Lonely Planet lauds Aphrodite’s Rock as romantic hotspot

THE BEACH at Aphrodite’s Rock in Paphos has made it on to a list of the world’s 100 most romantic hotspots compiled by travel guide publisher Lonely Planet.

The Paphos beach where legend has it the Goddess of Love emerged from the sea’s foam is in inspired company, with the ‘Meeting Place’ at London’s St Pancras station also on the list.

The London station boasts a nine-metre tall bronze sculpture of a couple hugging, a not uncommon sight at train stations around the world where people greet or bid goodbye to loved ones.

Other romantic hot spots on the list include the self-explanatory Taj Mahal in Agra, India, Juliet’s House in Verona, Italy, the Heart Reef on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the tomb of medieval lovers Abélard and Héloïse in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and the Alley of the Kiss in Guanajuato, Mexico. Tradition has it that couples kiss under the balconies of the Alley to guarantee 15 years of personal happiness, or else risk seven years of suffering. According to folklore, a Spanish aristocrat stabbed his daughter in the heart there for having an illicit affair with her impoverished lover living opposite, after having been forced to marry a nobleman.

Somewhat controversially for purists, the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas, USA, also made it on the list. Other spots for star-crossed lovers is the Plaza de los Coches in old town Cartagena, Colombia and Yellow Mountain (or Huangshan) in China, where lovers lock padlocks on handrails and then throw away the key into the gorge. The move is meant to be symbolic, implying eternal love. And even if the love doesn’t last, few separated couples would arrange for someone to go to the Mountain and break the lock, guaranteeing the hotspots’ continued romantic look.

The list of “The World’s Most Romantic Spots” is included in the new Lonely Planet book ‘1000 Ultimate Sights’, which goes on sale on September 27.

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