Lefkada has produced important persons of arts and letters. Among them are the great poets Aristotelis Valaoritis and Aggelos Sikelianos. Significant wood engravers are Panos Prosalendis, his sons Efstathios and Dionysios Prosalendis, and his student Giannis Vretos. One can admire their works at "Panagia Xenon" (Our Lady of the Visitors) and the monastery of Faneromeni. Lefkadian artists painted hagiographies and portraits to make ends meet. Among the best are Ioannis Roussos, Spiros Venduras, Spiros Gazis and Vasilis and Leon Sideris. One can admire their works in the island's churches. The first intellectuals of the island appeared during the Venetian domination, and they were graduates of the Italian universities. They brought a western influence to the island which mingled with the peoples passion for liberty. The first Lefkadian literary people were Ioannis Stamatelos, Ioannis Zambelios and his son Spiros Zambelios. In the 19th century, amateur groups gave a boost to the island's quite meagre theatrical productions. In 1850, the Daston family founded the first theatre of Lefkada. In the same year, the Philharmonic Society, which was intended to aid the theatrical development, was also founded.

Most of Lefkada's customs involve singing and dancing. The people of Lefkada like to gather and organize festivals, the most significant being the festival of Panagia Faneromeni, in Lefkada, and the festival of Agia Kiriaki, in Nidri. The island's typical custom is "diana". On the night of the New Year, all the people of Lefkada gather in the square, listen to the music of the Philharmonic Orchestra and have fun by throwing vegetables and barrels into the street while laughing and making noise. During the Epiphany, when the priest throws the cross into the sea, the people of Lefkada throw oranges in the water and afterwards they eat them. The celebration of Easter in Lefkada is not different from the rest of the Ionian Islands. In former times, the priests used to recreate the ceremony of the Last Supper on Good Thursday. Today, all the Epitaphs are gathered in the central square in Good Friday, while, at the same time, the local women make noise throwing clay pots off their balconies. In Lefkada, lamb is not roasted on Sunday but on Easter Monday. On August 7th, in the church of Agios Donatos, near the village of Eglouvi, lentils are cooked, which the locals offer to others, along with olives, bread and salted sardines.

The people of Lefkada love music and dancing. Almost everyone plays a musical instrument such as the mandolin, the guitar, the harmonica or the accordion. In the days gone by, they either sang at their gatherings, their coffee shops, and their homes or they serenaded in the narrow alleyways. Their folk music includes elements both from the mainland of Greece and Italy. The Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1850 and is the oldest one in Greece. Today, the island has a plethora of small and large musical groups and mandolin orchestras. Dancing is an integral part of the Lefkadian festivals. Besides traditional folk dances such as "kalamatianos", "tsamikos", and "syrtos", significant Lefkadian dances are "milia", a combination of syrtos and tsamikos, and "thiakos", a variation of syrtos.

The women of Lefkada work non-stop in the fields and they weave beautiful fabrics in the loom at home. The Lefkadian embroidery is quite well-known abroad. Its patterns depict traditions and everyday life. The best hand-made embroidery is produced in the village of Karia, and it is known as "karisianika" embroidery. Beautiful representations of Lefkadian handicraft are displayed in the Museum of Folklore.

The architecture of Lefkada has been influenced by the West, particularlyVenice, combined with the elements of the post-Byzantine traditions which were preserved due to the island's constant contact with the mainland of Greece. The architecture of the houses depicts the financial status of every district. The older houses were built according to the medieval model, very close to one another, without yards or gardens, two-stories, high, with wooden exterior adornment. The houses of the rich families distinguish themselves, as they have more expensive and striking decoration. Today, the houses are built of wood to withstand the island earthquakes, while other materials such as stone and clay are rare. To withstand earthquakes, the churches have a wooden skeleton behind the walls, to prevent their collapse, thus protecting the people. The island's churches (17-18th century), built mostly by Epirotians, are built according to the simple model of a single-nave basilica.

The traditional dress for men of Lefkada includes the "bourzana", a kind of short pants, a white shirt with wide sleeves which allowed for gesturing and a waistcoat. "Bourzana" was support by a wide, knitted belt, while the head was covered with a scarf or a hat with a tuff called "skorseza". For the legs there were leg-warmers; for the feet, traditional Greek shoes with pom-poms on the toes, called "tsarouhia". On their back they had a sort of cape with short sleeves, called "Kamze". A formal embroidery decorated the waistcoat and the "bourzana" on the slin bone.

The traditional dress of Lefkada's women consisted of a large dress, with a petty-coat, called "Katolo" worn underneath. On the dress, on the chest, the women wore the "spaletta" from where they hung their own ornaments. On their neck and ears they wore small jewels. The cover of the back indicated the marital status of the woman. The young girls wore "sarpa", the older married women wore "berta" and the aged wore "flokati". The head was covered with a small embroidered hat with a large, white scarf, wrapped over it. The traditional wedding outfit of Lefkada was of unique beauty. The main dress was made of silk with harmonious colours. It was long and comfortable. Underneath, the bride wore three "Kotala", two coloured and one which was white and embroidered. On the chest, the bride wore scarf with jewels, called "spaletta". The ears and the hands were covered with pearls. The head was covered with the "Kefalopani", and the silk, embroidered with gold, "fessi" which was decorated with "tremoula" a comb of golden embroidery and pearls. The back was covered by a short vest with beautiful golden embroidery, called "tzoube". Today, the only locals wearing the traditional dress of Lefkada are the women of Karies.

In Lefkada, one should taste "mandolato" and "pasteli", local salami and country rolls. At the coffee shops of the island, orgeate, the local refreshment, is served. At Christmas, the women bake "kourmades" and New Year cakes which are also offered at weddings and funerals with minor variations in the ingredients.

The guitar is a well-known string instrument which is played at the serenades and festivals of the Ionian people. Ancient Egyptian depictions bear witness to its age. It was introduced to Spain by the Arabs and during the 12th century it was spread to the rest of Europe. Although it was used mainly for accompaniment, there were many great guitarists, in the 19th century especially. Among them were Caroulli, Giuliani, Aguando Garcia and later Segovia. The guitar played an essential part in many operas like Rossini's "Barber of Seville", Donitsetti's "Don Pascuale", and Verdi's "Oberon".

The mandolin is a string instrument one can find especially on the Ionian islands. Most of the Ionian people play the mandolin. In their gatherings, one plays and another accompanies with the guitar while the rest sing along. It originated from mandola, the biggest instrument of a lute variation. It has four pairs of metallic chords which one strikes with a small pick. In all probability, it came from its neighbour Italy, where it is very popular. Great musicians have composed pieces for the mandolin. Vivaldi wrote "Concert for two Mandolins" and Bethoven "Five Pieces for Mandolin and Piano".