside and the shore line all the way to Limassol and even beyond, and to the north the whole of the Troodos range, including Mount Olympus, at more than 6000 ft, the highest mountain on the island.

It is not an overdeveloped resort, as similar areas on Cyprus have become during the same two decades, but like Pissouri village, it has retained a Cypriot atmosphere. It is here that many Cypriots come on Sundays. 

The beach is also a regular nesting area for Green and Loggerhead turtles which come ashore to lay their eggs between June and August. There is a local group of 'Turtle Watch' volunteers who patrol the beaches early in the morning looking for nests which are then protected until the young hatch... 

Pissouri Beach also features a fine, five star hotel, the Columbia Beach and Columbia Beach Resort if you prefer the finer things in life! The hotel has its own spa, pool al la carte restaurant and beach water sports.

Novelists, artists, and brainy philosophers have tried to describe the village of Pissouri, and none of them have really quite found the words.
 
 
Pissouri Beach
 
The beach area has developed since the beginning of the 1980s from a jetty and one small taverna, into what it is today - an informal collection of excellent tavernas, a few shops, two banks, some apartments and one hotel. It is not an overdeveloped resort, as similar areas on Cyprus have become during the same two decades, but like Pissouri village, it has retained a Cypriot atmosphere. It is here that many Cypriots come on Sundays.
 
The beach itself is clean, safe, and partly sandy and partly shingle, and there are some water sports available in the summer. Neither is it dead in the winter, it is just as enjoyable to have lunch on New Year's Day looking out over the sea as it is on 15 August - a Cypriot holiday in the summer - and there are just as many people eating in some of the best tavernas at New Year as in the summer.
 
 
Pissouri Village
 
Some non Cypriots try to describe Pissouri as somewhere where time has stood still. That is not true. At the turn of the century Pissouri Village has managed something which is fairly rare, perhaps almost unique, in those parts of the Mediterranean which attract western European tourists. It has managed to retain its traditional Cypriot character, while adapting very successfully to welcome visitors, and the money that they bring, to the village.

There has been a limited amount of, mostly, well judged developments in and around the village. Visitors can find almost anything they want in Pissouri - there are several shops and just every need is available. As far as tavernas, restaurants and bars are concerned, there is an amazing number and variety - and they are all good, serving food and drink of exceptional quality. There are also two banks in Pissouri village square.

At one time Pissouri village, on the hill, had a fishing jetty a few kilometers away down the hill, known as Pissouri jetty. Now they are two distinct communities, Pissouri village and Pissouri Beach. The total population in the summer is said to reach around 1100 people, about half of whom are Cypriots, the rest foreign, mainly British, residents and visitors.
 
 
Pissouri Square
 
During the summer there is an appropriately named 'Cyprus night' in the lovely traffic free village square, with dancing and music. Although the idea is perhaps that it provides entertainment for the visitors to Pissouri, it is also true that a significant number of those present every week are the villagers themselves, thus it really is a true Cyprus night.

On 12/13 August 2000, the new amphitheatre was opened in Pissouri village. A booklet on Pissouri was published for the occasion, and its information on the church of Saint Andrew, and on vine growing in the Pissouri area is now available.

Around the square there are several business outlets:

Symposium Platia a thoughtfully restructured restaurant serving everything from snacks to al-a-carte. Nicos and his staff will make you so welcome and are sure to gladden your heart.

The Vraka Tavern epitomizes the life in Pissouri square. Situated on a busy corner, many tourists and locals too use this to wile-away a few hours and watch the ‘people-traffic’. A wide range of foods and beverages are available all day. There are three banks (with cash machines), Andros supermarket, two coffee shops, a small pub, a taxi office

On the lanes leading from the square you will find an array of places including several pubs, two car-hire offices, three kebab shops, a pizza parlour, a Chinese restaurant, an insurance office, and even a barber shop. There are patisseries, bakers, butchers, other mini-markets, and more in close proximity to the square.

Overlooked by the beautiful Pissouri church of St.Andrews, the fully pedestrianised square has been painstakingly laid out like a massive patio in beautifully designed stonework.
 
 
Pissouri Amphitheatre
 
Built only a few years ago this magnificent structure is well worth a visit at anytime. Take your camera …. The views across the valley towards Pissouri Bay and Akrotiri Peninsula are spectacular! During the warmer part of the year there will be a programme of events in the theatre. Operas, Music & Dance Festivals, Plays and Exhibitions.  (Remember to take a cushion!) The amphitheatre stands in a dominant, choice position, situated near to the village square and the amenities.

Some of the guide books about Cyprus devote a sentence to Pissouri; some even devote a paragraph to the village and its small beach resort. None of them do justice to the unique character and attractiveness of Pissouri to the visitor and holiday maker. The Cypriot character has been retained; it is still very much a working village of farmers, some of whom have now become involved in farming tourists with varying degrees of success. Its very Cypriot character is what attracts the visitor, holiday maker and expatriate residents. Fortunately this is recognised by many of those in the village. From time to time fears are expressed that too rapid development will see another Agia Napa spring up from the vineyards of Pissouri and be built here - but this will not happen - at least for many decades. The character of the beach resort and the village is assured.

The motorway has brought Pissouri closer to the larger cities and resorts of Limassol and Paphos, but the distinctiveness of the area is likely to be retained.

The Pissouri area is famous for growing grapes, mainly in the valley between the main roads and the sea that leads to Pissouri Beach.

Pissouri is about a 30 minute drive away from either Paphos (Pafos) or Limassol (Lemesos) for those who want to see more urban life than Pissouri can offer.

Located just a few kilometers to the west of Pissouri is the famous Aphrodite's Rock.