Stefanos

Feel like a classic film star in the Old Town

Unesco has declared Corfu’s Old Town a world heritage site. Who couldn’t be impressed by the stately buildings, with neoclassical influences, or fail to be moved by the likes of the Palace of St Michael and St George, Liston Arcade, Reading Society, the Catholic Cathedral, Maitland Rotunda, Ionian Parliament and the Kapodistrias family’s mansion? In the famous alleyways of Campiello, you will feel like a star in a period movie.

Admire the Venetian forts and towers

On the eastern side of town, the rocky shore crowned by two low peaks gave the name Koryfo (or peak) to the island. You enter the Old Fort (Palio Frourio), built in the 13th century, via a bridge over a seawater moat. It includes the Porta Sopranza, the British barracks, two winged lions of St Mark, the Madonna del Carmine, the Savorgnan Bastion, the Tower of Sea and the Tower of the Land (Castel del Mar, Castel della Terra) and the British-built church of St George resembling a Doric temple.

Corfu’s Old Town is often characterised as an open-air museum and each sight is a journey through time. Towering above the northwest border of the capital, the other guardian, the Neo Frourio (New Fort), is a masterpiece of military architecture built by the Venetians between 1572 and 1645. It is a fortress with planes and angles reminiscent of Picasso and Braque’s Cubist periods.

Get your camera ready for Cannon and Mouse islands

Two trademark views on Corfu are actually other islands – the diminutive Pontikonisi, which translates as Mouse Island, just large enough to hold the Pantokrator Monastery, and right next to it, the famous Vlacherna islet, with its 17th-century monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary, connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. Mass is held here on Easter Monday.
Go for a swim with a difference at Canal d’Amour and Sidari

Corfu is known for its beaches but you can’t miss the Canal d’Amour, where a natural passage created by the smooth rocks forms a tunnel to swim down. Let us know if you find your soulmate at the end of it, as legend promises. Meanwhile, at Sidari you’ll enjoy spectacular sandy beaches with sandstone formations.

Exploring Corfu through its food & drinks isn’t just about sampling delicious tastes and local products. It’s also about discovering the unique heritage left behind by the Venetians and all the other cultural influences on this star Ionian island

Just as you can see and feel Corfu’s rich cultural identity, so too can you smell and taste it. The Venetians (at a time when most of Greece was under Ottoman rule) left the best of themselves on the food front, but you’ll also find British and other influences in Corfu – all of which have given the island a unique local flavour.

As you wander around Corfu Old Town – down the cantounia (pedestrianised little roads) and past stores selling local products and open-air markets – you’ll piece together a unique history. The Fortezza Vecchia and Nuova (Old and New Fortress), Campiello (atmospheric old quarter) and Spianada Square all carry their Venetian legacy in their names. Just as sofrito (pan-fried beef in a parley and garlic sauce, sautéed with wine), pastitsada (beef or rooster casserole with pasta), bianco (a succulent fish-based dish) and bourdeto (a spicy fish dish whose red colour comes mostly from peppers) do in tavernas.

Yes, Corfu’s food influences are often Venetian, but the taste is unmistakably Greek. The olive oil, honey and wine you enjoy on Corfu will most likely be local. Even the beer could be. And let’s not mention the dairy and meat products or the fresh fish. You’ll discover it all on a food tour – definitely one of the best things to do In Corfu, whether it’s a full-day experience or spread throughout your holiday. Just don’t forget to bring your appetite.