Things To Do in Lefkas

Nidri Beach gets the most footfall of all Lefkas’ beaches. But it still doesn’t too get crowded. There’s a single row of sunloungers on the sand here and a good selection of restaurants and cafes just steps away. The views are something to write home about, too – the beach looks out over the Ioania islands of Heloni, Scorpio and Madouri.

This sandy beach is cupped inside the curve of a bay, 12 kilometres west of Lefkada Town. It’s easy to feel at home here – the dinky village of the same name backs the sand, offering a handful of friendly tavernas and cafes.

On Lefkas’ south west tip, Porto Katsiki is a perfect-10 of a beach. In English, its name means ‘port of the goat’ because there was a time when only goats could access this smile of sand. It’s the coastal cliff that backs the beach that makes Porto Katsiki so striking. It’s a looming arc of white rock topped with a crew cut of green grass. The water’s a brighter shade of blue here, too.

The capital of Lefkas is a confetti-coloured town – the buildings here are painted in shades of pale yellow and baby blue. It’s not always been this way, though. Bright sheets of metal were added to the facades of houses after the earthquakes of 1867 and 1948. You’ll get the full effect of the town’s looks when you pull up a chair in an al fresco bar with glass of ouzo.

Historians may not use as much ink writing about Nikopolis as they do penning stories of Rome and Athens, but there was a time when this city was just as important as these great capitals. Nikopolis, on the Greek mainland, was built by Julius Caesar around 31BC, and it was once a centre for trade, culture and philosophy. Today, you can wander around the ruins of the amphitheatre, baths, and city walls.

This festival is an ode to the lentils that grow in the countryside around the mountain village of Englouvi. It’s open to everyone, and local women take pride in cooking up huge vats of lentils. Salted sardines also get dished up, and everything is washed down with the local wine.

The title of Lefkas’ best beach is a fiercely contested one, but Mikros puts on its boxing gloves and steps into the ring. This stretch of sand is 25 kilometres south of Lefkada Town and it’s set against a backdrop of rolling green hills.

Located in the Epirus region of the Greek mainland, the Acheron River is made up of as much myth as it is water. According to legend, this waterway was one of the 5 rivers of the Greek underworld, which transported souls to the afterlife. It’s nothing sinister to look at though. The clear water is edged by leafy green trees and pretty rock faces, and its banks are a great place to sit with a cup of coffee.

Vassiliki, 25 minutes south of Nidri, is hailed as the best windsurfing spot in Europe. You can almost set your watch by the winds that blow onto the sea from the mountain. The conditions are best for beginners in the morning, and the wind force gets stronger throughout the day. Windsurfers in Vas play as hard as they surf, too, and there’s a lively collection of bars close to the water.

Windsurfing is the mortar the holds the resort of Vassiliki together. In fact, Vassiliki Beach is known as the best place in Europe for the sport. If you want to have a go yourself, pop into one of the windsurfing centres to find out how to get started. There’s a lot of energy about the beach, and the liveliness moves from the sand into the beach bars when it gets too dark to surf.

Before the film adaptation of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin hit the big screen, Nicholas Cage was touted as the heart throb of the footage. But, once the movie went on general release, audiences found themselves falling for Kefalonia, instead. The largest Ionian island is an hour’s ferry ride from Vassiliki in Lefkas. The boat will take you to the pretty harbour of Fiscardo.

For a tiny island, Lefkas punches above its weight when it comes to wine production. Some of its bottles are rated as the best Greek wine going. You can put this theory to the test at one of the island’s wineries. Lefkaditiki, just 10 minutes from Nidri, is one of the best-known. Here, you can see how the grapes go from vine to glass and taste-test the different varieties.

This knees-up has been taking place in Lefkada Town for more than 4 decades. The town’s main square is the event nucleus. Across the course of a week it hosts more than 800 dancers, choreographers, musicians and singers. You’ll see all sorts of idiosyncratic dance styles, including performances where artists complete their routines with barrels on their heads. The costumes tend to be peacock-plumage colourful.

Ligia Beach is the catch-of-the-day capital of Lefkas. The island and his wife come here in the early morning to make the most of the fishing opportunities, and the sandside tavernas and their guests reap the benefits when they return home.

Lefkas is criss-crossed with walking trails. As a walker, you’ll get to leave your boot prints behind in cotton fields, olive groves, vineyards and pine forests. More serious hikers, meanwhile, have the opportunity to scale the island’s mountain peaks, some of which reach more than 1,000 metres. The most popular trails lead through Melissas Gorge, Dimosari Canyon, and Skaron Forest.

A little leg work will take you from the centre of Nidri to the waterfalls on the outskirts of town. The trail leads through vineyards and lemon groves. The water dries up a little at the height of summer, but there’s enough of a cascade on either side of the hot season to form a pool, where you can take a dip. There’s a traditional tavern roughly 400 metres from the falls, too, where you can recuperate after your walk.