Corfu is the capital of the island of the same name .
Understand
Get in
By plane
- 1 Corfu International Airport (CFU IATA) (The airport is about 2 km south of the town). Is served by several airlines. Year-round with Astra airlines from Thessaloniki and Olympic airlines from Athens. Sky express is operating regular flights from Athens, Preveza and Thessaloniki. In the high season (roughly Easter through October), other airlines including Easyjet, TuiFly, Transavia and Wizzair serve the island.
The town bus number 19 does the trip hourly from 6 am to midnight in season, but only until 9 pm October through March.
By bus
Corfu Town is served at least by three KTEL Intercity Buses lines which connect daily the city with Athens, Thessaloniki, Larisa. The 2 bus station is in Saroko (San Roko) Square.
Get around
Public transport consisting of 16 buses lines is planned by Corfu City Bus S.A. Line 15 goes from to the airport to Saroko Square.
See
- 1 The 'Spianada' (Esplanade).
Spianada is the central square and the meeting point of Corfu's residents and visitors. It is built in the style of the Royal Gardens of Europe. At one time it was a firing range for Venetian troops. - 2 Liston.
The Liston is a building complex with long arcades built in 1807 by the French imperial commissioner Mathieu de Lesseps, father of the constructor of the Suez Canal. It is an excellent example of architecture from Napoleonic period, when Corfu was part of the First French Empire. The design was inspired by the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. The Liston runs along the west side of the Spianáda, - 3 Old Fortress, ☏ +30 26610 48120, +30 26610 48123, +30 26610 27935. Winter: From the 1st of November until the 31 of March 2010: 8:30-15:00.
A byzantine fort rebuilt under Venetian rule. The fortress successfully repulsed Ottoman sieges in 1537, 1571 and 1716. The old Fortress houses the church of St. George, the Public library and the Hellenic Music Research Lab of the Ionian University. It was the location of a scene from the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only in which the Mercedes of the evil adversary of Bond, Emile Locque, gets pushed off a cliff by Bond. - 4 New Fortress (Greek: Palio Frourio. Italian: Fortezza Nuova).
Less impressive, the new fortress was built by the Venetians on the 16th century atop the San Marco Hill. The most significant attractions of the New Fortress are: the British barracks, the underground stoas, water ducts, ammunition storage rooms etc. The Museum of Ceramic Art is housed here. Theatrical performances, exhibitions and concerts are also held on the fortress premises. - 5 Archaeological Museum, 1, Vraila Str, ☏ +30 2661 030680.
The museum hosts collections of archaeological finds, including the impressive Gorgon pediment from the Temple of Artemis, dating from 585 BC. It is the oldest stone pediment in Greece and is described in the New York times review of the museum as the finest example of Archaic temple sculpture extant. Of particular note is the 'Lion of Menecrates', the work of a Corinthian sculptor of the Archaic period, dated to the end of the 7th century BC - 6 Museum of Asiatic Art, ☏ +30 26610 30443, +30 26610 20193. Opening Hours Tuesday to Sunday: 09:00 – 16:00 (Until the end of March) Monday closed. More than ten thousand objects, from China, Japan, India, Tibet and Southeast Asia. The museum is housed in the former Royal Palace, an imposing three-storied building and a fine example of neoclassical architecture, located at the northern end of the Spianada. Tickets Full: €3, Reduced: €2.
- 7 Byzantine Museum, ☏ +30 26610 38313.
A small church dedicated to Our Lady of Antivouniotissa now housing a collection of post-byzantine icons - 8 Municipal Art Gallery (Royal Palace), ☏ +30 26610 48690.
Works by 19th-century Corfiot painters - 9 Church of St Spyridon.
The Church of the patron saint of the island was built in 1589 and has a beautiful ceiling with the 17 gilded panels. The remains of St. Spyridon are held in a silver reliquary. - 10 Mon Repos Estate, ☏ +30 26610 41369. Winter: Open every day except Monday: 08.00-15.00. Summer: From April 1st, 2014 the Museum is open everyday from 08.00 to 16.00. Last admission to the Museum is thirty minutes before closing..
A neoclassical-style villa which served as a summer residence for the British Lord High Commissioner of the United States of the Ionian Islands, Frederick Adam in the early 19th century. After the union with Greece in 1864, the villa was granted to the Greek Royal Family and renamed Mon Repos. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was born in Mon Repos on 10 June 1921. The mansion is now home to the Palaiopolis Museum. - 11 Pontikonisi.
