Places to visit in corfu

Sightseeing

Corfu

A city packed tight between two fortresses, Corfu’s Old Town is a knot of walkable streets and alleys between Venetian and Neoclassical houses painted pale yellow and orange. Allow plenty of time to see every corner and little square, and check out the Archaeological Museum and Casa Parlante, a quirky 19th-century mansion with period interiors and animatronic figures. Defended by insurmountable ramparts, both the New Fortress to the west and Old Fortress to the east deserve your time. The latter goes back to the 6th century and is separated from the city by a ditch and canal crossed by a bridge. In the complex you can see the temple-like Church of St George and the 19th-century British barracks housing Corfu’s library. From the highest walls you’ll be wowed by vistas of the city, coastline, Straits of Corfu and mainland Greece.

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Corfu

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A city packed tight between two fortresses, Corfu’s Old Town is a knot of walkable streets and alleys between Venetian and Neoclassical houses painted pale yellow and orange. Allow plenty of time to see every corner and little square, and check out the Archaeological Museum and Casa Parlante, a quirky 19th-century mansion with period interiors and animatronic figures. Defended by insurmountable ramparts, both the New Fortress to the west and Old Fortress to the east deserve your time. The latter goes back to the 6th century and is separated from the city by a ditch and canal crossed by a bridge. In the complex you can see the temple-like Church of St George and the 19th-century British barracks housing Corfu’s library. From the highest walls you’ll be wowed by vistas of the city, coastline, Straits of Corfu and mainland Greece.

Spianáda

Between the Old Town and the old fortress is the esplanade, a long green square that is a remnant of the Venetian fortifications in the 17th century. During the French occupation of Corfu at the turn of the 19th century the esplanade was planted with trees, while the cricket pitch is a holdover from the British period that followed. Also dating to that time is the Maitland Monument, a Neoclassical peristyle, with 20 Ionic columns around a rotunda, commemorating the Lord High Commissioner Thomas Maitland. The Liston, on the Esplanade’s western boundary is an elegant arcade, also from the French period and designed in the style of the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Great for having a coffee while you stroll around town

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Spianáda

70 Viktoros Dousmani

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Between the Old Town and the old fortress is the esplanade, a long green square that is a remnant of the Venetian fortifications in the 17th century. During the French occupation of Corfu at the turn of the 19th century the esplanade was planted with trees, while the cricket pitch is a holdover from the British period that followed. Also dating to that time is the Maitland Monument, a Neoclassical peristyle, with 20 Ionic columns around a rotunda, commemorating the Lord High Commissioner Thomas Maitland. The Liston, on the Esplanade’s western boundary is an elegant arcade, also from the French period and designed in the style of the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Great for having a coffee while you stroll around town

Kirken til Saint Spiridon

Corfu’s foremost church is from 1580 and its Renaissance bell tower is the highest in the Ionian Islands. Hosting the relics of St Spyridon, brought to Corfu City from Constantinople in the 15th century, the church moved to this location after its predecessor was demolished to make way for the citadel. The marble iconostasis catches the eye for its classical lines, with a pediment and Corinthian columns bordering the paintings. The ceiling is also stunning, with gilded stuccowork around paintings that were first composed by Panagiotis Doxaras in the 18th century, but had to be repainted after deterioration. To the side of the iconostasis is the entrance to the crypt to where the saint’s remains are kept in a double sarcophagus plated with silver leaf.

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Kirken til Saint Spiridon

32 Αγίου Σπυρίδωνος

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Corfu’s foremost church is from 1580 and its Renaissance bell tower is the highest in the Ionian Islands. Hosting the relics of St Spyridon, brought to Corfu City from Constantinople in the 15th century, the church moved to this location after its predecessor was demolished to make way for the citadel. The marble iconostasis catches the eye for its classical lines, with a pediment and Corinthian columns bordering the paintings. The ceiling is also stunning, with gilded stuccowork around paintings that were first composed by Panagiotis Doxaras in the 18th century, but had to be repainted after deterioration. To the side of the iconostasis is the entrance to the crypt to where the saint’s remains are kept in a double sarcophagus plated with silver leaf.

