Corfu is the westernmost and greenest of the major Greek islands — 4 million olive trees, planted here by the Venetians, hold moisture in the soil, so the island never turns yellow the way the Cyclades do. 4 centuries of Venetian and then British rule made it the least "Greek" place in Greece: the UNESCO-listed old town has arcades reminiscent of Venice, a cricket pitch left by the British, and the highest concentration of Italian surnames in the country. The west coast is dramatic, with bays hemmed in by cliffs around Paleokastritsa, while the east is calmer, shallower and home to most of the resorts. The island is 90 kilometres long and mountainous, so journeys take longer than they look on a map. The season runs from May to October, but even then Corfu is rainier than the rest of Greece.
The places worth your time in Corfu, and what to expect at each
Παλιά Πόλη
Corfu Town
A maze of narrow lanes called kantounia between 2 Venetian fortresses, UNESCO-listed. Here you'll find the arcaded street of the Liston, modelled on Paris's Rue de Rivoli, the Church of Saint Spyridon holding the relics of the island's patron saint, and the tallest building in town, at 6 storeys.
Tip: The cricket pitch by the Liston is still in use today — a British legacy you won't see anywhere else in Greece.
Παλαιό Φρούριο
Corfu Town
A Venetian fortress on a rocky headland, separated from the town by an artificial moat that the sea still flows through today. Inside stands the British Church of St George, built in the style of a Doric temple, and the top of the lighthouse gives a view over the whole town and the Albanian coast.
Tip: There's an entry fee, but the Contrafossa moat itself, with its moored boats, is freely accessible and more photogenic than the fortress itself.
10 km south
A palace built for Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sisi, after the death of her son Rudolf. Both the interiors and the gardens are devoted to Achilles, whose monumental statue stands in the garden overlooking the sea. After Sisi's death, the palace was bought by Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Tip: The gardens are more interesting than the interior — save most of your time for the statue of the Dying Achilles and the view south over the island.
25 km northwest
A cluster of 6 coves on the west coast, hemmed in by forested cliffs, with the clearest water on the island. Above the bay stands the 13th-century Panagia Theotokos Monastery, with a small icon museum and a courtyard full of bougainvillea.
Tip: Boats leave the beach for the cliff caves — a half-hour trip for a few euros is the best way to see the coves.
30 km northwest
A Byzantine fortress atop a 300-metre cliff above the west coast, which was never conquered. It's reached only by a steep footpath; what remains at the top are the walls, a cistern and a chapel. The view from here is among the best in the Ionian Sea.
Tip: The climb from the car park takes 20 minutes over uneven stones — don't wear flip-flops, and bring water.
Ποντικονήσι
5 km south
The most photographed sight on the island: the white Vlacherna Monastery at the end of a narrow jetty, with the forested islet of Pontikonisi behind it, said by legend to be the petrified ship of Odysseus's Phaeacians. Planes land directly overhead.
Tip: The best view is from the Kanoni viewpoint above the bay, not from the jetty — and if a plane happens to land at that moment, you'll get a photo you can't take anywhere else.
4 km south
A terrace above the strait with views of Vlacherna Monastery, the islet of Pontikonisi and the airport runway all at once. The name comes from a French cannon that stood here during the Napoleonic occupation. A footbridge leads from the viewpoint across the lagoon to the jetty.
Tip: Come around 6pm — the light is best and landings are most frequent at that time.
Σιδάρι
35 km north
A resort on the north coast known for sandstone formations that the sea has carved into narrow channels and tunnels. Legend has it that a couple who swim through the channel together will never split up. The beaches here are sandy and the sea is shallow.
Tip: Ferries leave Sidari for the Diapontia Islands — Erikoussa and Mathraki are empty and crystal-clear, unlike Sidari itself.
35 km north
The island's highest point, at 906 metres, with a 14th-century monastery on the summit. On a clear day you can see the whole of Corfu, the Albanian mountains and even the distant Italian coast. The road up is narrow, winding and has no barriers.
Tip: Go early in the morning — after 9am the summit often clouds over in haze and the view of Italy disappears.
Photos: Corfu Old Town — Olivier Touzeau (Public domain) · Old Fortress — Own work I am the author. Dr.K. 15:51, 6 September 2006 (UTC) (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Achilleion — Marc Ryckaert (MJJR) (CC BY 3.0) · Paleokastritsa — Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Angelokastro — Dr.K. (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Pontikonisi and Vlacherna — Dreamsdestroyer (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Kanoni Viewpoint — Marc Ryckaert (CC BY 3.0) · Sidari and the Canal d'Amour — Arbustum (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Mount Pantokrator — Albinfo (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Areas and districts, matched to the kind of trip you are taking
Best for: first-time visitors and sightseeing
The only place on the island with year-round life, restaurants and museums. Accommodation in the Venetian houses is atmospheric, but without pools or a beach. It's also the best base for bus travel, since every route starts here.
Best for: families and all-inclusive stays
The east coast a few kilometres north of town, home to most of the large hotels. The sea here is calm and shallow, and the beaches are a mix of pebble and sand. It's a quarter of an hour by bus to town, which makes this area the most practical choice for a first holiday on Corfu.
Best for: the prettiest coves and snorkelling
The west coast, with bays hemmed in by cliffs and the clearest water on the island. Scenically the finest part of Corfu. The beaches are smaller and deeper, though, and the access paths are steep, which makes it harder going with small children or without a car.
