The Tombs of the Kings is a Hellenistic-era necropolis carved into the limestone cliffs north of Kato Paphos: atriums framed by Doric columns, peristyle courtyards open to the sky, niches for offerings. The tombs date from the third century BC through the early Roman period and were the burial place of the aristocracy of Hellenistic Paphos. The site is part of the same UNESCO inscription as the Paphos Archaeological Park, and a short drive (or a coastal walk) from Annabelle.
The setting matters as much as the architecture. Carved into the soft limestone of the seafront cliffs, the tombs look out across the Mediterranean. The air is cool inside them on warm summer afternoons.
A Necropolis Cut Into Rock
Eight major tomb complexes are open to visitors, each numbered. The largest hold central courtyards surrounded by burial niches, with columns and architraves carved from the living rock: Doric on the older tombs, more elaborately ornamented on later examples. Frescoes survive in places. The architectural reference points are clearly Macedonian and broader Hellenistic, with Paphos's aristocracy borrowing the visual language of the wider Greek world. Tomb 3 is the one most often photographed. The courtyard's columns frame the sky and a distant strip of sea; the architecture handles light and air with the same care as the masonry. A note on the name: although the site is called the Tombs of the Kings, the title is honorific. No royal Cypriot dynasty is known to have used the chambers; the name reflects the scale and elegance of the burial architecture rather than the rank of those interred.
What to See at the Tombs of the Kings
Numbered chambers worth seeking out along the route:
• Tomb 3 — the peristyle atrium tomb, Doric columns framing the sky.
• Tomb 4 — smaller, with surviving fresco fragments on the upper walls.
• Tomb 8 — the largest of the chambered tombs, with multiple connecting rooms.
Bring water and sun cover; most of the route is in the open. The site is partly accessible to mobility-impaired visitors; some of the deeper tombs require steps. Practical visiting guidance, including current opening hours and admission, lives with the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus.
Visiting from Annabelle
The Tombs of the Kings sit roughly two kilometres north of the hotel along the coastal road. A taxi takes five minutes; a walk takes around 30, mostly along the promenade and the seafront before turning inland. The site is open year-round. Late afternoon light catches the cliffs particularly well, and the chambers stay cool through the warmer hours. Pair the visit with the Catacombs of Agia Solomoni — a smaller Hellenistic burial site closer to the harbour, with a continuous use stretching from Hellenistic burial to early Christian shrine. Or with the Paphos Archaeological Park, to see the city the people buried here inhabited in life.
Find your way to the Tombs of the Kings on
Google Maps.