Top Five Beaches to Visit on a Holiday in North Cyprus

The Mediterranean has sun, sea and sand in abundance, and boasts some of the world's best beaches. Several of these are in North Cyprus, and if you go on holiday there you're in for a treat. The problem is that you are spoilt for choice. With so many beaches on offer, which ones should you visit or stay close to? We count down the top five to help with your choice.

5. Silver Beach, Famagusta

Silver Beach is south of the ruins at Salamis, and those who want a varied holiday in North Cyprus can combine the joys of this beach with the history and culture on offer in this famous area. The beach is also varied in terms of activities, with a reef that is great for snorkelling and exploring; there are huge numbers of fish and interesting types of marine life to be discovered among the ancient jetties in the cove. The cove is also suitable for younger children due to the shallow shelving of the sand, so the whole family can enjoy the area at any age.

4. Glapsides Public Beach, Famagusta

A short drive from Nicosia, Glapsides Public Beach is great if you are staying in the capital and looking for an accessible beach. It has excellent facilities, with local a mini market, bar, restaurant and showers, as well as dolphin rides designed to make any holiday to North Cyprus special. The beach is busy, but the atmosphere is friendly, with the beach's users being mainly young people and families. There is also dance and club music played by DJs on the beach for people who like to party in the evenings.

3. Alagadi Turtle Beach, Kyrenia.

Alagadi Turtle Beach is for those who want to experience the natural side of North Cyprus beaches. Holidays to Kyrenia are enhanced by visiting this beach, where you can see green and loggerhead turtles come and lay their eggs in the summer; there are cordoned off areas of the beach where you can enjoy the sea and sand as usual while protecting the ecology of the local area.

4. Escape Beach, Kyrenia

Escape beach is interesting from an enjoyment and historical perspective. The beach is known as Yavuz Cikarma Plaji, the area where the Turkish Troops landed during the Peace Operation in 1974, but is now carefully landscaped with lush grass and beautiful flowers.

On the beach proper there are a plethora of water sports available, from jet skiing to banana ride, canoeing to pedal boats and from snorkelling to scuba diving. The beach also has a volleyball area, restaurant and bar, with all the facilities you could ask for. The beach has an incredible mix of activities and history for you to enjoy on your Holidays in North Cyprus.

1. Karpaz Beaches

Our number one beach is less one specific beach and more a series of remote beaches. The Beaches in Karpaz are more secluded, and appeal more to those on luxury holidays to North Cyprus because of their isolated and much more exclusive nature. Each beach in the area has its own charm; the beach at Kasa was an ancient harbour called Karpasia; Yeni Erenkoy is a public beach with showers and hot food available; and there are small coves along the Karpaz peninsula itself that offer utter seclusion. Karpaz has the greatest variety of beaches available, and staying on or near the peninsula gives you complete choice while on holiday in North Cyprus.

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Copenhagen Capital of Denmark

Love is unpredictable. In the end, the unhappy mermaid looks on speechless as her prince abandons her in favour of a woman. In Andersen's fairy tale, the little mermaid throws herself into the sea, dissolving in the waves. Today, the bronze mermaid created by Eric Eriksen sits on a rock on the harbour at Langelinie Pier.

Vandals have attacked the statue on several occasions, but luckily, city officials keep the original bronze moulds in a secure location. Identical replacement limbs are always available.

When Denmark became a kingdom in the tenth century, what would later become the great city of Copenhagen was a small, non-descript fishing village named Havn. Located at the entrance to the Baltic Sea, its central location attracted the attention of the Danish crown. Recent archeological finds show that by the 11th century, Copenhagen had already evolved into a small town with a large estate, a church, a market, at least two water wells and many smaller habitations spread over a fairly wide area

Havn was transformed virtually overnight into an important business centre. The building of Slotsholm Fortress in 1167 is usually said to be the catalyst for the city's founding. Three years later, Copenhagen was given its current name, which in Danish means "merchant's harbour". In 1443, the emergent city became the official capital of the Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. When the union disbanded in 1523 it became capital of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Amalienborg, the famous winter palace of the Danish royal family, stands on a broad, paved, octagonal plaza. Four nearly identical palaces were built along the four diagonal sides of the octagon. At the centre of this beautiful rococo complex, one of the loveliest in Europe, is an equestrian monument honouring King Frederik V. A changing of the guard takes place outside the palaces each midday.

The best view of the Old City of Copenhagen may be from the wide platform on top of the Round Tower. Although the tower is only 36 metres high, the spiral staircase to the top winds around 209 metres. It was once possible to ride to the top on horseback, as Peter the Great did when he visited.

Unfortunately, horses are now banned from the tower. Trinity Church is adjacent to the tower, with the shopping districts of Stroget and Straedet nearby. Most of the Old City is off limits to motor vehicles, making it one of Europe's biggest pedestrian zones. Christiansborg Palace is on the small island of Slotsholm, the site of the original fortress, which is today joined to the rest of the city by several bridges.

The palace was once home to the Danish royal family, and is now the seat of the Danish government and its parliament, the Folketing. This is the sixth building to stand here since the 1167 founding of the city. Invading armies, fires and modernization have all taken their toll. While the first castle on the site stood from 1417 into the late eighteenth century, rebuilding and renovation has been fast and furious ever since.

The present Christiansborg was built in the early twentieth century. Accessible from every quarter of the city, Tivoli Gardens amusement park first opened on 15 August 1843. Visitors can take a trip in a small boat on the moats once used for Copenhagen's defense or take a pleasant ride on the big wheel looking down at the city from on high. It has a new, zero-G roller coaster ("the Demon") and twenty-five other rides, as well as many restaurants and concert venues.

The mime presentations in the Pantomimes are extremely popular. After 150 years of continuous operation, neon signs are still banned in Tivoli. Instead, more than 110,000 incandescent lanterns brilliantly illuminate one of Europe's oldest surviving pleasure gardens. The white bulbs hung from trees contribute to Tivoli's uniquely old-fashioned atmosphere, even as the roller coaster hurtles by.

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