In a hangar-like hall in Limassol's industrial area, the Cyprus Historic and Classic Motor Museum keeps the collection that the rally driver Dimi Mavropoulos started building in 2000: an armoured Cadillac made for Archbishop Makarios III, a green Mini from the Mr Bean television series, buses, tractors, a fire engine and more than 6,000 scale models. The museum's own vehicle list runs to more than 250 entries, from mopeds to a microlight. It closed for mourning after its founder's death on 29 August 2026, and we could not confirm that it has reopened, so ring before you go.

Before you go: a museum in mourning

Dimi Mavropoulos died on Saturday 29 August 2026, aged 76, when the boat he was on sank off Cape Greco during a storm, Phileleftheros reported. The museum said it would stay closed until after his funeral, according to the Cyprus Mail, and local media later reported a sign at the entrance saying it was closed for mourning, with no date for reopening. Its website still shows the normal opening hours and no notice, and we could not confirm that it has reopened. Ring +357 25 393912 or +357 99 252626 before you set off.

A rally champion's collection

The museum opened on Saturday 1 February 2014 in a 1,000 square metre hall at Ypsonas, with about 70 vehicles. On 1 November 2015 it reopened in its present home on Epimitheos Street, in the industrial area off Limassol's new port road, a hall the museum puts at 3,000 to 3,500 square metres. Mavropoulos, born in Limassol in 1949, began rallying as a teenager. The museum credits him with Cyprus championship titles in 1986, 1988 and 1990, and the Cyprus Rally's official list of winners shows him winning the international Cyprus Rally in 1990 in an Audi Coupé quattro.

The four cars everyone asks about

The armoured Cadillac draws the most questions. In the museum's words it was "specifically designed and built for President Makarios III in 1977" and donated by the US government, but it was "never used by him": Makarios died on 3 August 1977, before the car arrived, and it went to the presidential guard and later governments. The museum gives its weight as 4.2 tonnes and says it is bombproof, with bulletproof windows that stay shut.

Close behind is a bright green Mini that the museum describes as one of the original cars from the Mr Bean television series, with the padlock on the door that viewers will remember. There is also a 1973 Rover P5B that the museum says was one of the cars used by Margaret Thatcher, and a 1912 Ford Model T roadster with a brass radiator.

Buses, tractors and 6,000 models

Beyond the famous four, the list includes a 1963 Dennis fire engine, a 1968 Bedford village bus, a red London double decker, a 1959 Daimler Ferret scout car, Caterpillar and Ferguson tractors, London taxis, mopeds, caravans and a microlight aircraft. A replica of Karl Benz's 1886 Patent Motorwagen was unveiled at the museum by the Transport Minister in June 2019. The newer Model Wonderland section holds more than 6,000 scale models of cars, aircraft, trains and boats, including 106 vehicles from the James Bond films and a diorama of the City of London that Mavropoulos built in the 1980s and 1990s with a friend.

Hours, tickets and house rules

When it is open, the museum keeps weekday hours of 09:00 to 17:00 all year. At weekends it opens from 10:00 to 17:00 in winter and from 10:00 to 18:00 in summer, and it closes only on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Since 19 November 2025 tickets cost 20 euros for adults, 18 euros for over 65s, 15 euros for teenagers over 12 and 13 euros for children of 12 and under. Family tickets are 45 euros for two adults and one child and 50 euros for two adults and two children, under 4s go free, and entry is free for visitors with disabilities.

The hall is wheelchair accessible and parking is free. Photos and videos for your own use are allowed, flash and tripods included. Backpacks of any size, umbrellas and handbags larger than 30 by 35 centimetres go in the free lockers, and food and drink are not allowed inside.

Tours, events and wedding cars

Group tours in Greek or English can be arranged in advance, schools can book guided visits from Monday to Friday, and a self-guided tour is available on the izi.TRAVEL app. The museum is the starting point for classic car events such as its spring and international regularity challenges, and it hires out classic cars with a professional driver for weddings.

Getting there

By car the museum is about 11 minutes from Anexartisias Street or Limassol Marina and about 12 minutes from the Molos, and roughly 53 minutes from Paphos, 66 from Larnaca and 75 from Nicosia; these are our own estimates for free-flowing traffic. Leave the motorway at junction 29 by Limassol General Hospital, follow the new port road south for about 1.7 kilometres and turn left at the roundabout into Epimitheos Street. The museum is about 150 metres along on the right.

By bus, EMEL route 7 stops right outside, at the Epimitheos stop. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays it leaves the EMEL bus station on Archbishop Leontiou A' Street 23 times a day between 05:20 and 19:40, and the ride takes about 23 minutes; there are fewer buses on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. On those weekdays the last bus back to the centre leaves Epimitheos at 20:16, but check EMEL for the current timetable. For more motoring history, see our guide to the classic motorcycle museum in Nicosia and other small museums, and if Limassol has you thinking about a longer stay, our relocation help is here when you need it.