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VassilikiHome · Palairos

Palairos and the area

A fishing village, with six islands across the water.

Palairos sits on the coast of Aetolia-Acarnania, on the mainland, where few tourists stop. They drive straight on to Lefkada, an hour away. You get Lefkada for the day and Palairos for the evening.

10 km20 km30 km1Vathiavali2Ancient Palairos3Lefkada4Porto Katsiki5Cape Lefkatas6Skorpios7Meganisi8Kalamos and Kastos9Vonitsa10NikopolisVassiliki Home
The coast around the house. Circles every 10 km. Coastline: OpenStreetMap.

Day trips

  1. 1

    Vathiavali20 min

    Beach

    White pebbles and turquoise water, facing the islands. The best beach on this coast, according to the locals.

  2. 2

    Ancient Palairos25 min

    Ancient site

    The walls of the ancient city, on a hill above Lake Voulkaria. Go in the morning, before the heat.

  3. 3

    Lefkada35 min

    The island

    Linked to the mainland by a floating bridge, guarded since 1300 by the castle of Agia Mavra. Wander round the old town, then along the marina.

  4. 4

    Porto Katsiki1 hr 30

    Beach

    The postcard beach, at the foot of a white cliff. Go early in the morning, or by boat from Nydri.

  5. 5

    Cape Lefkatas1 hr 40

    Cliff

    The lighthouse at the southern tip of Lefkada, built on the site of a temple to Apollo. Legend has it that the poet Sappho threw herself into the sea from here.

  6. 6

    SkorpiosBy boat

    Island

    Aristotle Onassis’s island, where he married Jacqueline Kennedy on 20 October 1968. Boat trips from Nydri sail around it.

  7. 7

    MeganisiFerry from Nydri

    Island

    Twenty-five minutes by ferry from Nydri. Three villages, and bays you can only reach by boat.

  8. 8

    Kalamos and KastosFerry from Mytikas

    Islands

    Mytikas is 17 minutes away, then it’s 35 minutes on the ferry. Kalamos has 342 inhabitants, Kastos about forty, and the pines grow right down to the water.

  9. 9

    Vonitsa20 min

    Town

    A Venetian castle on the hill, and the shops to fill the fridge.

  10. 10

    Nikopolis40 min

    Ancient site

    The “city of victory”, founded by Octavian after he beat Antony and Cleopatra at Actium on 2 September 31 BC. The battle was fought next to the airport.

Papanikolis Cave

A sea cave cut into the cliffs of Meganisi. Excursion boats go there from Nydri, under an hour’s drive from the house.

Palairos harbour and its caiques

The village

Palairos harbour

Fishing caiques along the quay and a row of tavernas. Have grilled fish for dinner and watch the sailing boats come in.

Above the village, a city four thousand years old

On a hill south of Lake Voulkaria, 25 minutes from the house, the walls of ancient Palairos still stand several courses of stone high. Some may date back to 2000 BC. In 431 BC the city fought on the side of Athens. The climb is steep, and the view over the Ionian Sea is worth it.

At the table

Fish landed that morning, feta, tomatoes that actually taste of something, olive oil from the hills behind the village. And wine from the Gerokostopoulos estate in Palairos, a winemaking family since 1864, who open their cellar for tastings.

The harbour at Sami, its sailing boats and quayside tavernas

Sami, on the neighbouring island of Kefalonia