🪪 The island at a glance
📍 Where it is
Corfu is the northernmost of the large Ionian Islands, at the north-western edge of Greece. Opposite, to the east, is Epirus with the port of Igoumenitsa, and at its northern tip the island comes so close to Albania that from Kassiopi you can clearly see the houses on the opposite shore. To the south lie Paxos and Antipaxos. There is no ferry from Piraeus: you come by plane or by road via Igoumenitsa.
📍 Where Corfu is
Corfu lies at the north-western tip of Greece, in the Ionian Sea, opposite Igoumenitsa and very close to the coast of Albania. Its shape is shown in red. From Athens you arrive by plane, or by bus from the Kifissos KTEL station to Igoumenitsa and then by ferry, the dashed line.
🗺️ The map of the island
Corfu is shaped like a sickle. The north is broad and mountainous, with Pantokrator, the highest peak, and steep coasts with rocky coves. The centre has the town on the east coast and the long sandy beaches and bays of Paleokastritsa on the west. The south is long, narrow and low, with dunes and quiet villages, all the way to the resort of Kavos at the tip. Everywhere you see olive trees: the island is covered in olive groves.
🗺️ The map of Corfu
The town and the airport are in the middle of the east coast. At the top right rises Pantokrator, with Kassiopi and Kalami below. On the left, on the west coast, are Paleokastritsa and the long sandy beaches. In the north is Sidari, and in the long, low south are Issos and Lefkimmi. Tap each number to see what it is.
Map: Eric Gaba (Sting) (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
⚖️ Is it worth it? The pros and cons
Corfu is loved by people who like history and greenery. But there are things worth knowing in advance. Here is an honest picture.
📊 At a glance, from 1 to 5
👍 The pros
- The Old Town: Venetian, French and British all at once, with nothing like it in Greece.
- The greenest of the large islands, with olive trees, cypresses and mountains.
- Variety: sandy beaches in the west, rocky coves in the north-east, mountain villages.
- Flights from all over Europe and the most special Easter in Greece.
- Alive all year round, with music, brass bands and a lively town.
👎 The cons
- No ferry from Piraeus: you either fly or travel by road to Igoumenitsa.
- It rains more than in the Aegean, even in May and October.
- Some resorts, such as Kavos, have loud mass tourism.
- The roads are narrow and winding, and summer traffic is heavy.
- The Old Town gets crowded when cruise ships dock.
📜 A little history
In antiquity Corfu was a rich seafaring city and, according to tradition, the island of the Phaeacians, where Odysseus was washed ashore and met Nausicaa. From the late 14th century, for about four centuries until 1797, it was Venetian. The Venetians fortified the town with two great fortresses and walls, and Corfu withstood the Ottoman sieges: it is one of the few places in Greece that never became part of the Ottoman Empire.
Then came the French, who built the Liston, a short-lived Greek state, the Septinsular Republic, and from 1815 the British, who left behind cricket, ginger beer and buildings such as the Palace of St Michael and St George. Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first governor of Greece, came from Corfu. The Ionian Islands joined Greece in 1864.
Map: Vincenzo Coronelli (Public domain) · Wikimedia Commons
🏰 The Old Town
The Old Town of Corfu has been a UNESCO site since 2007. It is a town of tall, colourful houses with green shutters, narrow lanes called kantounia, small squares and steps, a bit like Venice without the canals. At its heart is the Spianada, one of the largest squares in Greece, where cricket is still played, and next to it the Liston, a row of arcades built by the French, with cafés underneath.
Opposite the Spianada, on a rocky headland, is the Old Fortress, separated from the town by a moat of seawater. Climb up to the clock tower for views over the whole town. At the other end, above the harbour, is the New Fortress. In between, in the lanes, is Saint Spyridon, the church of the patron saint, with the tallest bell tower in town. A little further north, the Museum of Asian Art is housed in the Palace of St Michael and St George.
