The city of Lefkada hides a small yet significant cultural treasure that every visitor should discover. In its seven modest but meaningful museums, stories of people, traditions, and events unfold, illuminating various aspects of life in Lefkada from antiquity to the present day.
Archaeological Museum of Lefkada
The Archaeological Museum of Lefkada, a precious treasure of the island’s cultural heritage, uniquely narrates the long and rich history of the region. Since 1999, it has been housed in the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Lefkada, unfolding across four exhibition halls and showcasing artifacts spanning a wide chronological range from the Middle Paleolithic era to the Late Roman period.
Visitors have the opportunity to view objects originating from the marketplace, the ancient harbor, urban houses, and rural farmsteads, as well as from sanctuaries, funerary monuments, and burial mounds. Of particular interest are the finds from the sites of Steno and Skari in Nydri, the Hoirospilia Cave in Evgiros, the cemeteries of the ancient city of Lefkada, as well as other significant locations such as Asvotrypa in Fryni and the Nymphs’ Cave in Agia Kyriaki. Together, these artifacts create a multifaceted narrative of both the public and private life of ancient Lefkada’s inhabitants.
A significant portion of the collection is linked to the excavations of Wilhelm Dörpfeld, the German archaeologist who searched for the traces of Odysseus in Lefkada, identifying the island with Homeric Ithaca. Today, the museum functions as a living cultural institution, offering educational programs and guided tours. For visitors, it represents a meaningful stop that adds depth, context, and historical perspective to their journey through Lefkada.
Address: Ang. Sikelianou & N. Svoronou, Lefkada
Angelos Sikelianos Museum
Housed in the two-story home where Angelos Sikelianos was born and spent his childhood in Lefkada, this museum is a space of exceptional quality. Purchased by the National Bank of Greece in 2009 and, after a long and meticulous restoration process, handed over to the local community in 2017, it stands as a pioneering museum space of international standards. Essentially, it is a museum that reveals Sikelianos’ world, shedding light on his revolutionary ideas, captivating personality, and the journey of this leading lyric poet, through a contemporary architectural and museological approach designed by distinguished experts.
The visit takes the guest on a journey not only through Sikelianos’ life but also through his work: behind the display cases are not merely personal belongings, but an entire intellectual universe that unfolds the thread of the poet’s creativity, vision, and human vulnerability. Rare exhibits, such as the wedding dress of Anna Sikelianos, the textiles and handmade costumes by Eva Palmer for the Delphic Festivals, manuscripts, extensive photographic material, and recorded recitations in the poet’s own voice, form a museum where Sikelianos is not simply “exhibited,” but remains vividly “present.”
Address: Kyprou 1, Lefkada
Museum of Orpheus
Just a few steps from Lefkada’s central square, in the imposing 1850 mansion that occupies an entire city block, is the Folklore Museum of the Music and Literary Society Orfeas “Pantazis Kontomichis.” Founded in 1978, it has operated in its current form since 2010 as a living repository of the island’s memory, housing over a thousand exhibits that recount the daily life of Lefkadians from the early 19th century.
Tools of rural life, utilitarian objects, items from old professions, urban artifacts, and traditional costumes form a polyphonic narrative of the island’s folk culture, illuminating a way of life that has now passed. Guided by the legacy of the late folklorist Pantazis Kontomichis, to whom the core of the collection owes its existence, the museum serves as a space for knowledge, education, and cultural continuity. Undoubtedly, it is an essential stop for anyone wishing to understand Lefkada beyond its landscape.
Address: Stefanitsi 1, Lefkada
Exhibition of Souvenirs from the International Folklore Festival Museum
On the first floor of the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Lefkada is the Traditional Art Collection of the International Folklore Festival, a space that encapsulates more than fifty years of cross-cultural encounters. The collection includes traditional costumes from countries around the world, textiles, musical instruments, flags, and medals—objects that tell the story of Lefkada’s long-standing relationship with the peoples hosted every summer by the historic Folklore Festival. Far from being a static display of memorabilia, the museum emerges as a living entity, constantly evolving in rhythm with an event that, since 1962, has promoted peace, fellowship, and cultural exchange.
Address: Ang. Sikelianou & N. Svoronou, Lefkada
Lefkada Philharmonic Society Museum
On the ground floor of the historic building of the Lefkada Philharmonic Society is a small yet significant museum that chronicles the journey of an institution inseparably linked to the island’s history and spirit for over a century and a half. It is a space of memory that highlights Lefkada’s musical tradition from 1850 to the present, illuminating both its periods of flourishing and its more challenging times, during which the Philharmonic continuously remained a vibrant part of local life.
Visitors have the opportunity to view rare musical instruments—including a 19th-century sousaphone—historic band uniforms, photographs of musicians and conductors, as well as handwritten musical scores of particular historical value, some dating back to the late 19th century. With more than 150 exhibits, the museum offers a coherent journey through time, providing an in-depth understanding of Lefkada’s musical heritage.
Address: Kontari 1 & Sapphous, Lefkada
Exhibition of Old Objects (Phonograph Museum)
Tucked away on a quiet lane near the central pedestrian street of the market, this small museum feels like a time capsule. The Phonograph Museum houses a unique private collection, filled with sounds, images, and objects that tell stories from another era. Created by the local collector Dimitris Katopodis (Delimaris), the museum was founded in 1990 and features, among other items, dozens of phonographs, vintage records, traditional musical instruments, tools, jewelry, embroidery, banknotes, seals, and period postcards.
Particular highlights include rare artifacts such as a 19th-century rhombus-shaped instrument and the very first radio to ever arrive in Lefkada. This is a space crafted with love and personal dedication, offering visitors an authentic, human perspective on the cultural memory of the region—far from the scale of a major museum, yet intimately close to the essence of history.
Address: Kalkanis 12, Lefkada
Lefkadio Hearn Historical Center
In the heart of Lefkada, within the Municipality’s Cultural Center, the Lefkadio Hearn Historical Center invites visitors on a unique journey into the world of the national poet of the Land of the Rising Sun. Through photographs, texts, artifacts, and interactive displays, Hearn’s life unfolds, from his birth in Lefkada in 1850, his wanderings in Ireland and America, to his final settlement in Japan, where he became the country’s national poet.
Visitors gain insight not only into Hearn’s personal journey but also into the cultures that shaped him, through his open and tolerant view of different traditions and peoples. The exhibition, the result of collaboration between Lefkada and Japanese cities and collectors, features rare first editions of books, photographs, postcards, letters, and collectible Japanese artifacts.
Address: Ang. Sikelianou & N. Svoronou, Lefkada
Photos: Andreas Thermos
