Lefkáda: East and South Coast

The east coast of Lefkáda is green and bedecked with beaches. Just a few kilometres south of Lefkáda Town at Kaligóni, on a hill near the shore, are the scant ruins of ancient Nerikus, the pre-Corinthian city where archaeolgist Wilhelm Dörpfeld found Cyclopean walls, traces of roads, arches, a water tank, and a pre-Roman theatre, as well as early Byzantine ruins, visible after some scrambling through the olives.

Further south is the ex-fishing village of Lygiá, now a resort with narrow shingle beaches and good walking – one seductive possibility is the path up the Valley of Love (Kiláda tou Érota).

Nikiána, spread out more attractively, has striking mainland views. Further south is Perigiáli, with a fine beach and new hotels, and, 2km further on, Lefkáda’s tourist fleshpot, Nydrí.

Nydrí and Vlychó Bay

Nydrí looks out over lovely, Vlychó Bay, its still waters dotted with the wooded Pringipónisia (Prince’s Islets), which makes for some of the best (and safest) sailing in Greece