Bellapais Abbey

Bellapais Abbey tickets: which one to buy

Bellapais Abbey stands in the village of Bellapais, on the slopes of the Kyrenia mountains, about five kilometres south of Kyrenia, in Northern Cyprus, and a small admission fee is charged. It is one of the most beautiful Gothic ruins in the Eastern Mediterranean, set among cypress and orange trees, with views over the coast to the sea. Most visitors combine Bellapais with Kyrenia's harbour and castle, and with Saint Hilarion Castle in the mountains.

Crossing from the Republic of Cyprus to the north requires passing a checkpoint with a passport, and tours from the south are available. The village of Bellapais was made famous by Lawrence Durrell's book Bitter Lemons, about his life there in the 1950s. Cafes and restaurants in the village square, under an old tree, face the abbey. Concerts are held in the abbey's refectory during a spring music festival. Taxis from Kyrenia are inexpensive, and minibuses run to the village.

Visiting Bellapais Abbey: what to see

The abbey was founded around 1200 by Augustinian canons, who were soon replaced by Premonstratensian canons, known as the White Canons, and it was built mainly during the reign of the Lusignan kings of Cyprus in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, in the French Gothic style. After the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571, the abbey was given to the Greek Orthodox Church, and the church was used by the villagers, while the other buildings fell into ruin. Today visitors can see the church, which is still intact, the cloister, with its elegant Gothic arches, partly ruined, a large refectory with a vaulted ceiling and a pulpit from which a monk read during meals, and the kitchens, the chapter house and the undercroft.

The refectory's windows overlook the sea and the coast. The abbey's position on the hillside, with the mountains behind, is especially beautiful at sunset. The cloister's arches frame views of cypress trees and the mountains. The refectory has six bays of vaulting and a stone staircase to the pulpit. The chapter house's carved capitals show figures, including a mermaid and a monkey. The church's interior has an iconostasis from the Orthodox period. The undercroft, beneath the refectory, was used for storage. The abbey's position gave the canons views over the coast to the sea. Lawrence Durrell's house in the village can be seen from the outside.

Bellapais Abbey opening hours and the best time to go

The abbey is open daily, with longer hours in summer. Summer is hot, and early morning or late afternoon visits are the most comfortable; the abbey is at its most atmospheric at sunset. Spring, when the hills are green and wildflowers bloom, and autumn are the best seasons. The Bellapais Music Festival in May and June brings classical concerts to the refectory. Weekends bring more visitors from the south. Allow about forty-five minutes for the abbey, and have a coffee or lunch in the village square. Saint Hilarion Castle, a fairytale castle perched on a mountain peak, is about twenty minutes' drive west.