Question 1

Corfu on Your Own

Accepted Answer

A Corfu Town day can be planned around the Old Fortress, the Spianada and Saint Spyridon, with the museums as stops along the way. One bus or taxi ride takes you south to the Achilleion palace if you want to see more. The Old Fortress: Built over the Byzantine citadel on a promontory, it was turned into an island by the Venetians, who cut a sea channel, the Contrafossa, between it and the town. It keeps longer hours from April to October than in winter, so check before you go. The Spianada and the Liston: The French imperial commissioner Mathieu de Lesseps built the arcaded Liston in 1807, with the Rue de Rivoli in Paris as its model. Saint Spyridon: The church of the island's patron saint, built in 1589 in the Old Town, keeps his relics in a chapel to the right of the iconostasis. The Museum of Asian Art: About 11,000 objects from China, Japan, India and other parts of Asia fill the Palace of St. Michael and St. George, built between 1819 and 1824 as the residence of the British Lord High Commissioner. One ride out: The Achilleion, the summer palace built for Empress Elisabeth of Austria, stands at Gastouri, south of town. Blue city bus 10 has run there about every two hours, so plan your ride back before you set off. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Carry your passport: In Greece you should always carry your passport to show the police if they ask for identification, and they may not accept a copy.

Question 2

Getting Around Corfu

Accepted Answer

Blue city buses serve Corfu Town and its surroundings from San Rocco Square, and green buses run to villages across the island from their own station near the New Port. Taxis have meters, but ask for the meter or agree the price before you set off. City bus tickets are for a single journey and must be validated on the bus. They are sold from machines or by the driver, who charges extra. Blue bus 7 runs to Dasia and bus 6 to Benitses. Many roads outside town are narrow and poorly surfaced, so a small car is the easier choice, and rental insurance often does not cover damage to the underside. Boats up to 30 horsepower can be rented without a license in most coastal towns.

Question 3

Corfiot Food

Accepted Answer

Venice ruled Corfu for four centuries and left it dishes not commonly found elsewhere in Greece, and many of them are on local restaurant menus. Pastitsada, a stew of rooster or other meat with spices and tomato, eaten with pasta, is the dish most closely tied to the island. Sofrito is meat in a sauce of garlic, wine and vinegar. Bourdeto is fish in a hot sauce of tomato and red pepper, and bianco is fish cooked with potatoes, garlic and pepper. The island is also known for its olive oil, kumquat liqueur and local wines. Ask for tsitsibira, the local ginger beer, a drink Corfiots took up under British rule.

Question 4

Tipping in Greece

Accepted Answer

Tipping in restaurants was traditionally not customary in Greece, though in tourist areas that custom has largely faded. Where people do tip, they usually leave a small amount on the table, often 1 or 2 euros. Tipping taxi drivers is uncommon. Greece uses the euro.

Question 5

Saint Spyridon, Music and Cricket

Accepted Answer

Saint Spyridon is the island's patron saint, and his church stands in the Old Town. Music is the other thread: Corfu Town has three philharmonic societies, marching wind bands that give free music instruction and play in the Easter processions. On Holy Saturday morning the three city bands play in the procession that carries Saint Spyridon's relics. The bell tower of Saint Spyridon, built in 1620, is the tallest in the Ionian Islands. At 11 a.m. on Holy Saturday, people in the Old Town throw large clay pots of water from balconies to smash on the pavement, a custom called bótides. Cricket arrived under British rule, and Corfu is the only place in Greece where it is popular. The Hellenic Cricket Federation is based here, the only Greek sports federation based outside Athens.

Question 6

A Brief History

Accepted Answer

Corfu's position at the entrance to the Adriatic made it a prize for every power in the region, and its Old Town took shape inside the fortifications Venice built to hold it against the Ottomans. The island joined Greece in 1864, after half a century of British rule. Around 1300 BC: The island's name first appears in writing, in Linear B script, as "man from Kerkyra". About 730 BC: Settlers from Corinth founded a Greek city on the island. 5th century BC: Ancient Korkyra fought in the Battle of Sybota, which helped set off the Peloponnesian War. 2nd century BC: The island came under Roman rule, and later under the Byzantine Empire. 6th century AD: Goths razed the ancient city, and its people resettled on the promontory now occupied by the Old Fortress. 1386: Venetian rule began and lasted four centuries. Venice rebuilt and extended the fortifications, and the Old Fortress repulsed major Ottoman sieges in 1537, 1571 and 1716. From 1797: After the fall of Venice, Corfu passed to French republican rule, then to a state under Russian protection, and back to Napoleonic France in 1807. 1815 to 1864: Under British rule the island became the seat of the Lord High Commissioner, and in 1864 the Ionian Islands were handed over to Greece. First World War: The Serbian army retreated to Corfu on Allied ships. Many soldiers died of exhaustion and disease, and most were buried at sea near the island of Vido. Second World War: On 14 September 1943 the Luftwaffe bombed Corfu Town and destroyed many of its buildings, among them the Ionian Academy, the Municipal Theater and the Municipal Library. In June 1944 the Gestapo rounded up the town's Jewish community, and most of them were murdered at Auschwitz. 2007: UNESCO listed the Old Town as a World Heritage Site. To learn more ashore: The Archaeological Museum, 1 Vraila Armeni Street, displays the Gorgon pediment from the Temple of Artemis, dated to about 585 BC.

Question 7

Corfu with Children

Accepted Answer

Corfu Town has a fortress to climb, open space on the Spianada and a villa where a prince was born. Younger children: The Spianada, the big square in the middle of town, gives children room to run, and the town's cricket ground lies beside it. School age: Climb the Old Fortress and look down on the Contrafossa, the sea channel the Venetians cut to turn the fortress into an island. Teenagers: At the Mon Repos estate, Prince Philip, later Duke of Edinburgh, was born on the dining-room table in 1921. The estate has kept shorter hours in winter, so check before you go. A palace of myths: The Achilleion's decoration centers on the Greek hero Achilles, a good story for children who know their myths.

Kerkyra

Good to know

Arriving in Corfu