Vlacherna Monastery

One of Corfu’s signature images, the Vlacherna Monastery is on an islet at the end of a narrow jetty off the southern end of the Kanoni Peninsula. The chapel, which you enter beneath a typical campanile, dates to 1685 and has tomb monuments going back to the middle of the 18th century. You can combine a visit with a boat trip to nearby Mouse Island, which we’ll talk about below. Vlacherna and Mouse Island make up a scene to behold from afar, and there’s a pair of hilltop cafeterias on high ground at end of Kanoni where you can take it all in

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Vlacherna Monastery

163 Paleopolis

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One of Corfu’s signature images, the Vlacherna Monastery is on an islet at the end of a narrow jetty off the southern end of the Kanoni Peninsula. The chapel, which you enter beneath a typical campanile, dates to 1685 and has tomb monuments going back to the middle of the 18th century. You can combine a visit with a boat trip to nearby Mouse Island, which we’ll talk about below. Vlacherna and Mouse Island make up a scene to behold from afar, and there’s a pair of hilltop cafeterias on high ground at end of Kanoni where you can take it all in

Mon Repos

The villa was built as a summer residence for the British Lord High Commissioner of the United States of the Ionian Islands, Frederick Adam, and his second wife (a Corfiot), Diamantina 'Nina' Palatino, in 1828–1831, although they had to vacate the villa soon afterwards in 1832 when Adam was sent to serve in India. The villa was rarely used as a residence for later British governors. In 1833, it housed a school of fine arts, while in 1834, the park was opened to the public. Empress Elisabeth of Austria stayed there in 1863. Here she fell in love with the island, where she later built the Achilleion Palace. After the union with Greece in 1864, the villa was granted to King George I of the Hellenes as a summer residence; he renamed it "Mon Repos" (French for "My Rest"). The royal family used it as a summer residence up until King Constantine II fled the country in 1967. The villa subsequently became derelict, but was restored in the 1990s. Several royal births have taken place at the villa, including those of Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark on 26 June 1914,It’s also the birthplace of the late husband to Queen Elizabeth II, his Royal highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 10 June 1921,and Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark on 10 July 1965.Philip was born "on the dining room table".

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Mon Repos

16 Dairpfela

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The villa was built as a summer residence for the British Lord High Commissioner of the United States of the Ionian Islands, Frederick Adam, and his second wife (a Corfiot), Diamantina 'Nina' Palatino, in 1828–1831, although they had to vacate the villa soon afterwards in 1832 when Adam was sent to serve in India. The villa was rarely used as a residence for later British governors. In 1833, it housed a school of fine arts, while in 1834, the park was opened to the public. Empress Elisabeth of Austria stayed there in 1863. Here she fell in love with the island, where she later built the Achilleion Palace. After the union with Greece in 1864, the villa was granted to King George I of the Hellenes as a summer residence; he renamed it "Mon Repos" (French for "My Rest"). The royal family used it as a summer residence up until King Constantine II fled the country in 1967. The villa subsequently became derelict, but was restored in the 1990s. Several royal births have taken place at the villa, including those of Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark on 26 June 1914,It’s also the birthplace of the late husband to Queen Elizabeth II, his Royal highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 10 June 1921,and Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark on 10 July 1965.Philip was born "on the dining room table".

Achilleion

In 1888 Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria, commissioned a summer residence at this elevated setting about 10 kilometres south of Corfu City. This Neoclassical palace was designed by the Italian architect Raffaele Caritto with the hero Achilles as its central theme. The illustrious German sculptor Ernst Herter produced statues inspired by Greek mythology for the grounds (the most famous shows Achilles in his death throes). You can tour the gardens, enriched with balustrades, a colonnade, fountains and Herter’s statues amid palms and trimmed cypress trees. The interior is a museum full of memorabilia relating to Elisabeth of Bavaria, Franz Joseph II, as well as the next occupant, Kaiser Wilhelm II. Upstairs there’s a massive painting of Achilles dragging the body of Hector from his chariot by the Austrian artist Franz Matsch, and the dining hall is decorated with stucco cherubs on blue walls.

