Lefkada Tourist Attractions & Day Trips Greece - Greek Travel Guide
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If you fancy a break from the beach, Lefkada offers some great walking trails through its mountainous countryside, unspoilt inland villages to explore and shops and museums a plenty in the bustling capital. One of the most popular day trips is a cruise round the satellite islands off the east coast of Lefkada with a stop for lunch on magical Meganisi with its lush landscape and pretty pebbled beaches.
Spend a few hours getting to know the capital, Lefkada Town, built around the south east corner of a salty lagoon at the northern tip of the island. Despite being devastated by earthquakes in 1867 and 1948, it's an attractive place with narrow flower-filled alleyways, pretty pastel-painted houses and plenty of good shops and eateries along the waterfront and in the pedestrian streets around the main square.
The town's Archaeological Museum, housed in the Cultural Centre on the north western seafront, contains a well-labeled collection of finds from around the island including a 6th century BC terracotta figurine. One room is dedicated to the work of the eminent German archaeologist Wilhelm Dorpfeld (1853-1940) whose excavations of Bronze Age settlements on the island led him to believe that Lefkada was the kingdom of Homer's Odysseus (rather than Ithaca which is the main contender for the title these days). The Folklore Museum, near the main plateia, houses traditional costumes, old photos and household items which give a flavour of island life in a bygone era.
If Dorpfeld's work has inspired you might want to visit the Bronze Age ruins that he excavated near Vlyho on the east coast about 20 kilometres south of the capital. The archaeologist's tomb is at Agia Kyriaki near the house where he once lived on the Yeni Peninsula across the bay from Nydri.
From Nydri you can take an excursion boat around the satellite islets of Madouri, Sparti, Skorpidi and Skorpios and stop off at the largest of the group, Meganisi. Skorpios is owned and well guarded by the mega-rich Onassis family and is the burial place of Aristotle, his sister Artemis and children Alexander and Christina. You can't visit it but you can see the cemetery from the water and, depending on your boatman, you might get the chance to swim off a sandy beach on the northern side of the islet.
The island offers many lovely walks including a 45-minute hike inland from Nydri to a waterfall near Rahi.
Visit Cape Lefkatas, in the south west corner of the island, to see the spot where the great poet Sappho reputedly leapt to her death in the 7th century BC after being spurned by her female love. Until Roman times, criminals and the mentally ill were also hurled to their deaths from the 75-metre high cliff. Modern day hang gliders re-enact these ancient and grisly goings-on with a tournament held here each July.
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