Fall in love with Aphrodite's isle, where legend has it the goddess of love arose from the waves, and discover ancient UNESCO-listed sites, wonderful beaches and crystal clear waters. Although compact, this attractive island offers a rich variety of landscapes from pine-clad mountains to golden sandy beaches.

The best holiday beaches are found around Ayia Napa and Protaras, where warm turquoise seas lap gently shelving sands and watersports abound. Thrilling waterskiing and even kite-surfing are offered at the main resorts along with fun-filled water parks and boat trips.

There's a buzzing neon-lit nightlife scene in the main towns and a burgeoning cafe culture in Nicosia, Limassol and on Larnaca's mile-long beachfront promenade.

Cypriots are happiest when eating so join them for a mezze, a slow banquet of Cypriot delicacies such as grilled halloumi, dolmades and kleftiko, lamb slowly baked till it drops off the bone.

The stunning Troodos mountains with Mount Olympus at its peak is the place to work up an appetite. With its charming hilltop villages and vine-blessed slopes, it offers a cool relief from the intense heat in summer and a chance to enjoy hiking, cycling, bird watching and, in winter, skiing.

Meanwhile, the rugged Akamas National Park is the place to see unspoilt nature. It's here that protected loggerhead turtles return to beautiful Lara Bay each year to lay their eggs.

Venetian walls, Crusader castles and Roman mosaics, which appear at every turn, are testament to Cyprus's 10,000-year history.

The opening of the border with Northern Cyprus and removal of the barrier dividing Ledra Street in Nicosia, put in place when the Turks invaded in 1974, are reminders of its recent political past.

Cyprus has undergone significant modernisation following its entry into the European Union. A modern country with an ancient history, its stone villages, glitzy resorts, scented citrus groves and perfumed mountains are waiting to be discovered.