Corfu Old Town
UNESCO world Heritage listed Corfu, is located close to the Italian border, and Italian influences are evident in the town’s architecture and town planning. Corfu Old Town is reminiscent of Venice, with tall buildings very close to each other, in haphazard narrow alleys and lanes, designed to confuse and hinder any enemy invasion.
The Ionian Greek Island cluster is North of the Cyclades Islands, and so has more rainfall and more vegetation. My first impression of Corfu is that it is greener than the other Greek Islands I have visited. Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos and Paros are all dry and rocky, so it was lovely to see shady trees and grassy parks.
We chose Corfu for this very reason, that it would offer us a different Greek Island experience to what we had had before. Plus, the nostalgia associated with the name – I really wanted to buy a pair of Corfu jeans in Corfu. No such luck, I did look! Are they even being made any more?
We flew to Corfu from Santorini via Athens, so by the time we got there, we were pretty tired. The centre of Corfu Old Town is pedestrian only, so we were dropped off as close to our accommodation as possible and had to walk with our suitcases the rest of the way. Our very first experience with Corfu hospitality was with George, who was a waiter at one of the restaurants along the esplanade near where we were dropped off. He saw us with our suitcases, helped us with directions and offered us a free glass of wine once we dropped our cases off. Yes please! I had a good feeling about this place already.
Where to stay in Corfu Old Town
I think we hit the jackpot when it comes to accommodation in Corfu Old Town. Curcumelli Luxury Suites are located right in the heart of the Old Town. Fantastic shopping and restaurants literally a few steps away, but down an alley so it is quiet at night. On arrival in Corfu, we were greeted by music and dancing in the streets. How wonderful! We had arrived on the last day of an international music festival, with musicians and dancers from many European countries in town participating. Such a happy celebratory vibe to the town, as a street parade made its way through town to mark the end of the festival.
We found our accommodation earlier in the afternoon, returned to George for our free wine, enjoyed our first Corfu meal, wandered the gorgeous streets a bit and headed back to our room for what we thought would be an early night. As we were getting ready for bed, we could hear music, opening the shutters, we saw an impromptu gathering of musicians in our alley, playing instruments, singing, dancing and having a few drinks at the small local taverna downstairs. Milana and I looked at each other and said in unison “Let’s go!’ We had so much fun, and from then on the publican and the locals became our friends and greeted us every day.
Things to do in Corfu
After exploring the pedestrian streets of Corfu Old Town and enjoying a bit of people watching in Spianada Square (a 42 000 square metre grassy, public space), head past the Palace of St Michael and St George, over to the Old Fortress.
Old Fortress and Lighthouse
The stone lighthouse sits on a Venetian fortress overlooking Corfu Harbour. Wander through the fortress, climbing its battlements to reach the lighthouse, for fantastic views of Corfu Old Town. The Italian influence is evident here once again as the Venetians built the current form of the old fort in 1386! They built a moat to surround the fort and a wooden bridge which was later upgraded to a stone one. Admire the very Roman looking Church of Saint George, with its 6 large Doric columns supporting a pediment, that was actually built by the British in 1840. Some scenes from the James Bond film ‘For Your Eyes Only’ were filmed in the Old Fortress.
Sailing Day
Corfu has some of the most beautiful beaches and turquoise water I have ever seen. Make sure you spend at least one day on the water or on the beach. We did both! Our sailing day was something we were really looking forward to. I have been on a private boat charter in Cinque Terre, which was amazing, but also quite expensive. Balos Yachts was just as fantastic, but the cost was more affordable. Our skipper, Spiros, added to what ended up being a diamond day. He was friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. He made us feel like a couple of VIPs. Our day started with a short bus ride from Old Town to the Marina Gouvia. From here we motored around Old Town, affording great views of the New Fortress. We had several gorgeous swim stops, before lunch at a lovely local seafood restaurant right on the water. Our last swim of the day was my favourite. The water was so clear, you could see the fish swimming around the boat. With snorkeling gear, we swam to nearby rocks and explored a sea cave. A fantastic day, highly recommend.
Spiros soon became our friend and offered to show us around his Corfu, as only a local can. What a lucky couple of Aussie gals we are! We were taken on a private walking tour of Corfu Old Town, heard the history behind the buildings, toured through some of them and learnt about local events. We had dinner at a popular local restaurant and had the best gelato in Corfu for dessert!
Day trip to Albania
It would be a shame not to take advantage of how close Albania is to Corfu by not jumping on a ferry and going over to check it out. I didn’t know much about Albania, so was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed our day there. We walked along the esplanade and had coffee in a quirky Elvis themed cafe. This was followed by a quick swim at the waterfront in Saranda where the ferry dropped us. We decided to explore a little further afield by catching a local bus to the popular Ksamil beach. This beach was crowded, but stunning! We paid for some sunbeds and made ourselves comfortable for a few hours. Relaxed and refreshed, we caught the bus back into Saranda for a late lunch. We were enjoying the meal and the people watching so much, we almost missed the last ferry back to Corfu!
Hit the Beautiful Beaches
I mentioned the beautiful beaches earlier and we dedicated a day to discovering some of Corfu’s best. Once again, we utilized the local bus network to head North to Palaiokastritsa Beach. There are several beaches in the area and plenty of local boats that offer different local boat tours. We boarded one of these boats with a small group of people and explored the coastline. Highlights were the Blue Eye Grotto and Limni Beach, which is a narrow strip of pebbles with a beach on either side. They even have a beverage boat that pulls up on the beach offering beer and non-alcoholic drink options.
My favourite part of our day was stopping for a sundowner at a local bar with a fantastic view of the setting sun. We were hoping to get a bite to eat, but the kitchen had closed for the day. The host was lovely and made us feel very welcome with a large beverage even though they were closing up. He directed us to a local restaurant that we could walk to through an olive grove and orchard. What a gorgeous spot! The family-run restaurant, Elia Taverna, served delicious local dishes and once again, we almost missed the last bus back into Old Town!
Attend a Greek Cooking Class
It may be quite obvious, but in case you haven’t worked it out yet, I love Greek food! The last thing I recommend, while in Corfu is to do a Greek cooking class. It was more like a cooking experience. We met our host, Yorgos, from Corfu Outdoor & Leisure Activities in Old Town, and our first stop was to the local markets to buy ingredients we needed for our meal, as well taste testing a few local delicacies from the vendors.
Yorgos drove us to his home, others in our group that had their own car, were able to drive themselves. We were all welcomed like we were a part of the family. Once some food prep had been done and was cooking away (on the menu was Tzatziki; low and slow cooked lamb, that had been cooking for hours; Greek salad; and baked stuffed apples – yum!), we were taken on a tour of the estate. Out the back was an original 200-year-old olive press, with the huge stone wheel used to press the olives. Yorgos explained the traditional process of using the large stone press and his plans to restore it. We loved our Greek cooking experience and met some lovely people from all around the world. Highly recommend Corfu Outdoor & Leisure Activities.
We loved Corfu! I’m so glad we decided to explore a different Greek island group to the usual Cyclades Islands. The Cyclades are beautiful, but can get a little same-same, as they all have a similar look. It makes me want to experience the other Greek Island groups – Dodecanese? Sporades? Argo Saronic? North Aegean or Crete? So many options!
