Vathy is Ithaca's capital and the largest settlement on the island, sitting at the end of one of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean. The town wraps around the bay in a horseshoe of pastel houses, with the wooded slopes rising steeply behind. The 1953 Ionian earthquake destroyed almost everything; what stands today was rebuilt in traditional style afterwards.
The waterfront is the heart of the town — tavernas, a couple of cafes, the ferry quay, and yachts at anchor in the harbour. It is small enough to walk end to end in twenty minutes. The Archaeological Museum is modest but pleasant, and the Cathedral of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary has a fine carved icon screen that survived the earthquake.
Just offshore lies the tiny islet of Lazareto, with a single chapel — a popular subject for photographs from the harbour mouth.