Lefkas
is a surprise - a wonderful one - for not only is it outstandingly beautiful
but also amazingly untouched. Off the main shipping routes, its splendidly
mountainous landscape a meager lure for conquerors, Lefkas is a little
discovered but gorgeous backwater. Scholars argue about its status as
an island - Lefkas is joined to the mainland by a causeway - and maybe
this has helped to keep it off the well-worn 'Greek Island' tourist track.
Yet the beaches are sublime, the verdant landscape a delight and the island
a paradise for windsurfers and sailors as well as beach-lovers.
In the south, at Vassiliki, reliable winds blow for exciting windsurfing, whilst in the east an archipelago of enchanting islets set in sheltered, crystal clear waters provides truly idyllic cruising grounds.
You don't need to be a sailor to enjoy chugging around this sea since caiques from Nidri, the closest to a busy resort of which Lefkas can boast, run out to Skorpios, Onassis' private island and to Lefkas' near neighbour, Meganisi. Here you can spend a day exploring sleepy fishing harbours, tranquil bays and picturesque hamlets. From the caique you can marvel at the manicured landscape of Skorpios, still kept immaculate despite the near extinction of the Onassis dynasty, and even enjoy a swim from one of its beaches, from which, under Greek law, even the richest man cannot exclude the populace. Even without venturing across the water the views from Lefkas across the dazzling sea, with its flotilla of graceful yachts, to the myriad islands and to the majestic outline of 'Akarnanika' (mainland Greece) are completely mesmerising
Equally stupendous are the glorious beaches of the west coast where the blue of the sea is so vivid as to be scarcely credible. Hardly believable too is the lack of development for even some of the most beautiful beaches, such as Porto Katsiki and Milos, are completely virgin except for a few bars or tavernas. Absolutely beautiful, Lefkas is also varied since the wild west coast contrasts not only with the gentle east, but also with the north, an area of windmills and windswept dunes, broad lagoons and ruined fortresses, and the south, where deep, tranquil inlets provide yet further havens for yachts and painted fishing boats.
Strongly traditional, Lefkas is an island where it is not necessary to get off the beaten track to taste the flavour of authentic Greek life. The pretty villages of the mountainous, wooded interior certainly beckon the explorer but even driving along the coast you will see women in traditional dress bearing pots of water on their heads or farm workers ambling along on mules to their fields. To the rural Lefkadian, tourists are still a source of bemusement rather than wealth and they are not easily going to abandon cultivating the terraces which their ancestors toiled so hard to create in order to cater for tourism.
As with rural traditions, architectural traditions still remain ingrained and most new buildings keep the attractive and distinctive Lefkadian elements of deeply eaved, tiled roofs which cast shade in the hot summer over verandas overflowing with colourful flowers. Fortunately for lovers of the idiosyncratic, the island was not wealthy enough to raze the capital, Lefkas Town, after the last earthquake in 1953, so a ramshackle assembly of wooden and metal panels and corrugated iron was tacked on top the ruins. Painted in pastel tones of blues and greens, greys and yellows, this haphazard building style lends Lefkas Town a raffish but very genuine air - artlessly Greek but with a dash of the Caribbean and even the Wild West. Down the narrow cobbled alleyways, intentionally maze-like to confuse marauding pirates, can be found hidden courtyard gardens, where chickens peck around the lemon and orange trees, beautiful little Venetian churches built in stone and simple tavernas serving local dishes.
)
In the south, at Vassiliki, reliable winds blow for exciting windsurfing, whilst in the east an archipelago of enchanting islets set in sheltered, crystal clear waters provides truly idyllic cruising grounds.
)
You don't need to be a sailor to enjoy chugging around this sea since caiques from Nidri, the closest to a busy resort of which Lefkas can boast, run out to Skorpios, Onassis' private island and to Lefkas' near neighbour, Meganisi. Here you can spend a day exploring sleepy fishing harbours, tranquil bays and picturesque hamlets. From the caique you can marvel at the manicured landscape of Skorpios, still kept immaculate despite the near extinction of the Onassis dynasty, and even enjoy a swim from one of its beaches, from which, under Greek law, even the richest man cannot exclude the populace. Even without venturing across the water the views from Lefkas across the dazzling sea, with its flotilla of graceful yachts, to the myriad islands and to the majestic outline of 'Akarnanika' (mainland Greece) are completely mesmerising
)
Equally stupendous are the glorious beaches of the west coast where the blue of the sea is so vivid as to be scarcely credible. Hardly believable too is the lack of development for even some of the most beautiful beaches, such as Porto Katsiki and Milos, are completely virgin except for a few bars or tavernas. Absolutely beautiful, Lefkas is also varied since the wild west coast contrasts not only with the gentle east, but also with the north, an area of windmills and windswept dunes, broad lagoons and ruined fortresses, and the south, where deep, tranquil inlets provide yet further havens for yachts and painted fishing boats.
)
Strongly traditional, Lefkas is an island where it is not necessary to get off the beaten track to taste the flavour of authentic Greek life. The pretty villages of the mountainous, wooded interior certainly beckon the explorer but even driving along the coast you will see women in traditional dress bearing pots of water on their heads or farm workers ambling along on mules to their fields. To the rural Lefkadian, tourists are still a source of bemusement rather than wealth and they are not easily going to abandon cultivating the terraces which their ancestors toiled so hard to create in order to cater for tourism.
)
As with rural traditions, architectural traditions still remain ingrained and most new buildings keep the attractive and distinctive Lefkadian elements of deeply eaved, tiled roofs which cast shade in the hot summer over verandas overflowing with colourful flowers. Fortunately for lovers of the idiosyncratic, the island was not wealthy enough to raze the capital, Lefkas Town, after the last earthquake in 1953, so a ramshackle assembly of wooden and metal panels and corrugated iron was tacked on top the ruins. Painted in pastel tones of blues and greens, greys and yellows, this haphazard building style lends Lefkas Town a raffish but very genuine air - artlessly Greek but with a dash of the Caribbean and even the Wild West. Down the narrow cobbled alleyways, intentionally maze-like to confuse marauding pirates, can be found hidden courtyard gardens, where chickens peck around the lemon and orange trees, beautiful little Venetian churches built in stone and simple tavernas serving local dishes.
Image Galery
from Lefkas
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Hotel Odeon is a guarantee for a thrilling stay.
Contact Information If you want to find out more about us, please use the contacts below:
HOTEL ODEON, VASSILIKI, LEFKAS, GREECE Telephone +3026450 - 31918 +306972 - 300407 (mobile) FAX +3026450 - 31919 E-mail General Information: info@vassiliki.net
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