Lefkada Town

The island capital is a small, low town at the northeastern corner of the island, with a distinctive architectural style born of seismic necessity. Most older buildings have a stone ground floor and a corrugated-metal upper storey painted in bright pastel colours — an awkward but charming response to the 1948 earthquake. The main street, Ioannou Mela, is a pedestrianised line of cafés, shops, and small Italianate churches built during four centuries of Venetian rule.

Allow a half day. Highlights include the Phonograph Museum, the Folklore Museum, and the long causeway over the lagoon to the Castle of Santa Maura.

things to do sight neighbourhood
A story
After the 1948 earthquake that flattened much of Lefkada Town, locals rebuilt with a system designed to ride out the next one: a heavy stone or rubble ground floor topped by lighter timber and corrugated metal upper storeys, painted in cheerful colours. It looks improvised — and it is — but it has come through every subsequent quake intact.