ARGOSTÓLI , Kefalloniá's capital, is a large and thriving town, virtually a city, with a marvellous site on a bay within a bay. The stone bridge, connecting the two sides of the inner bay, was initially constructed by the British in 1813. A small obelisk remains, but the plaque commemorating "the glory of the British Empire" has disappeared. The town was totally rebuilt after the earthquake, but has an enjoyable streetlife that remains defiantly Greek, especially during the evening vólta around Platía Metaxá - the nerve centre of town - and along the pedestrianized Lithóstrotou, which runs parallel to the seafront.

 

The Korgialenio History and Folklore Museum (Mon-Sat 9am-2pm; ¬3), on Ilía Zervoú behind the Municipal Theatre, has a rich collection of local religious and cultural artefacts, including photographs taken before and after the 1953 quakes. Insight into how the island's nobility used to live can be gained from a visit to the new Focas-Cosmetatos Foundation , on Valianoú opposite the provincial government building. It contains elegant furniture and a collection of lithographs and paintings, including works by nineteenth-century British artists Joseph Cartwright and Edward Lear. The newly refurbished Archeological Museum (Tues-Sun 8.30am-3pm; ¬1.50), on nearby R. Vergóti, has a sizeable collection of pottery, jewellery, funerary relics and statuary from prehistoric, through Mycenaean to late Classical times. It is well laid out and labelled, rivalling Kérkyra Town's as the best such museum in the Ionians.