Corfu: A Gentle Guide to Greece's Greenest Island

Most Greek islands are the color of bone and honey. Corfu is green. It sits at the northern end of the Ionian Sea, closer to Albania and Italy than to Athens, and it catches more rain than anywhere else in Greece — which is why millions of olive trees, dark cypresses and tangled vines cover its hills, and why the water in its bays turns that particular shade of bottle-glass green.

For travelers who would rather look than climb, this matters enormously. Corfu's most beautiful scenery is not hidden at the end of a four-hour hike. It is spread along a coast road, visible from a café terrace in a hill village, or best seen from the deck of a small boat as it drifts into a sea cave. You can drive almost to the summit of the island's highest mountain. You can sit on a stone bench where a German emperor once watched the sunset.

This guide is about those gentle ways in: the viewpoints, the short level walks, the boat trips and the scenic drives — and an honest word about where the steps and steep lanes really are.

A little history

Corfu's story is unusual among Greek islands, and it explains much of what you will see.

From 1386 until 1797 — more than four centuries — the island belonged to the Republic of Venice. Venetian engineers built the great forts that still guard Corfu Town, and Venetian landowners planted the olive groves that now blanket the hills. Because those fortresses held, Corfu was never brought under long-term Ottoman rule, unlike most of Greece. The island kept a Western European face.

After Venice fell came a brief French period, then a British protectorate from 1815 to 1864, which left behind cricket, arcaded streets and solid roads. In 1864 the Ionian Islands were united with Greece. In 2007 UNESCO inscribed the Old Town of Corfu on the World Heritage List as an outstanding fortified Mediterranean port city — a layered place, Venetian at heart, with French and British chapters written over the top.

Out in the countryside, the history is quieter: stone monasteries on headlands, ruined castles on crags, and villages of tall shuttered houses standing in the shade of trees planted three hundred years ago.

The monastery of Paleokastritsa, on a headland above the bays of Corfu's west coast.

What to see

Paleokastritsa and its bays

On the northwest coast, Paleokastritsa is the landscape most people picture when they think of Corfu: a series of small coves separated by wooded headlands, with water that shades from turquoise to deep green. There is a main beach, a scatter of tavernas, and small boats waiting to take visitors around the cliffs. Even if you never swim, it is worth sitting here for an hour simply to watch the light change on the rock.

The monastery above the water

Above the bays stands the monastery of Paleokastritsa, founded in medieval times and rebuilt over the centuries. It is a modest, whitewashed place with a shady courtyard, a small museum, geraniums in oil tins and a terrace looking straight out to sea. Be warned: the approach is a short but very steep and narrow road from the beach, so this is one to drive or take a taxi to rather than walk.

Corfu Old Town

The UNESCO-listed Old Town is a maze of tall Venetian houses and narrow lanes called kantounia, opening suddenly onto the Liston — an arcaded terrace of cafés built in the French period, facing the vast green of the Spianada. Two Venetian fortresses bracket the town. The lanes are flat but cobbled; the forts involve ramps and stairs, and you can enjoy the town perfectly well without entering either.

Kanoni and Mouse Island

Just south of town, a viewing terrace at Kanoni looks down on the little white chapel of Vlacherna, joined to the shore by a causeway, with the cypress-topped islet of Pontikonisi — Mouse Island — behind it. It is the island's most photographed view, it is reached on the level, and the planes landing nearby add a cheerful bit of theatre.

Achilleion Palace

At Gastouri, the Achilleion was built for Empress Elisabeth of Austria, "Sisi", and later owned by Kaiser Wilhelm II. The rooms are a rich 19th-century fantasy and the gardens are full of neoclassical statues looking out over the sea. Note that those gardens are built on terraces, with several flights of steps, some without handrails.

Paleokastritsa, Corfu: wooded headlands enclosing a series of small green bays.

The best viewpoints, and how to reach them

Corfu rewards the patient view-hunter, and most of its great panoramas can be reached on wheels.

