Top Ayia Napa Street Art Locations

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Ayia Napa is a coastal town in the southern part of Cyprus, renowned for its beaches and vibrant nightlife, featuring a diverse range of local and international DJs, clubs, and amusement parks.

Although you might spend a lot of time engaging in water sports by day and clubbing at night, there is more to discover. When walking down the streets during the day, you will definitely spot several visually appealing, artsy-related spots. Besides the open-air sculpture park located on Kavo Gkreko, Ayia Napa’s street art is worth discovering if you make some time for it.

The Origins of Ayia Napa Street Art

According to the Vagabundler site, the first Ayia Napa Street Art Festival took place in 2012, and local artist PAPARAZZI launched it. Another one was held in 2014 and 2019, but because of COVID, it was paused for the future. PAPARAZZI now operates from his studio in nearby Larnaca, where many of his murals can be found in the city center.

According to his words, the first year was well-organized, and the municipality even provided a five-star hotel for the artists, covered the costs of the colors, and allocated funds for the entire event. Although from the beginning, some people (the owners of properties and walls) were protesting and were not sure what to expect.

Graffiti or street art are terms that tend to evoke in people’s minds a lot of tags, throw-ups, letters, and bombing they see more often in the streets where they live. But the artist managed to persuade the locals, and after seeing the results, they were mostly astonished. One of the notable participants in the first year was TASSO from Berlin.

The artist introduced to the public more figurative or abstract-based pieces mixed with some new school elements. And people seemed to fall in love with it.

The artists also noted in another interview for LIFO that the only request by the local officials was that the murals should not be political.

Notable Artists and Murals

The 2014 edition of the Ayia Napa Street Art Festival brought together a varied group of international and local artists who transformed the town with a series of new large-scale works.

Among them were Aec from the Ukrainian duo Interesni Kazki, along with Cacao Rocks, Cleo43, NAR, Simoni, and Ser from Greece. The event also featured Switzerland’s Bane, Germany’s Jens Besser, Bisser from Belgium, the French artist Opsis, and Bulgaria’s RAT. Representing the local scene were the Cypriot artists Paparazzi and Pest.

Artists completed fourteen murals that year, placing them across several locations. Many of them appeared at the northern entrance to Ayia Napa, a section previously considered run-down. They also emerged within the municipal parking area and on the walls of the local primary school.
Artists added two expansive murals to the large wall surfaces along the beachfront.

In 2016, the Ayia Napa Street Art Festival was again curated by Paparazzi Art Studio and organized by the municipality. It brought together talented artists from around the world — including Dome, Dank, Etnik, Tasso, Ser, Simoni Fontana, and Paparazzi — to create vibrant murals throughout the town.

The city hosted its last festival in 2019, which took place from March 21 to 31. It was also a collaboration between the Municipality and PAPARAZZI studio. The aim was to upgrade some degraded and abandoned areas of the city. It also sought to make Ayia Napa a reference point for the international street art scene and a meeting place for artists of all forms.

This edition featured artists from across the globe: Koz Doz arrived from Venezuela, and Russia sent Rustam Qbic, the Stenograffia collective, and Andrey Zhokhov.

The UK’s Dank also joined the lineup, alongside Rate from Bulgaria. From France came both Opsis and Mathieu Devavry, while Poland contributed the artist Kasia. The festival further included Elias Zaarour from Lebanon and Gabriella Junošová from Slovakia. Cyprus showcased local talent through Edmon 1419, Elf, and Royal Venom, who helped anchor the international roster with strong homegrown creativity.

Where to Find the Best Street Art

Here is a brief overview that I created from the information found on the Facebook page for the Ayia Napa Street Art Festival. I have seen mostly the artworks in the municipal parking area and around the corners. Also near Luna Park in Ayia Napa, I found some parrots while working my way toward the Church of Ayia Napa. I saw not necessarily murals but some visually striking paintings or machines.

Street / Location	Artist(s) / Notes
Beloyanni Street	Andrey Zhokhov, Koz Dos, Stenograffia Team, Dan Kitchener (DANK)
Municipal Parking Area	Painted Lady Butterfly by Catt Soulart Kyriacou, Rate (@Rate_NLS, work in progress at Free Graffiti Spot)
Yuri Gagarin Street	Rustam QBic, Dan Kitchener (DANK)
O. Eliti 6 Street	Elias Zaarour, EDMON 1419, Opsis, Rate
Kryou Nerou Street	Mathieu Devavry, Leonidas Con
Anexartisias Street	Gabriela Júnošova, Gabi Junos
Yianni Ritsou Street	RoyalVenom
Corner of Evagorou Street	Kasia Melikidou
Tefkrou Anthia 30 Street	Anatolios Spyrlidis (RoyalVenom)

I also found an old and non-functional trailer near the Sea Caves bus stop. It is not a mural, but it may be of interest to some people, so I mention it here.

How Street Art Shapes Ayia Napa's Identity

Thanks to the initiative of the Ayia Napa Street Art Festival, the small city can continue to evolve and grow. It is now attracting a new type of visitor – art lovers, photographers, and travelers seeking something off the beaten path while still staying in a touristy area. Thanks to the murals, people can pay more attention to certain areas of the city that would remain overlooked and ignored.

These murals make the city a part of a global dialogue. With artists from countries as diverse as Ukraine, Venezuela, Russia, Poland, France, Slovakia, and Lebanon collaborating alongside Cypriot talents, Ayia Napa slowly becomes a canvas where local culture meets international perspectives.

Ayia Napa clearly has the potential to redefine itself as a center of artistic experimentation and cultural openness. It can move beyond its old image as a neon-lit party town that often overshadows its true Cypriot character.