Corfu, Greece

Corfu’s rich multicultural heritage, historic monuments, and unsurpassed natural landscape make the island notable as one of the most cosmopolitan of all Mediterranean destinations. Corfu is the second largest Greek island in the Ionian Sea, situated so far north that parts of its coastline lie off the Albanian coast of Sarandë. In Greek, the island is named Kerkyra, Homer’s beautiful and rich land described in The Odyssey and Odysseus’s last stop on his ten-year journey home to Ithaca. With vibrant wildflowers and slender cypress trees rising from olive groves, Corfu is considered by many to be the most beautiful—and greenest—of all the Greek Islands.

Unlike the rest of Greece, Corfu never fell under the Ottoman oppression. Due to the successive domination of the Venetians, French, and the British over the centuries the island has become part of the Western rather than the Levantine world. Venetian culture wielded strong influence throughout the island, the town of Corfu reminiscent of Venice and Florence, Italy. In the beautifully preserved Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2007, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical influences came to be successfully applied to local artistic traditions. The cobblestone streets and pastel-colored Venetian architecture of the Old Town are a gem for sightseeing, boasting the fifteenth-century Old Fortress of Corfu, constructed on the site of a former Byzantine castle. To the West, the Venetian-constructed New Fortress features a network of underground tunnels and views that overlook the harbor. The Archaeological Museum contains artifacts from the Archaic period, including bronze and marble statues, clay pottery, and parts of ancient temples. Best explored by foot, visitors to Old Town note the charm of Spianada Square and Liston Street, reminiscent of Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Nearby, explore the Achillion Palace, built in 1890 as the summer retreat of Austria’s Empress Elizabeth.

Nature lovers will find unmatched scenery at secluded La Grotta Beach, where swimming, snorkeling, and cliff diving opportunities are plentiful, and the Corfu Trail, extending from Asprokavos along the south coast up to Agios Spiridon in the north. This off-the-beaten-path hiking trail passes through rolling olive groves, rugged gorges, traditional Greek villages, and ancient monasteries that line its route.