It was firstly inhabited during the Neolithic Age. Since the 6th B.C. century it belonged to Korinthians who are considered to be responsible for the opening of the isthmus. It was under the domination of several conquerors and finally it was under the dominion of the family Toko. After the A’ Venetian-Turkish War and till 1684 it was occupied by Turks. Afterwards it follows the history of the other Eptanissa. Lefkada is an extension of Aetoloakarnania from which it is separated by an artificial channel connected with two bridges. Access to the island is easy by bus. It is a mountainous island with fascinating beaches. Lefkada is extended in an area of 303 sq.km. and is in a distance of 385 km. from Athens. In the entry of the island, in the capital Lefkada, it is the castle, a building of Sicilian Orsini, that has been changed a lot by the Turks and the Venetians. The city of Lefkada has a wonderful ecosystem of lagoons that is an integrated part of the neighbouring protected by the treaty RAMSAR acquatic park of the Amvrakikos gulf. You can visit the house where it was born in Lefkada Yiakoum Kouizoumi, national poet of Japan, the house of the poetess Kleareti and Bosketo, the park where there are sculptured busts of Ar. Valaorites and Agg. Sikelianos as well as of other emminent persons of Lefkada. In the Archaeological Museum of the city you can see findings of the the collection of Derpfelt and of the excavations made in several regions of the island. Interesting is the Public Library and the Museum of Phonographs or Old Remembrances recalling the romantic period of Lefkada. Following the eastern seaside of the island you wil reach villages built close to the sea that combine the green landscape and the clean sea as the villages of Lyghia and Nikiana. Lyghia is at a distance of 6 km. from Lefkada. Before reaching Lyghia you will pass the settlement Karyotes with the salt pans of Alexander and the castle in an islet facing the salt pans. You can visit the Kilada of Erota (Valley of Love) in the region Paradise and the picturesque port of Lyghia with the fishing boats and the taverns serving fresh fish, Behind Nikiana it is situated the imposing full of trees mountain Skari. Here there are the monasteries of St. George And of Sts. Pateres. Periyali is a picturesque by the sea village. Following the road you reach Nydri built facing the Prighiponissa, Madouri of Aristotelis Valaorites, Heloni, Scorpios and Sparti of Onassis, Scorpidi of Levanos. Traditional villages that have preserved their local colour and their cultural identity too are Syvota, St.Nikitas built in the homonym bay and in a location full of olive-trees with the famous beach Kathisma as well as Kalamitsi in a region full of trees. Bafkeri, about 22 km. south of the capital, is a picturesque mountainous village with stone-built houses. The oldest, traditional settlements of the island are those of the municipality of Sfakioton including the villages Spanohori, Lazarata, Kavalo. Pinakohori, Asprogerakata. Here, the mountainous landscape with the traditionally built houses of the villages is split in the middle by a fruitful valley. The village Vassiliki, one of the most touristical places, is at a distance of 38 km. from Lefkada and it is built in the homonym gulf. The bay of Vassiliki is considered to be ideal for surfing due to the particular conditions of the wind.