Omodos

It dominates the square: an arcaded courtyard around a church holding a fragment of the Holy Cross rope relic, with a carved wooden ceiling worth the visit on its own. Entry is free, dress modestly, and go before ten or after four to have the courtyard to yourself. There is a small icon museum off the north cloister.

Several estates in and immediately around the village take walk-ins; a tasting of four or five wines runs €10 to €15, usually credited against a purchase. Ask for Xynisteri if you want the crisp white and Maratheftiko for the serious red. Most cellars close by 5pm and some only open by appointment on Sundays.

Signposted a short walk east of the square, the old linos — a stone treading floor with a beam press — sits in a vaulted room alongside a small folk collection of looms, jars and farm tools. Entry is a euro or two. It takes fifteen minutes and explains what the terraces outside were built for.

The bakeries off the square sell arkatena, chickpea-leavened bread rings, and the shops sell soutzoukos, the string of almonds dipped repeatedly in grape must until it sets. Around €4 to €7 each. Both are genuine village products rather than airport souvenirs, and both survive a flight home.

Head southeast on the narrow road through Vasa Koilaniou, Malia and Arsos — 30 to 40 minutes of vineyard terraces and shuttered stone villages with almost no traffic. Arsos has the highest concentration of old houses; Vasa has a couple of good small cellars. Go mid-morning; village kafeneia close in the afternoon.

Take a table at the far corner of the cobbled square with a glass of village wine at about half past five. Over half an hour the coaches pull out, shutters roll down along the lanes, and the light goes gold on the monastery arcade. This is the free thing that justifies staying overnight.

You need a car. From Limassol take the A6 west to the Erimi turn and the E601 north through Pachna, about 45 minutes of climbing on decent two-lane road; from Paphos allow an hour and a quarter via the B6 and Mandria. Larnaca Airport is roughly an hour and fifty. There is no regular scheduled bus of any use to a visitor, and taxis from Limassol are €50 to €65 each way. Once here, everything is on foot — the square, the monastery, the winepress and the tavernas are all within four hundred metres — but the neighbouring wine villages and the Troodos trails need the car. Coach parking sits below the village, and free village parking is signposted on the northern approach.

For six hours a day, yes — coaches from the coast fill the square between roughly ten and four. Outside those hours it is a very quiet village of a few hundred people. Staying overnight buys you the good hours: early morning in the monastery courtyard and the evening after the buses go. Day visitors only ever see the crowded version.

Xynisteri for a dry mountain white, Maratheftiko for the best indigenous red, and a small bottle of commandaria if you want the historic sweet wine. Expect €12 to €20 for something good and be sceptical of unlabelled village wine sold in plastic in the square. Tastings at the small estates cost €10 to €15 and are usually deducted from a purchase.

About 42 km and 45 minutes by car, via the A6 to Erimi and then the mountain road through Pachna. It is one of the standard half-day trips from the coast, which is exactly why the coaches come. There is no practical bus, so it is car or taxi at €50 to €65 each way from Limassol.

Eat, drink and walk. There are four or five tavernas around the square doing meze at €18 to €24 a head, and they close around 10.30 to 11pm. After that the village is dark and silent. If you want variety of restaurants or any nightlife, base yourself in Platres for the mountains or Limassol for the coast.