Living in Larnaca

Larnaca is a quaint city with a big personality and with a community that embraces diversity in the people who live, learn and work here.

Larnaca offers a student life that can be tailored to your own tastes. It’s easy to immerse yourself in exciting opportunities and enriching experiences both in the classroom and beyond. It is a city with vision, vitality and a passion for progress.

Getting Around

Getting from place to place in Larnaca is made easy by the bus service. Zenon Buses have an integrated system of urban and regional bus routes (the city centre is just a 10 minute bus ride from the college). Due to the city’s layout, distances are quite short so a lot of students prefer to travel around Larnaca by bike or by scooter. If you need to get to somewhere outside of Larnaca, you can take an intercity bus which will take you to all the major cities in Cyprus. Indeed, you can travel even further thanks to our international airport.

Accommodation Types

There are different types of places students can rent in Larnaca. A house is usually too expensive for one student to rent, but many students share rented suites (a self-contained unit with a kitchen, toilet, bath and bedroom) within a larger home. Apartments are another option, where one has a kitchen, toilet, bath, and one or two bedrooms. Most rental apartments are fully furnished.

Working in Larnaca

Both International and EU students may search for work whilst in Cyprus but some conditions apply – International students are permitted to work part-time for 20 hours per week during the months where they have to attend classes and up to 38 hours per week during vacation times however six months must pass since their arrival to Cyprus before they can seek employment.

Nightlife

There is a lot of nightlife to discover in and around the city of Larnaca.Due to its coastal location, Larnaca attracts many vacationers all year round and therefore it is packed with cafes, restaurants, taverns, bars and clubs and also boasts a popular live music scene. Much of the activity is centered on the Mackenzie Beach area and the well-known Finikoudes Seafront, especially during the major festivals.

Festivals

Larnaca hosts several festivals and events but is mainly known for ‘Kataklysmos’ or the ‘Festival of the Flood’. It is celebrated in early summer with a series of cultural events, live entertainment, peripheral stalls, rides and traditional street food. The Flood festival lasts for about three weeks. Other festivals include ‘Carnival’ – a fun fancy dress costume event which takes place in the winter. ‘The Anthestiria festival’ – a celebration for the arrival of spring and nature’s rebirth’ and ‘The Larnaca Summer Festival’ – for music and performing arts’.

Theatres, Museums and Galleries

Larnaca supports the arts and hosts a variety of municipality-sponsored and independent cultural events in a variety of venues including ‘The Larnaca Municipal Theatre’, ‘The Garden Theatre in the Medieval Castle’ and ‘The Amphitheatre’- designed and constructed by the prototypes of the ancient

Sports

Larnaca is a city that embraces sports and activity and has hosted many International competitions including the Shooting Shotgun European Championships, the FIVB Beach Volleyball Youth World Championship, the European Under-19 Football Championship final and the European Under-17 Football Championship final.

Beach and water sports are very popular in the warmer months and in particular, windsurfing. Larnaca attracts windsurfers from around the world especially in autumn. You can rent jet-skis, go for boat rides, water ski or get some friends together for beach volleyball or beach soccer. If water-based sports are not your thing however, other public sports facilities are available such as tennis courts, bowling lanes, paintball, basketball courts, 5-aside football courts, go-carting, horse-riding, cycling etc.

Food and Drink

You’ll never be short of food and drink options in Larnaca. It is a multicultural assortment of gastronomic enjoyment. You can find cuisines from various nations and to suit any budget and of course all the major fast food chains are available too. If you prefer to cook at home, you can find both local and imported food ingredients at any of the larger supermarkets.

You can find out more about Larnaca attractions, entertainment, shopping, outdoor activities, culture, nightlife and dining at www.larnaca.com