Mount Pantokrator

The island's highest point, at around 900 metres, carries a monastery and a forest of aerials at its summit — and a view that takes in most of Corfu, the Albanian mountains across the strait, and on clear days the hills of southern Italy. A road climbs all the way up, through pine woods and the high village of Strinylas. The final few kilometres are narrow, with tight switchbacks and little room to pass, so take it slowly, or better, go with a driver or on a small-group tour and let someone else do the steering.

Kaiser's Throne, Pelekas

Above the village of Pelekas, a stone platform known as Kaiser's Throne was Wilhelm II's favourite spot for watching the sun go down. The reward is a near-360-degree sweep across the island to both coasts. It is only a short step up from the parking area — one of the best effort-to-view ratios in Greece.

Bella Vista at Lakones

The road that climbs from Paleokastritsa to the village of Lakones ends at a string of terraces looking back down on the bays. This is the classic postcard of the west coast, and you can take it in from a café chair with a coffee in front of you.

Angelokastro

The ruined Byzantine castle of Angelokastro stands on a pinnacle around 300 metres above the sea near the hamlet of Krini. The views are tremendous. Honestly, though: from the car park it is a stiff ten to fifteen minutes up a steep stone path and steps, and the approach road is narrow and winding. If stairs are difficult, admire it from Lakones or from a boat instead — it looks just as dramatic from below.

The indented coast at Paleokastritsa, seen from above the bays.

Gentle walks and comfortable ways to see the scenery

By small boat. The signature outing on the west coast is a short cruise from Paleokastritsa beach around the cliffs and into the sea caves. Trips are typically counted in tens of minutes rather than hours, the boats are small and low, and the skippers are used to giving a steadying hand at the step aboard. Choose a calm morning.

By scenic drive. Corfu is made for slow driving. Three routes stand out: the coast and hill road from Paleokastritsa up to Lakones and on through the olive villages; the long climb from Pyrgi through Spartilas and Strinylas towards Pantokrator; and the gentler run south past Achilleion to the bays below. Distances are small — the whole island is only about 60 km from tip to tip — so a half-day drive covers a great deal.

Level strolls. The Spianada and the Liston in Corfu Town make a flat, shaded promenade with plenty of benches. The wooded grounds of the Mon Repos estate, just outside town, offer soft paths under big trees, though reaching the villa itself involves a steady uphill walk of several hundred metres. At Kanoni, both the upper terrace and the causeway below are level.

Villages instead of trails. A long-distance footpath crosses the island for walkers who want it, but you do not need it. Old Perithia, a cluster of centuries-old stone houses high on the slopes of Pantokrator, can be reached by road and explored in a slow loop of twenty minutes, with tavernas under the walnut trees. The village lanes are uneven underfoot, so sturdy shoes help.

The sea caves of Paleokastritsa, Corfu, visited by small boat from the beach.

A day trip nearby

Two genuinely worthwhile day trips leave from Corfu Town's harbour, and both are mostly spent sitting down.

Paxos and Antipaxos. Day cruises run south to the small island of Paxos, calling at its blue sea caves and anchoring off Antipaxos for a swim, with free time in one of the pretty harbours. It is a long day — usually somewhere in the region of eight to ten hours all told — so it suits travelers who enjoy being on the water. Larger excursion boats have shaded decks, proper seats and toilets, which makes a real difference.

Saranda and Butrint, Albania. The Albanian coast is startlingly close: the crossing to Saranda takes well under an hour on the faster boats. Organised tours continue to Butrint, a UNESCO-listed archaeological site where Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian remains lie among trees beside a lagoon — one of the most atmospheric ancient sites in the region. The paths are mostly flat but unpaved and occasionally rooty. You will need your passport, and non-EU travelers should check Albanian entry rules before booking.