A UNESCO site since 2007.
Coffee under the French arcades.
The patron saint and the tallest bell tower.
Views from the walls to the sea.
A Venetian fortress above the harbour.
Opposite, the mountains of Epirus.
Photos: Martin Falbisoner (CC BY-SA 4.0), Radosław Botev (CC BY 3.0 pl), Dietmar Rabich (CC BY-SA 4.0), Marc Ryckaert (CC BY 3.0), Anton Zelenov (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Easter in Corfu is one of the most special in Greece. On Good Friday the epitaphios processions go out with the brass bands, and on the morning of Holy Saturday, at the “First Resurrection”, residents throw large clay pots, the botides, from their balconies to smash in the streets. Book your accommodation months ahead.
Photo: Cplakidas (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
⛪ Kanoni and the Achilleion
South of town, on the Kanoni peninsula, you will see Corfu’s most famous view: the white monastery of Vlacherna on an islet joined to the shore by a causeway, and behind it the green islet of Pontikonisi, which you reach by small boat. Right next to it is the airport runway, and planes fly very low over the lagoon.
A little further south, in the village of Gastouri, is the Achilleion, the palace built by Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Sisi, and dedicated to Achilles. It was later bought by the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. It has gardens overlooking the sea and a huge statue of Achilles.
Corfu’s most famous postcard.
The palace of Empress Sisi.
The statue in the palace garden.
Photos: Jean-François Gornet (CC BY-SA 2.0), Marc Ryckaert (CC BY 3.0), Dietmar Rabich (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
🌊 The west coast: Paleokastritsa, Sidari and the sandy beaches
Paleokastritsa is one of the most beautiful spots in the Ionian: small bays with turquoise water among tree-covered hills. On the headland is the Monastery of the Virgin, and from the little jetty boats leave for the sea caves. A little to the north, on a sheer rock, is the Byzantine Angelokastro, with views along the whole coast. Higher still, the Bella Vista lookout in the village of Lakones gives the best-known panorama of the bays.
On the north coast, at Sidari, the sea has carved the sandstone rocks into channels and little coves. The most famous is the Canal d’Amour. Further south on the west coast, Glyfada and Agios Gordios have long sandy beaches below green hills and the island’s finest sunsets. In the south, Issos has dunes and plenty of space.
Bays, caves and green hills.
On the headland, overlooking the sea.
A Byzantine castle on a rock.
The Canal d’Amour.
Sandstone carved by the waves.
Sunset on the west coast.
Photos: Rob Hooft (CC BY-SA 2.5), Dietmar Rabich (CC BY-SA 4.0), Dr.K. (CC BY-SA 3.0), Kritzolina (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Corfu gets much more rain than the islands of the Aegean. That is why it is full of olive trees and woods. In spring and autumn take a rain jacket: showers come quickly and go quickly.
⛰️ Pantokrator and the north-east coast
Pantokrator, at 906 metres, is the island’s highest peak. A narrow road climbs to the monastery at the summit, with views over all of Corfu and the coast of Albania. On its slopes is Old Perithia, an old stone village that was abandoned and is now coming back to life with a few tavernas.
Below the mountain, the north-east coast has small pebble coves, rocks and very clear water, with pines and cypresses down to the sea. Kassiopi is a fishing village with a little harbour and the ruins of a castle. In Kalami is the White House, where the writer Lawrence Durrell lived in the 1930s. His brother Gerald wrote about his childhood on the island in My Family and Other Animals.
The island’s highest peak.
A fishing village and castle on the north coast.
Small rocky beaches with clear water.
The Durrells’ house on the water.
Photos: Piotrus (CC BY-SA 3.0), Marc Ryckaert (CC BY 3.0), Dietmar Rabich (CC BY-SA 4.0), Klarqa (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
🍽️ What to eat
Corfu’s cuisine has a lot of Venice in it. Try pastitsada, rooster or beef stewed in tomato with spices and thick pasta, sofrito, beef with garlic and vinegar, and bourdeto, fish with plenty of red pepper. For dessert, mandolato nougat and sweets made with kumquat, a small citrus fruit grown here that is also made into a liqueur. And if you find it, tsitsibira, Corfu’s ginger beer from the British era.
📅 When to go
May and June are ideal, with green nature and fewer people, and so is September. In July and August it is hot, and the town and beaches fill up. Easter is the most special time for the town. In winter Corfu carries on as normal, but it rains often and the resorts close.
✈️ How to get there from Athens
| How | Duration | From | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✈️ Plane | About one hour | Athens airport | The fastest option. The airport is right next to town. |
| 🚌 Bus and ferry | Almost a whole day | Kifissos KTEL station | KTEL bus to Igoumenitsa, then a ferry of about 1–1.5 hours to town. |
| 🚗 Car and ferry | Almost a whole day | Athens | Via the Ionia Odos motorway to Igoumenitsa, with the car on the ferry. |
From Ioulianou 50, for the airport take Line 1 to Monastiraki and then Line 3 towards the Airport. For the Kifissos KTEL station, take Line 1 one stop to Omonia and from there bus 051. Corfu airport is just a few kilometres from the Old Town. See our guide to ferries from Piraeus for the other islands.
🚗 Getting around the island
- Car: the best way to see the villages, Pantokrator and the small beaches. The roads are narrow and winding: allow more time than the map suggests.
- Green KTEL buses: from town to Paleokastritsa, Sidari, Kassiopi, Glyfada and the south.
- Blue city buses: for nearby places such as Kanoni and the Achilleion.
- Boats: to Paxos and Antipaxos, and to the Diapontia islands in the north.
🛏️ Where to stay
| Region | For whom | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Old Town | Couples, first visit | Everything on foot, close to buses and the airport. |
| Paleokastritsa | Nature, sea | Gorgeous, with few sandy beaches and crowds at midday. |
| North-east coast: Kassiopi, Kalami, Agios Stefanos | Peace and quiet, families | Rocks, clear water, a calm atmosphere. |
| West coast: Glyfada, Agios Gordios | Beach, sunsets | Long sandy beaches, about half an hour from town. |
| Sidari, Kavos | Young crowd, nightlife | Busy resorts with bars. |
🗓️ Five-day itinerary
The Old Town
Morning at the Old Fortress, coffee at the Liston, a stroll through the lanes to Saint Spyridon and the New Fortress. Afternoon on the Spianada and evening at a taverna in the Old Town.
Kanoni and the Achilleion
Kanoni in the morning, with views of Vlacherna and Pontikonisi, then the Achilleion. Afternoon on the beach at Glyfada or Agios Gordios for the sunset.
Paleokastritsa
The bays and monastery of Paleokastritsa, a boat trip to the caves and a climb to Angelokastro. On the way back, the view from Bella Vista.
The north
Drive up to Pantokrator and Old Perithia, then down to Kassiopi and Kalami for a swim off the rocks.
Sidari or a day trip
The Canal d’Amour at Sidari in the morning, or a boat for a day on Paxos and Antipaxos.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do I need?
Three days for the town, Kanoni and Paleokastritsa. Five to seven to also see the north, the sandy beaches and a trip to Paxos.
Can I go by ferry from Piraeus?
No. Ferries to Corfu leave from Igoumenitsa. From Athens you fly, or travel by road to Igoumenitsa.
Do I need a car?
If you stay in town, not for the first few days. For Pantokrator, the villages and the small beaches, yes.
Where are the best beaches?
For sand, on the west coast: Glyfada, Agios Gordios and the bays of Paleokastritsa. For rocks and clear water, on the north-east coast around Kassiopi and Kalami.
Is it worth going at Easter?
Yes, if you don’t mind crowds. It is the liveliest week of the year in town. Book early, as accommodation fills up.
— Kathy
