Lefkas Town

holiday report and Lefkas map

Lefkas Town

LEFKAS TOWN also called LEFKADA is the capital of the island and located on the north east coast, where Lefkas is joined to the mainland by a causeway, 50 metre swing bridge and more recently a road tunnel.
Lefkada is a pleasant enough town both to stay in and to visit. It is dominated by the Agia Mavra fortress and it's noted for its unusual buildings. Following an earthquake in 1948 Lefkas Town was rebuilt in a colourful variety of architectural styles. Many houses have a stone ground floors and brightly painted wooden and corrugated iron upper storeys.
The main shopping street of Lefkada is traffic free - up to a point - and runs through the town square right to the harbour area. There are plenty of shops, not just tourist related but of all kinds, from bakeries to boutiques and cafes to corn merchants. Bars and tavernas tend to cluster towards the harbour end of the street and along the quayside where there are good views across to the mainland.
The harbour at Lefkada provides the best shelter in the Ionian and the newly built marina gives visitors a fine place for an evening stroll to gawp at the luxury yachts and boats moored up there. It can hold up to 600 boats.
Lefkada is also noted for its cultural events that include an arts festival in August and the town has its own orchestra. There is a good archaeological museum and fine churches of Agios Spiridonas in the main square, Pantokratoras and Agios Minas, built in 1707 with many good icons.
There are beaches to the northwest of the town across the huge lagoon. The beach stretches for many kilometres along the coast but it is mostly pebble and shingle and somewhat windswept. Agios Ioannis beach and the Gira beach are typical with a deep band of shingle and sand backed by low, scruffy dunes and a line of windmills.
Exposed to the northern winds, the seas can get choppy but the conditions are ideal for the many windsurfers and kite surfers that frequent this part of the coast. On some days there are more windsurfers here than you can count. Kastro beach is popular with the locals and has a good taverna. Amoglosa beach is found near the lighthouse.