A magnificent castle, romantic roads and beaches where greenery meets the sapphire blue sea.
Corfu‘s iconic town mansions, the famous Liston Arcade and Spianada Square, the largest in the Balkans. Venetians, English, French, Russians, Greeks, French, Russians, Greeks have all lived and flourished here, leaving their mark on the island’s numerous sights and charms. The different cultures you will discover in the musical notes played by Corfu’s street bands are sculpted in every glass of kumquat liqueur, in the narrow alleyways of Campiello and in every love flame ignited in the Canal d’Amour(Love Canal). Corfu, or Kerkyra in Greek, will seduce you.
What to do in Corfu
The rocky coastal island of Corfu, Koryfo (Κορυφώ), meaning hill, is located on two low hills on the eastern side of the city. You enter the Old Fort (Palaio Frourio), begun in the 13th century, over a bridge across a moat filled with sea water. Here you will find the Porta Sopranza, the English barracks, the two winged lions of St Mark, the Madonna del Carmine, the Savorgnan bastion, the Sea Castle and the Earth Castle (Castel del Mar, Castel della Terra) and the English-built church of St George, which looks like a Doric temple. It is an open-air museum and each of its sights offers a journey back in time. The New Fort (Neo Frourio), another guard rising on the north-western border of the capital, is a masterpiece of military architecture built by the Venetians between 1572 and 1645. It is a fortress whose planes and angles recall the Cubist periods of Picasso and Braque.
Corfu’s trademark is actually the other islands: The tiny Pontikonisi, which translates as Mouse Island, is only big enough to hold the monastery of Pantokrator. Next to it is the islet of Vlacherna, famous for its 17th-century monastery dedicated to Mary, connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. The masses come here on Easter Monday.
Legend has it that if you swim in Canal d’Amour, you will find your soul mate. The natural passage formed by smooth rocks is like a tunnel. In Sidari you will enjoy two special beaches with sandstone formations.
Glyfada, Dasia, Ermones, Paleokastritsa, Sidari, Kavos (famous for its noisy parties), Kontokali, Benitses, Halikounas. The list of beaches is endless. Isolated picturesque bays or large and crowded beaches with beach bars, tavernas, shops and water sports. Moreover, most of the beaches boast luxury hotels.
