The tour around Lefkas begins from
the bridge of Lefkas which links the island with the greek
mainland (free of charge) and is considered to be the road
connection of the island.
A street above the sea level (1800m long ) leads to the town
of Lefkas. On the right hand there is the Lagoon of Lefkas
with its famous beach of Agios Ioannis and Gyra with its characteristic
windmills.
On the left hand the sea path leads the ships to the eastern
side when the bridge rises.
On the eastern part of the town is the modern marina.
Marina can host up to 600 yachts and its building facilities
include a control tower, multi-purpose building, sailing club,
office and retail unit complex, a small hotel, vessel repair
and maitenance unit, spacious parking lots for cars, over-wintering
facilities for 300 vessels, and leisure and green areas.
The historical centre:The town of Lefkas is the gate of the
island. The historical centre of Lefkas town is graphic and
beautiful with coloured wooden houses and narrow stone paths.
Walking through the pedestrian zone of the Lefkas Market can
be very pleasant because of the numerous shops and cafes.
During summer time visitors can drink their coffee in one
of the several bars located on the Venetian canal of the western
bank. The sunset of Gyra is miraculous from this spot.
Dinners at the graphic taverns of the narrow traditional stonepaths
can be very romantic, in addition to the local music of the
island (cantades-traditional songs accompanied with guitar).
In the summer the narrow paths are full of smells from the
flowers in numerous flower pots in the yards and the balconies.
Cultural Events in Lefkas Town:
In August 1955 the Speech and Art Events, held for the first
time by the Municipality of Lefkada, created an innovation
in the Greek cultural events. In August 1962 the International
Folklore Festival took place at the same time with the Speech
and Art Events. Since then, every August, Lefkas town fills
with dancers, flags and colours from all over the world. The
dancers with their traditional costumes dance along the main
street and the port as they pass the message of friendship,
peace and brotherhood among the nations of the world.
Music nights, theatrical performances, poetry nights, painting
and photograph exhibitions are organised every August in Lefkada.
In 1964 the success of the Speech and Art Events reached the
peak with the appearance of the famous Greek soprano Maria
Kallas who sang for the lefkadian audience.
The Filarmonic Society of Lefkada is the second oldest Filarmonic
Society in Greece after the Filarmonic Society of Corfu. It
was founded in 1850 and in 1864 the Filarmonic played for
the Union of the Seven Islands. In 1896 along with other societies,
participated in the Olympic Games. In 1906 it was the only
Filarmonic which played in the Mid-Olympiad (see more in www.filarmoniki.gr).
The Archeolgical Museum of Lefkada
In its collection there are finds from the Mid-greek period
(1900, 1550 b.C), ornaments of graves and pots taken from
cemeteries of ancient Lefkada.
During the Venetian period many interesting temples were built
in Lefkas town. The most archaelogically important are:
a) The temple of Agios(St) Spiridonas in the central square
which was built in 1685.
b) The temple of Pantokratoras. It was built initially in
1700 but its forefront and the contemporary building were
built after the earthquake in 1869. Behind the temple there
is the grave of Aristotelis Valaoritis.
The temple of Agios(St) Minas. It was built in 1707 and considered
to be the most interesting temple of Lefkada. Its chancel
screen is an excellent sample of the Ionian wood carving and
it has beautiful icons.
In Lefkas town it ‘s worth visiting:
The fort of Santa Mavra which is built in the lagoon, on an
island 1km north-east of the town, beside the bridge. It is
an important monument which shows the art of fort construction
in its era. It was built in 1300 by Orsini but mostly the
English and the French were the ones who gave it its final
design by adding or changing the buildings.
The beach of Gyra with the windmills and the magnificent sunset.
Today there are only 4 windmills out of the initial 12. Most
of them had Russian names and milled wheat until the beginning
of the 20th century.
You can cycle, jog or walk around the lagoon which embraces
the town and creates an amazing landscape. Its calm water
is the mirror of the houses, the sky, the light and the clouds.
The treaty of Ramsar has declared it as a hydrobiotope of
international importance and threfore it is strictly protected.
The lagoon is a shelter for wild birds, swans, wild geese,
wild ducks etc.
A walk through the olive grove on the road of Kouzoundeli.
There are two traditional coffee shops under the age-long
high plane tree and the olive trees. They serve a traditional
drink called soumada (it is made of almonds) accompanied with
local crisp rolls, hand made sweets, vanilla (it ‘s
called ipovrihio= submarine because they serve a teaspoonful
of vanilla inside a glass of water which makes it look like
a submarine ) and fried potatoes. In the summer people play
chess or backgammon under the coolness of the trees. The narrow
paths inside the olive grove lead you to the beach of Agios
(St) Ioannis.
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