Lesbos has been a land of civilisation and culture since antiquity. Arts and Letters have always enjoyed pride of place in the lives of its inhabitants, as documented by the island’s scattered archaeological findings and monuments dating back to the Stone Age. Lesbos is the home of Sappho and Arion, of naïf folk artist Theophilos Hatzimihail, and Nobel Laureate for Literature, poet Odysseas Elytis. The island is also a destination of religious tourism attracting pilgrims to its significant monasteries. The island maintains a strong cultural footprint to date, reflected in various ways: an excellent network of museums bridging the past with the present and future; a wealth of artistic works; a range of thematic festivals, exhibitions and other events and actions organised and hosted throughout the year. Lesbos’ outstanding cultural stock includes unadulterated traditional hamlets, its characteristic architecture, its industrial heritage apparent in exceptional buildings erected by merchants and landowners in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

Lesvos: A historical overview

Archeological Sites and Monuments

Religious Monuments

Museums

Modern and Contemporary Architecture

Cities, towns and settlements on Lesvos

Traditional Professions