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Achilleion

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In 1888 Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria, commissioned a summer residence at this elevated setting about 10 kilometres south of Corfu City. This Neoclassical palace was designed by the Italian architect Raffaele Caritto with the hero Achilles as its central theme. The illustrious German sculptor Ernst Herter produced statues inspired by Greek mythology for the grounds (the most famous shows Achilles in his death throes). You can tour the gardens, enriched with balustrades, a colonnade, fountains and Herter’s statues amid palms and trimmed cypress trees. The interior is a museum full of memorabilia relating to Elisabeth of Bavaria, Franz Joseph II, as well as the next occupant, Kaiser Wilhelm II. Upstairs there’s a massive painting of Achilles dragging the body of Hector from his chariot by the Austrian artist Franz Matsch, and the dining hall is decorated with stucco cherubs on blue walls.

Paleokastritsa Monastery

Topping a rugged headland on the northwest coast, Paleokastritsa Monastery dates to the 13th century and is on the site of a Medieval castle that has long since disappeared. The monastery has a small brotherhood of eight monks who give masses and offer tours of the buildings and lush gardens. Almost every surface of the building is cloaked with bougainvillea and geraniums, and if you’d like to enter the chapel there’s a dress code, and shoulders and legs have to be covered up. The monastery has a small museum with vestments, icons and, strangely, the skeleton of a whale. The monks also cultivate olives and press their own oil, which is sold at the shop.

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Paleokastritsa Monastery

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Topping a rugged headland on the northwest coast, Paleokastritsa Monastery dates to the 13th century and is on the site of a Medieval castle that has long since disappeared. The monastery has a small brotherhood of eight monks who give masses and offer tours of the buildings and lush gardens. Almost every surface of the building is cloaked with bougainvillea and geraniums, and if you’d like to enter the chapel there’s a dress code, and shoulders and legs have to be covered up. The monastery has a small museum with vestments, icons and, strangely, the skeleton of a whale. The monks also cultivate olives and press their own oil, which is sold at the shop.

Paleokastritsa Viewpoint

Nestling just east of the monastery is the exquisite Paleokastritsa Beach. Labelled on some maps as Agios Syridon Beach, this lies at the end of a long inlet with high walls of rock on both sides. The water could hardly be calmer or clearer and is a snorkeller’s dream and just right for families with smaller children. The beach, though narrow, has soft golden sand as opposed to the shingle coves nearby. The limestone coastline around Paleokastritsa is perforated with sea caves, and there’s a jetty on the beach where you can catch boats for a tour.

Paleokastritsa Viewpoint

Nestling just east of the monastery is the exquisite Paleokastritsa Beach. Labelled on some maps as Agios Syridon Beach, this lies at the end of a long inlet with high walls of rock on both sides. The water could hardly be calmer or clearer and is a snorkeller’s dream and just right for families with smaller children. The beach, though narrow, has soft golden sand as opposed to the shingle coves nearby. The limestone coastline around Paleokastritsa is perforated with sea caves, and there’s a jetty on the beach where you can catch boats for a tour.

Angelokastro

On a narrow rocky spur more than 300 metres above the sea, this castle was built in the 13th century as a far-reaching lookout over the sea, mainland Greece and inland across big swathes of Corfu. The approach to Angelokastro is very dramatic, winding up through scrub and cypress trees to this unconquerable fortification which filling its small rocky podium. Under the Venetians from the 14th century, Angelokastro was Corfu’s official capital and held strong against three sieges between the 16th and 18th century. Beyond the walls, not a great deal of the fortress survives, save for the tiny Church of Archangel Michael, which has frescoes from the 1700s. You can view seven sarcophagi hewn from the rock, peer into the castle’s vaulted cistern and gaze in awe at the sea, coast and mountains.

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Angelokastro

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On a narrow rocky spur more than 300 metres above the sea, this castle was built in the 13th century as a far-reaching lookout over the sea, mainland Greece and inland across big swathes of Corfu. The approach to Angelokastro is very dramatic, winding up through scrub and cypress trees to this unconquerable fortification which filling its small rocky podium. Under the Venetians from the 14th century, Angelokastro was Corfu’s official capital and held strong against three sieges between the 16th and 18th century. Beyond the walls, not a great deal of the fortress survives, save for the tiny Church of Archangel Michael, which has frescoes from the 1700s. You can view seven sarcophagi hewn from the rock, peer into the castle’s vaulted cistern and gaze in awe at the sea, coast and mountains.