Corfu Travel Guide

Corfu Town is a Venetian-style city-state on the Ionian Sea, ruled in turn by Venice, France and Britain, a UNESCO World Heritage site. A chessboard of narrow lanes, the arcaded Liston promenade and Spianada square keep a strong Italian-Mediterranean air; the Old and New Fortresses guard the harbour over the Adriatic blue. Cafés, the Esplanade and seafront weave a lazy, elegant island rhythm — the most international and relaxed corner of western Greece.

The Achilleion is a neoclassical palace on Corfu, built by Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the late 19th century, themed on Achilles the Homeric hero, with statues of the 'Dying Achilles' and 'Achilles Victorious' in its gardens. Overlooking Corfu's south coast and the Ionian Sea, its interiors brim with frescoes and sculpture and broad terrace views. A meeting of European royal romance and Greek classical worship, it is Corfu's most splendid mansion ruin.

Paleokastritsa is a hidden bay on Corfu's west coast, where olive-clad hills cradle several emerald inlets with crystal-clear water and craggy reefs — hailed as the island's most beautiful shore. An Orthodox monastery on the cliff overlooks the headland, with blue bays and pine woods forming a classic Greek island picture. Ideal for kayaking into caves, snorkelling and doing nothing, it is Corfu's most relaxed and photogenic natural corner.

The Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio) occupies a promontory jutting into the sea east of Corfu's old town, a sea fortress the Venetians built to guard the island. Its origins reach back to Byzantine times; the Venetians greatly expanded it, dividing the twin peaks with an artificial moat, and today a bridge links it to the town. Inside are the church of St George, old barracks and lookouts, and the summit looks over the red-tiled town, the bay and the mainland hills. The British also remodelled it. Allow 1-2 hours, with fine light and views in the evening.

Mon Repos stands in its estate on the southern edge of Corfu town, built between 1828 and 1831 as a residence for Sir Frederick Adam, the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. The neoclassical villa is set among pine woods and gardens and feels secluded. In 1921 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born here. The villa now opens as a museum of archaeological and historical finds, and the estate also contains ruins of ancient Palaiopolis. Allow 1-2 hours for a relaxed stroll.

Kanoni is a headland viewpoint on the southern edge of Corfu town, named after the Venetian cannon once mounted here. Its fame rests on the view of the Vlacherna Monastery and the pine-covered islet of Pontikonisi, which together form Corfu's classic postcard scene. Cafés on the terrace overlook the lagoon and passing aircraft. Nearby lie the Palaiopolis archaeological site and the Mon Repos estate. It suits a short photo stop of about an hour, with the best light and reflections in the evening.