Lefkáda: Inland and West Coast

You should at least venture into the interior of Lefkada, where traditional farming villages occupy the fertile uplands surrounded by mountains, and it wasn’t unusual a couple of decades ago to encounter an older woman in her traditional long brown skirts, bodice and kerchief, sitting with distaff in hand, at her loom, or over her embroidery.

Set in a smiling amphitheatre, Karyá is one of the largest villages, the centre of the island’s lace and embroidery industry, with several shops around the pretty plateía shaded by fat plane trees. Don’t miss the delightful Folklore Museum with a donkey-powered flour mill and exhibits on Maria Koutsochéro from Karyá, whose lace was in international demand around 1900.