Polis is a resort town situated on the northwest tip of Cyprus, at the heart of the Chrysochous Bay and at the border of the Akamas Peninsula Nature Reserve.  It is located 19 miles from Pafos, 43 miles from Limassol, 54 miles from Kyrenia, and 69 miles from Larnaca.  The town is a quiet tourist resort that uniquely combines unspoiled sandy beaches and crystal clear warm waters with a beautiful countryside hugged by majestic mountains, a beautiful healthy climate, and mild winters. 

It is served by the picturesque fishing Latsi port, which boasts of attractions the whole year round and well-known for its fish taverns, sea sport facilities, and boat rides up to the Akamas Peninsula.  In addition, Polis has several airports that provide added accessibility into the town.  Two of these airports are the Pafos and the Larnaca International airports.

Polis is most appealing for independent travelers who shy away from packaged tours and the crowded mass of the coastal resorts.  The town exudes of a soporific allure supplemented by the white-washed sugar cube houses, imposing Orthodox Church domes, and shady courtyards that reminds its visitors of a life in Cyprus many years ago.

Polis is also an ideal base for the exploration of the region’s least spoiled countryside and most interesting locations, such as the coastal cliffs found in cape Pomos, the vineyards of Laona, and the pine and cedar forests of the surrounding mountains.  With an abundance of natural attractions, Polis is certainly an excellent location for nature lovers and active holiday makers.

The foremost among Polis; natural attractions is the Akamas Peninsula Nature Park, which is an untouched wilderness laced with hiking trails with wide sandy bays and sheltered coves.  It is area of enormous biodiversity and ecological importance.  Due to its inaccessibility, the area has remained unspoiled and intact that grew into a sanctuary for 530 plant species out of the 1,750 species found in Cyprus, as well as 168 birds, 12 mammals, 20 reptiles, and 16 butterflies species.  The shores of Lara Bay is an important breeding site for two endangered turtle species—the green turtle and the hawks-bill turtle.  Akamas also boasts of almost all the geographical strata found in Cyprus.  It has been declared a national park, prohibiting any modern development on the peninsula and providing protection for its precious biodiversity.  This beautiful peninsula was chosen by Aphrodite as a meeting place with her lover, Adonis.

However, Polis offers more than stunning views and unspoiled sceneries to its visitors.  It combines these natural attractions with a rich and interesting history of a kingdom that had flourished in ancient times.  

Marrion, as Polis was called in ancient times, was already inhabited at the end of the Neolithic and through the Chalcolithic periods.  It was one of the city-kingdoms established by the Mycenaeans, or Achaeans, who were the creators of the Mycenaean civilization in Greece.  The city-kingdom began to flourish from the Cypro-Archaic period and grew into one of the most influential and vital ancient city-kingdoms in that period.  Fostering its growth is its commercial relations with the East Aegean islands, Corinth, and Attica.

The battle between Antigonus and Ptolemy, the successors of Alexander the Great, resulted in the destruction of Marrion.  The victor of the battle, Ptolemy, laid wastes the city and transferred its inhabitants to Pafos.  Later, Philadelphus, a member of the Ptolemy dynasty, founded a new city on the ruins of Marrion and named it Arsinoe, after his wife.  The new city flourished during the Hellenistic and Roman Ages, and continued to exist through the early Christian and Byzantine periods.  It had suffered extreme destruction during the Arab invasions of the 7th century.  The area was once again settled during the medieval period, between the 12th and 14th centuries.

Hence, many relics from these periods are housed in the town’s museums.   One of the town’s interesting museums is the Museum of Marion – Arsinoe.  A relatively young museum, it features three exhibition rooms where relics from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic periods, all the way to the medieval period, are displayed.

The Polis Culture Center is a modern attraction in Polis that houses a theater stage and a 400-seat capacity seating area.  It also houses an exhibition area and a museum. Also worth of note are the monasteries found in the area.  One of the most prominent and beautiful monasteries in Polis is the Khrysorroyiatissa monastery, which is situated by a mountain road near the village of Panayia.  The monastery boasts of stunning views over cultivated land.  Another notable monastery is the Kykkos monastery, which was built in the 11th century atop a northwest peak in the Troodos.  It is well-known for the beautiful paintings on its walls.

The town, albeit a laid-back appeal, offers lively attractions, most especially during the evenings and tourist season.  The Polis Square is an attractive part of town as it is where many restaurants, shops, bars and discos, souvenir shops, and many other service shops are located.  Several festivals are also held in the Polis Square during the tourist season.

The small port and fishing harbor at Latchi also provides quaint attractions for the town’s visitors.  It is most famous for its beautiful coastline and fresh fish that is most beneficial for the many fish taverns and restaurants located around the harbor.  These establishments are just the ideal places to enjoy an afternoon while watching the fishermen with their catch.

Also found in Lampchi are various establishments that provides facilities for diving and water sports activities, such as jet and water skiing, parasailing, kayaking, canoeing, wind surfing, and wakeboarding.  Moreover, there are numerous spectacular diving spots located in the area, the most renowned of which are the diving spots near the Akamas peninsula national park.

In recent years, Polis and its twin village, Lampchi, has grown in popularity with tourists.  These areas have also been growing in reputation as one of the most attractive areas for people in search of a holiday home, a lifestyle change, or an investment property.  The steadily increasing demand has caused property prices to rise by 4% over the last year.  This price increase is expected to continue in the near future as more people discover its quiet charm and its enormous potential to provide significant investment returns.

The properties in Polis offer its buyers a wide choice of type, predominantly consisting of apartments, townhouses, and villas.  The first two types of properties are often set in communal gardens with swimming pools, while villas are usually on plots of land with private facilities.  Prices for these properties ranges from under 90,000 Euros to the luxury properties that are priced a little over 400,000 Euros. Thus, some of the villages surrounding Polis are Argaka, Prodromi, Neo Chorio, Polis Chrysochous, Latchi, and Goudi.