Dodecanese Leros Island guide Car hire

Leros, Greece: Lakki Art-Deco, Beaches, Villages and the Castle of Pandeli

Leros is a Greek island in the Dodecanese, in the eastern Aegean between Patmos and Kalymnos. It keeps fewer hotels than the nearby islands of Samos and Kos, so it stays quiet and low-key. The island is best known for the Italian Art-Deco town of Lakki, built during the Italian occupation, for its sandy east-coast beaches at Alinda and Pandeli, and for the medieval Castle of Pandeli that stands above Platanos and Agia Marina. Hire a car to reach the parts of Leros the buses miss, covered in our Leros car hire guide.

Leros, the Dodecanese, Greece — The island of Leros, Dodecanese, Greece

Group: Dodecanese
Main town: Platanos & Agia Marina
Main port: Lakki
Airport: Leros (Athens)

The island of Leros

Leros is a small island in the Dodecanese, in the eastern Aegean between Patmos to the north and Kalymnos to the south. It has fewer hotels than the larger neighbouring islands of Samos and Kos, where the choice of accommodation is much wider, which keeps Leros quiet and less touristy. Deep bays cut into the coast on every side, so the villages sit around sheltered harbours and beaches rather than along one strip. The main port is Lakki on the south-west coast, the main towns are Platanos and its harbour Agia Marina on the east, and the largest resort is Alinda in the north-east. You can easily combine Leros with another Dodecanese island on an island-hopping trip.

History of Leros

Leros carries a long history, most visible today in the Italian buildings of Lakki. The first inhabitants arrived in the Neolithic period; the Phoenicians and Minoans lived here until the Dorians drove them out, and after the Persian wars Leros joined the Athenian Alliance. In Byzantine times many churches were built and the castle of Paliokastro was raised. The Knights of Saint John of Rhodes held the island from 1314 until the Turks took it in 1523. Between 1912 and 1943 the Italians occupied Leros, turned it into a naval base and left a deep mark on its architecture, building the new town of Lakki. Leros became part of modern Greece again in 1948. The wartime and post-war history is set out on the Leros sights guide.

Beaches of Leros

Leros keeps its busiest beaches on the sheltered east coast, where Alinda, Pandeli and Vromolithos hold soft sand, tamarisk shade and a row of tavernas. The quieter west and south have the wider sands of Gourna and Xirokambos, which suit travellers who want peace, while Blefoutis and Partheni sit in protected bays in the north. Most beaches lie in their own bay a short drive apart. The full run is described in the Leros beaches guide.

Sights of Leros

The main sight of Leros is Lakki itself, a town of Italian Art-Deco and Rationalist buildings from the 1920s and 1930s, unlike anything on the other Greek islands. The island also keeps the medieval Castle of Pandeli above Platanos, a war museum and a wartime monument at Lakki, the Church of Agios Ioannis Theologos with 11th-century mosaics, the old Paleokastro near Xirokambos, and the church of Agios Isidoros standing on a rock in the sea at Gourna. These are gathered in the Leros sights guide.

Villages of Leros

Leros keeps its life in a handful of villages set around its bays. Lakki on the south-west is the Italian-built port and commercial centre, Platanos and its harbour Agia Marina form the traditional main town on the east coast, Alinda in the north-east is the largest resort, and Pandeli is the old fishing village just below the capital.

Lakki

Lakki is the main port and commercial centre of Leros, on the south-west coast, and the town the Italians built during their occupation. Its wide streets and public buildings are laid out in the Italian Art-Deco and Rationalist style of the 1920s and 1930s, which makes it look unlike any other Greek island town. Lakki holds the island's shops, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and apartments, along with the Church of Agios Ioannis Theologos with its 11th-century mosaics and the island's war museum, both described in the Leros sights guide.

Agia Marina & Platanos

Agia Marina is the second harbour of Leros and, with the hill town of Platanos just above it, forms the traditional main town of the island. Unlike Lakki, Agia Marina is built in the ordinary Greek-island style, with white houses, narrow alleys and stairs, and it holds its own charm and architecture. The village has shops, travel agencies, bars, mini-markets, hotels and apartments, and it is a ferry port with boats to Patmos, Lipsi, Samos, Kos, Kalymnos, Symi, Rhodes and Nisyros. Platanos climbs the slope behind it towards the Castle of Pandeli.

Alinda

Alinda lies 3 km north-west of Agia Marina and is the largest tourist resort on Leros, with the best spread of facilities on the island. Its long Alinda Beach has soft sand and clear water, and the village offers watersports, restaurants, apartments, studios, hotels, mini-markets, bars and car rentals. The Belenis tower here holds a small museum. Nearby lie the coves of Panagies and Lisgaria and, on the way in, the quiet bay of Krithoni with its eucalyptus and tamarisk trees.

Pandeli

Pandeli is a traditional fishing village about 2 km from the capital, in the bay of the same name below Platanos. Its beach has soft sand and some pebbles with tamarisk trees for shade, and fish tavernas along the shore serve fresh fish and drinks. Pandeli is popular with both locals and visitors, and the neighbouring beach of Vromolithos, a short distance away, is said to be the best spot on the island to watch the sunrise.

Where to stay

Accommodation on Leros is spread among its villages rather than gathered in one resort. Alinda in the north-east is the largest resort and holds the widest choice of hotels, studios and apartments; Platanos and Agia Marina put you in the traditional main town; and Pandeli and Vromolithos suit a quieter base by the sea. Hans stayed at the Archontiko Angelou in Alinda, a hotel in a restored Italian villa that he rates the best on the island. Compare the options in the Leros hotels & villas guide.

Where to eat

Leros serves its best food around the harbours of Agia Marina and Pandeli and in the resort of Alinda. The fish tavernas of Pandeli cook fresh fish on the shore, Agia Marina and Alinda hold tavernas and bars, and Xirokambos has a taverna at the edge of the beach. The dining spots Hans visited are set out in the Leros restaurants guide.

Getting to Leros

Leros has an airport in the north of the island with daily flights to Athens. It is also linked by daily ferries to Piraeus and to most of the Dodecanese, including Patmos, Kalymnos, Samos, Kos and Rhodes. The nearest international airports are on Kos and Samos, so many visitors fly to one of those islands and continue to Leros by ferry rather than making the long sea journey from Piraeus. This also makes Leros easy to combine with another island on an island-hopping trip.