Business / Shopping Hours

PUBLIC SERVICE HOURS

Winter Period (September 1 - June 30)
Monday - Friday: 07:30 - 14:30
Thursday: 07:30 - 14:30, 15:00 - 18:00
Summer Period (July 1 - August 31)
Monday - Friday: 07:30 - 14:30

SHOPPING HOURS a) Winter Period (November 1 - March 31) Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri: up to 18:00hrs Wed, Sat: up to 14:00hrs b) Spring Period (April 1 - May 31) and Autumn Period (September 15 - October 31) Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri: up to 19:00hrs Wed, Sat: up to 14:00hrs c) Summer Period (June 1 - September 14) Mon, Tues, Thu, Fri: up to 19:30hrs Summer afternoon recess from 13:00 - 16:00 hrs Wed, Sat: up to 14:00hrs

OFFICE HOURS

September 15 - May 31
Monday - Friday: 08:00 - 13:00, 15:00 - 18:00
June 1 - September 14
Monday - Friday: 08:00 - 13:00, 16:00 - 19:00

Banking hours for the public:

Monday - Friday: 08:30 - 12:30.
Monday: 15:15 - 16:45.
(May, June, July, August: Monday - Friday: 08:15 - 12:30)
- Centrally located Banks provide "afternoon tourist services".
- Banks at the Larnaka and Pafos International Airports provide services in the daytime, as well as a night service for most flights.
- Banking facilities are also available at the Lemesos (Limassol) Harbour.
- A number of Automatic Exchange Machines operate on a 24hrs basis in central places of all towns and the main tourist resorts Agia Napa and Paralimni. Most currencies and denominations are acceptable.
- Hotels, large shops, restaurants, e.t.c. usually accept travellers cheques and major credit cards. Rates of exchange are published daily in the local press, and are also broadcast at the 10:00 o'clock News Bulletins by the CBC (except Sundays) on Second Radio Channel on 91.1FM.
- Bank holidays are the same as Public Holidays plus Easter Tuesday. Christmas Eve is a working day for banks.

Shopping

Locally produced items, which are popular to visitors, include leather goods, woven goods, (curtains and tablecloths), ceramics, copperware, silverware (especially filigree), baskets, and the famous traditional hand-made Lefkaritika lace. These can be purchased from the many souvenir shops found throughout the island and the Cyprus Handicraft Centres.

Cyprus wines and spirits, which have been famous for centuries, are also high on visitors' shopping lists, and can be purchased from supermarkets or grocery shops.
Shoes, shirts, imported textiles and spectacles are good value for money.
In most of the tourist areas, both souvenir shops and supermarkets remain open until late in the evenings, and all day on Sunday.

In towns, shops close at 18.00hrs during the Winter period (November-March), at 19.00 hrs during the Spring and Autumn period (April-May and 15th September - 31st October), and at 19:30 hrs during the Summer period (June - 14th of September). As from 1st of June till 14th of September shops in towns close between 13:00 and 16:00 hrs for the summer afternoon break.

On Sundays, shops in towns are closed. On Wednesday and Saturday shops close at 14:00 hrs.

Just before Christmas and Easter, shops usually remain open until late in the evening.

Supermarkets close one hour later on Friday evening.

CHEMISTS PHARMACIES / DRUG STORES

They stay open during shopping hours. Names, addresses and telephone numbers of chemists which stay open until late at night, on Public Holidays and on Sundays are listed in the daily papers. They can also be traced through the following automatic telephones: Lefkosia: 1412, Lemesos: 1415, Larnaka 1414, Pafos: 1416, Ammochostos: 1413.