Larnaca stands half an hour from Nicosia, and that makes it the base for the most unusual excursion on the island — to a capital split in two since 1974. The programme is arranged so that you cross on foot through the checkpoint on Ledra Street, from the Greek side to the Turkish one, and within a five-minute walk the signs, the alphabet, the currency and even the smell of the street all change.

The second route is mountainous. The Kykkos monastery above Kakopetria keeps an icon of the Virgin that tradition ascribes to the evangelist Luke, covered by a silver casing: the image has not been looked upon for five hundred years. Nearby in the villages stand painted churches under double wooden roofs, entered on the UNESCO list. The third route leads north: Kyrenia with its Venetian harbour, Famagusta with Gothic cathedrals turned into mosques, and Salamis, where an ancient city has been excavated whole.

Practical notes. A passport is needed for the north, and it is no formality: without one you will not be let through the checkpoint. Full-day programmes run up to twelve hours. Monasteries require covered clothing, and photography inside is forbidden almost everywhere. In Lefkara lace is sold on every street, but handwork costs noticeably more than factory work — the difference shows on the reverse side.