Argostoli Area
Argostoli-the capital of the island
The town of Argostoli was devastated by the 1953 earthquake and very few original features remain. Although unlike Zakynthos town it was not rebuilt in its "venetian" style, it has an attractive waterfront which features a colourful fruit market, for farmers to sell their produce.Much of the daily fish catch on Kefalonia is sold in the fish market, next to the waterfront, where taverna owners and locals await the early morning catch.Smaller fishing caiques sell directly from boxes on the quayside.
A 650m causeway-the Drapano bridge, stradles the natural westcoast harbour. Early evening this can be an excellent place to catch a glimpse of a loggerhead turtle. Small fishing boats selling their daily catch add to the charm. Palm trees and seats line the attractive promenade, which has a tourist office at the northern end near the departure point for the hourly car ferry to Lixouri. (Departs on the half hour as far as I can remember from around 7.30am) The promenade area gets very busy and it is not always easy to park, particularly during the peak summer months, so I would suggest parking near the supermarkets and Ktel bus depot, as you enter the town of argostoli, from the southern end of the island.During the busy months the main square is also closed to traffic, so do look out carefully for the roadsigns.
The main street Lithostroto is pedestrianised and has lots of shops, remember that shops in Greece close at 2.00pm until around 5.00pm.Many of the resorts do not have chemists,banks or cash machines, you will find these in Argostoli near to the main square, and along the northern part of the waterfront, heading for the ferry area.
Argostoli has an attractive main square the Platia Vallianou, with plenty of bars and tavernas in which to sit and watch the world go by.This area is a good place to visit in the evening if you want a bit of nightlife.
The main bus depot for the island is situated in Argostoli near to
the drapano causeway, from here you can catch busses to Sami, Skala and Katelios and Fiskardo, fares are extremely reasonable
but busses do get busy and are infrequent! Check the departure times for
your return journey carefully as taxi's rides on the island tend to be expensive
due to the distance between resorts.
Argostoli has two museums, the Archaeological museum and the Korgialenios History and Folklore museum.The first has some interesting exhibits including Mycenean,Hellenistic and Roman finds from around the island. It is open from Tues to Sunday 8.30am to 3.00pm, and is worth a visit. The later, situated beneath the library is a much more varied collection for the visitor to the island,exhibiting artefacts mainly relating to 19th century life on the island. It has some excellent photographs of Argostoli before the earthquake, similar to the original photograph above which I bought at auction.It is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 2.00pm. A small admission charge applies to both museums.
If you are staying in Argostoli, the nearest sandy beaches are in the popular resorts of Lassi and Svoronata.
The venetian kastro of St George (once the capital of the island) is 9 km south of Argostoli, and is definitely worth a visit.