A beautiful islet that looks like a miniature and has become the city landmark. - 12 Achilleion (Αχίλλειον), Achilleio, ☏ +30 2661 056210. A palace built in Corfu by Empress of Austria Elisabeth of Bavaria, also known as Sissi after a suggestion by Austrian Consul Alexander von Watzberg. Sissi was a woman obsessed with beauty and very powerful but tragically vulnerable since the loss of her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria in the Mayerling affair in 1889. A year later in 1890 she built a summer palace in the region of Gastouri (Γαστούρι), now the municipality of Achilleion, about ten kilometres to the south of the city of Corfu. The palace was designed with the mythical hero Achilles as its central theme.
Do
Events
The celebration of Greek Easter in Corfu is the most famous in Greece.
Corfu has the oldest major modern Carnival tradition in Greece with a history of over 450 years starting in the early Venetian rule.
Buy
Eat
- Captains (Captain George's), Nafiskas 35, Kanoni (opposite Corfu Holiday Palace). 12:00-24:00. A traditional, family run taverna. The food is hearty and home-cooked. Vast menu includes traditional Greek favorites like spanakopita, tzadziki, and hummus but also spaghetti and burgers! modest.
- HARMA Cafe Snack Bar, Eleftheriou Benizelou 46, ☏ +30 2661046975. A cafe by the port serving sandwiches, deserts. ice cream and drinks. Owners are American. Have free Wi-Fi.
- Maska Taverna, 41, Nafsikas St, Kanoni, ☏ +30 2661081336. Traditional & family taverna located in Kanoni are the two main objectives of owners Thanassis & Marianna Vassilas whom bare a long history in restaurants since the grand father of Thanassis was Yiannis Halikias, owner of “Paniperi” the first taverna in Corfu , dating back to 1895.
- Frescamento (On the San Rocco Square downtown Corfu), ☏ +30 2661081500. Classic gelato fresh daily, with an excellent range of toppings including local, fresh fruits.
Drink
- 1 54 Dreamy Nights, 54, Ethniki Antistaseos, ☏ +30 694 064 5436. -
Sleep
Budget
- 1 Atlantis Hotel, 48, "Xenofontos Stratigou" Str, ☏ +30 26610 35560, fax: +30 26610 46480.
- 2 Bretagne Hotel, 27, Georgaki Str, ☏ +30 26610 30724, +30 26610 35690, +30 26610 31129, fax: +30 26610 28027. 2-star hotel
- 3 Constantinoupolis Hotel, Zavitsianou Str, ☏ +30 26610 48716, fax: +30 26610 80716. 2-star hotel
- 4 Dalia Hotel, National Stadium Square (Garitsa), ☏ +30 26610 32341.
- 5 Europa Hotel, 10, "P. Gitsiali" Str (Harbour area), ☏ +30 26610 39304, fax: +30 26610 26786. 39 A/C rooms
- 6 Hermes Hotel, 14, "Gerasimou Markora" Str (Near the bus station), ☏ +30 26610 39321, +30 26610 39268, +30 6932 289191 (Mobile), fax: +30 26610 31747.
- 7 Ionion Hotel, 46, "Xenofontos Stratigou" Street, ☏ +30 26610 39915, +30 26610 30628, fax: +30 26610 44690. 2-star hotel. 88 rooms
- 8 Phoenix Hotel, 2, "Chrisostomou Smirnis" Str, ☏ +30 26610 42590, +30 26610 42290, fax: +30 26610 42990.
Mid-range
- 9 Ariti Grand Hotel, 40, Nafsikas Str, ☏ +30 26610 33885, fax: +30 26610 33889. 4-star hotel
- 10 Arcadion Hotel, 2, Vlasopoulou Str. (Esplanade Sq.), ☏ +30 2661 030104. 3-star hotel
- 11 Bella Venezia, 4, "Napoleontos Zampeli" Str, ☏ +30 26610 46500, +30 26610 44290, fax: +30 26610 20708.
- 12 City Corfu Marina Hotel (Corfu city hotel) (Corfu City), ☏ +30 26610 39505, fax: +30 26610 33708, info@citymarina.gr. A classic hotel with a modern style.
- 13 Hellinis Hotel, 108, Figareto Str (Kanoni suburb), ☏ +30 26610 81151, fax: +30 26610 81158. 3-star hotel. 86 standard, 4 superior rooms fully Air-conditioned. Wi-Fi Wireless Internet, Internet Corner, parking, garden, games room, swimming pool, children's pool, restaurant, lounge bar, poolside bar
Splurge
- 14 Corfu Palace Hotel, 2, Dimokratias Avenue (near the Archaeological Museum), ☏ +30 26610 39485, fax: +30 26610 31749.
- 15 Corfu Holiday Palace, 2, Nafsikas str. (Kanoni Suburb), ☏ +30 26610 36540, fax: +30 26610 36551.
- 16 Divani Corfu Palace, 20, Nafsikas Str (Kanoni Suburb), ☏ +30 26610 38996, fax: +30 26610 35929.