Honest advice for comfortable travel

• Stay where the scenery is, not where the nightlife is. For the green landscapes, base yourself around Paleokastritsa or the quieter northwest. For history, cafés and boat trips, stay in or just outside Corfu Town. Trying to do both from one hotel means a lot of winding driving.
• Ask for a room on a lower floor. Many small Corfiot hotels and village guesthouses are in old buildings with stairs and no lift. Confirm this when you book rather than on arrival.
• Hill villages mean slopes. Lakones, Pelekas and Strinylas are built on gradients, with steep lanes and uneven paving. The viewpoints themselves are usually close to the parking; the villages take more effort.
• Let someone else drive the mountain roads. The ascents to Pantokrator, Angelokastro and the Paleokastritsa monastery are narrow, with blind bends and few barriers. A taxi, a private driver or a small-group tour removes all the stress.
• Avoid midday in high summer. July and August are the hottest and busiest months. Plan viewpoints and boats for the morning, lunch and a rest in the middle of the day, and the coast road for late afternoon light.
• Cobbles and steps in the Old Town. The lanes are flat but stone-paved and sometimes slippery after rain; shoes with grip are worth more here than anything elegant.
• Boats need calm seas. Sea-cave trips are weather-dependent and can be cancelled or bumpy. If you are unsteady on your feet, ask about the boarding step before you buy a ticket.
• Shade is easy to find. This is the great gift of a green island — olive groves, cypresses and plane trees mean most viewpoints and villages have somewhere cool to sit.

The main beach at Paleokastritsa, Corfu, where the small excursion boats depart.

What to eat

Four hundred years of Venice left Corfu with a kitchen quite unlike the rest of Greece: less grilling, more slow braising, and spices you will not meet in Athens.

• Sofrito — thin slices of veal floured, fried, then simmered slowly in white wine with a great deal of garlic and parsley. Mild, tender, comforting.
• Pastitsada — the island's Sunday dish: rooster or beef cooked down in a tomato sauce warm with cinnamon and clove, served over thick hollow pasta.
• Bourdeto — a fiery fish stew of onions, olive oil and red pepper, traditionally without tomato. Ask how hot it is before committing.
• Bianco — the gentle opposite: white fish poached with potatoes, garlic, olive oil, lemon and black pepper. An easy choice on a warm evening.
• Kumquat — the tiny citrus arrived from East Asia in the 1840s and thrives here. You will find it as a bright orange liqueur, as spoon sweets and in pastries. A small glass after dinner is the local ritual.

Corfu also produces a great deal of olive oil, and local soft cheeses and village bread turn up on almost every table. Portions in village tavernas tend to be generous; two mains between three people and a shared salad is often plenty.

Getting there

Our verdict

Corfu is one of the kindest islands in Greece for travelers who want beauty without exertion. The landscapes do most of the work themselves: you turn a corner on a hill road and there are the bays of Paleokastritsa below you, or you sit down on a stone bench at Pelekas and watch the sun drop into the Ionian Sea.

Be realistic about the three steep places — the monastery road, the path up to Angelokastro, and the last switchbacks to Pantokrator — and simply decide in advance which you want to attempt and which you will admire from a distance. Hire a driver for a day, take the boat rather than the cliff path, and keep the middle of the day for lunch and shade.

Do that, and Corfu gives back an enormous amount for very little effort: green hills, Venetian stone, water the color of glass, and a long slow dinner under a tree.

“An island where the olives come down to the water's edge, and every bend in the road hands you another bay.”

Photo credits

• Palaiokastritsa coast, Corfu, Greece: George C. Tsiagalakis, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Moni Palaiokastritsas Corfu 01: GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Paleokastritsa, Corfu - Greece: Jocelyn777, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Korfu GR, Paleokastritsa -- 2018 -- 1253: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• The sea caves of Paleokastritsa, Corfu 36152035583: Joe deSousa, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Corfu Paleokastritsa Beach R01: Marc Ryckaert MJJR , CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons