Vidalumi

Corfu: The Ionian's Most Liveable Port Day

Corfu Town is a Venetian-built maze with a French arcade and a British cricket pitch — a city shaped by successive colonial powers, each of which improved the previous arrangement. The UNESCO Old Town is walkable from the pier.

Ships dock at the New Port, 500m from the Old Town's north entrance. The two Venetian fortresses, the Liston arcade, and the Spianada Square are the anchors. Paleokastritsa on the west coast is 40 minutes away by bus.

What to Expect

Ships dock at the New Port, 500m north of the Old Town's north entrance. The waterfront walk to the Old Town takes 10 minutes. The Old Town is organized around two Venetian fortresses — the Old Fortress (on a promontory into the sea) and the New Fortress (behind the town). Between them: the Venetian alleys, the French Liston arcade modeled on Rue de Rivoli, and the Spianada Square — one of the largest public spaces in Greece. The Old Fortress (€6) has harbor views worth the entrance fee. The alleys of Campiello, the oldest quarter, are genuinely navigable without a map.

Getting Around

Walking is the right approach inside the Old Town. For beaches and the rest of the island, buses depart from the long-distance terminal near the New Port: Paleokastritsa (west coast, 26 km, 40 min, €3) and Sidari (north coast) are the main routes. Taxis from the port to Paleokastritsa: €30 one way. Scooters and ATVs are rentable near the port for island exploration (€25–35/day). Corfu's roads are narrow through the olive groves — comfortable if you're used to mountain driving.

Tipping and Currency

Euros. Greece's tipping conventions apply: 10% at restaurants where service isn't already included. ATMs at the port and throughout Old Town.

Beaches

Corfu's best beaches are not in the town but reachable within a port day. Paleokastritsa (west coast) has a series of small coves with clear water and a clifftop monastery above — bus from the port (40 min, €3) or taxi (€30). Canal d'Amour in Sidari (north coast) has sandstone channels eroded into recognizable shapes — the bus journey is 90 minutes each way, tight for a port day. Glyfada (south of Corfu Town, 13 km) is a wide sandy beach closer to the city. Mon Repos beach below the Old Fortress is small and pebbly — pleasant for a quick swim, not the island's best.

Culture and History

The Achilleion Palace (€10, 8 km south of Corfu Town) was built in 1890 by Empress Sisi of Austria and later owned by Kaiser Wilhelm II — now a museum of Victorian excess. The gardens above the sea and the view north along the Ionian coast are worth the taxi. The Corfu Museum of Asian Art in the Liston arcade (€6) houses a significant collection of Asian antiquities given to Greece by a Greek diplomat. The island's history encompasses Venetian, French, and British colonial periods, each of which left visible architectural traces on the Old Town.