Bellapais Abbey is the ruin of a monastery built by Canons Regular in the 13th century on the northern side of the small village of Bellapais, now in Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus, about five kilometres from the town of Kyrenia. The ruin is at an altitude of 220 m above sea level, and commands a long view down to Kyrenia and the Mediterranean Sea. The site is also a museum, which hosts a restaurant and a cafe. The Abbey's refectory now serves as a venue for concerts and lectures. In early summer it is also a venue for a local music festival. Once you have spent a couple of hours taking in the fine abbey and the breath-taking views, or followed in the footsteps of Richard the Lionheart along one of the many crusader roads, you can rest and soak up the ambience and relaxed atmosphere for which Northern Cyprus is famous.