Cyprus

We love the endless beaches, the lively streets of Nicosia or Paphos, but also the mountainous hinterland for a breath of fresh air and the Mediterranean nightlife. Cyprus will prove truly endearing to those who take the trouble to meet its people and sample their hospitality, to enter the high-perched monasteries of the Troodos, to linger in the narrow streets of its mountain villages and breathe in the fresh air of the cedar- and pine-covered valleys that run from Mount Olympus. As a good ex-British protectorate, you drive on the left-hand side of the road; in the south of the island, Greek is quite different from that spoken in Greece, and in the north, Turkish; you can enjoy oriental mezzes as well as loukoums, and mosques stand side by side with churches.