37o 07,76" N. 26o 51,40" E

Ayia Marina, a small coastal settlement and one of the two harbors in the island, has expanded with time and joined up with Platanos, the oldest settlement and the capital of the island.It is the administrative and commercial center and has the most tourist activity.

From afar it looks like a small city spread out in an amphitheatrical shape between two mountain slopes with white houses which stretch from the waterfront all the way to the foot of Kastro. (Fortress)

Many traditional two-story houses have been preserved in Platanos

and among them are numerous mansions so densely built that they

create narrow, picturesque lanes which lure the visitor down them.

To savour the nostalgic atmosphere of the old town, Avlaki with its

fountainswith the pure water from the Paliaskloupi spring, or to visit

the old windmill.

Town-Hall is housed in two neoclassical buildings and next to it is an

authentic traditional coffeehouse, the "Lerian Club" one of the few that

have survived today.Platanos and Ayia Marina, now indissolubly

connected communities have the largest market on the island. It is a

beautiful, small and hospitable town which has a lot to offer you, from

its modern stores, where you can buy anything yourheart desires, to

he beguiling view from the fabulous Panayia Kastro. Built on top of

Apityki hill, it stands commandingly above Ayia Marina, controlling

the entire region with a panoramic view over the boundless blue

Aegean Sea from Patmos to Kalymnos and beyond to the shores of

Asia Minor. If you enjoy aromantic hike, you can reach it by ascending

through the neighborhoods of Platanos going toward Ayia Paraskevi

and from there you take the path with its approximately 500 stairs.

For those in a hurry there is a comfortable automobile road. The

Byzantine castle which was founded on the ruins of the ancient

acropolis of Leros in the 7th century A .D. and completed during the

time of Knights of St. John and the Venetians, is well- maintained.

In its time it was impregnable with three ramparts and offered a sure

refuge to the inhabitants during periods of hostile incursions.small

coastal settlement and one of the two harbors in the island, has

expanded with time and joined up with Platanos, the oldest settlement

and the capital of the island.