Best for: peace and quiet and small coves
The northeast coast facing the Albanian mountains, with a series of small pebble coves and the fishing village of Kassiopi. Quieter and tidier than the area around town, and popular with British visitors. Getting around without a car is difficult here, though.
Corfu has Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport just 3 kilometres from the centre of the main town — the runway runs right over the lagoon at Kanoni, making the approach an experience in itself. In season, charter and scheduled flights arrive from numerous European cities. From the airport you can reach the town by city bus, taxi, or on foot in under half an hour. Corfu can also be reached by ferry from Venice, Ancona or Bari in Italy.
Corfu Ioannis Kapodistrias (CFU) · 3 km
The blue city buses serve Corfu Town and its immediate surroundings up to 15 kilometres out, while the green intercity KTEL buses run to more distant resorts and villages. All routes start from the capital, so getting from one resort to another means passing through the centre and takes a long time. The island is mountainous, and the roads are narrow, winding and without barriers in the hills. If you want to see Paleokastritsa, Angelokastro and the north, rent a car — otherwise you'll spend half your holiday on a bus.
Useful apps: Moovit, Google Maps
June and September are the best months: warm at around 28°C, the sea pleasant and the island still green. July and August are the hottest and busiest, and also the most expensive. Corfu is also the rainiest Greek island — from November to March it gets more rainfall than London, and most resorts close. April and May are lovely for sightseeing, with the island covered in flowers, but the sea is barely 17°C.
Best time
June and September
What to avoid
November to March, when it rains heavily and resorts close
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | 14° | 14° | 16° | 19° | 24° | 28° | 31° | 31° | 27° | 22° | 18° | 15° |
| Night | 5° | 5° | 7° | 9° | 13° | 17° | 19° | 19° | 17° | 13° | 10° | 7° |
| Rainy days | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 15 |
| Sea | 16° | 15° | 15° | 17° | 20° | 23° | 25° | 26° | 24° | 22° | 20° | 18° |
Corfiot cuisine is the most Italian of any in Greece — 4 centuries of Venetian rule left behind pasta, meats stewed in sauces, and the use of cinnamon in savoury dishes. A local speciality is the kumquat, a tiny citrus fruit turned into liqueur and preserves, and found nowhere else in Greece. In tavernas, several dishes are ordered to share at the centre of the table, and dinner starts after 9pm. For genuinely local cooking, head to the villages inland, where meals follow the seasons.
Pastitsada
Rooster or beef stewed in a cinnamon-spiced tomato sauce, served with thick pasta. The most typical Corfiot dish.
Sofrito
Thin slices of veal in a sauce of white wine, garlic and parsley. A Venetian legacy without a single tomato.
Bourdeto
Fish stewed in a spicy paprika sauce, traditionally made with scorpionfish. Spicier than you'd expect to find in Greece.
Kumquat
A tiny citrus fruit grown only on Corfu; liqueur, preserves and candied fruit are all sold everywhere as souvenirs.
Tsitsibira
A ginger lemonade brought to the island by the British, still made here today to the original recipe.
Sykomaida
A pressed fig cake with ouzo and spices, a traditional rustic dessert served with homemade spirits.
Greek coffee or frappé
€3–4
Gyros in pitta
€4–5
Dinner at a taverna
€20–30 per person
Beer, 0.5 l
€4–5
Sunbed and umbrella
€10–15 for 2 sunbeds
Bus to Paleokastritsa
€3
Car rental per day
from €35
Night in a 4-star hotel
€100–160
Indicative prices that change over time — treat them as a guide, not a price list.
1 day
2 days
3 days
Paxos and Antipaxos islands
45 km · 1 h by speedboat
2 small islands south of Corfu, with blue caves in the western cliffs and beaches on Antipaxos with Caribbean-clear water. The island's most popular full-day boat trip.
Butrint in Albania
30 km · 1 h 30 min by ferry and car
A UNESCO-listed ancient city with a theatre, baptistery and Venetian fortress, set in a national park by a lagoon. The ferry sails to Sarandë, 20 minutes by car from the site. Don't forget your passport.
Inland villages and Old Perithia
40 km · 1 h by car
The island's oldest village, beneath Mount Pantokrator, abandoned in the 1960s and now partly restored. Stone houses, a handful of tavernas and total silence — the opposite of the coastal resorts.
If you want to see more than just your resort, then yes. Buses run reliably, but every route passes through the capital, so getting from one resort to another can take up to 2 hours. For Paleokastritsa and the north, a car is practically essential.
Yes, it's the rainiest Greek island — from November to March it gets more rainfall than London. That's exactly why it's so green, though. In the main season from June to September, rainfall is minimal, and in July and August there's practically none.
The east coast is calmer and shallower, with most of the resort hotels, making it well suited to families. The west coast around Paleokastritsa is far more scenic, with crystal-clear water in coves between cliffs, but the beaches are smaller and the approaches steeper.
In August, when the water reaches 26°C, and in September at 24°C. Comfortable swimming runs from June to early October. In May the sea is at 20°C, which is still cool for most people.
Yes, it's one of the best experiences Corfu has to offer. The blue caves in the western cliffs of Paxos and the crystal-clear water off Antipaxos are stunning. Allow a full day, and bear in mind that in choppier seas you won't be able to reach the caves.
Yes, the ferry to Sarandë runs several times a day and takes around 1.5 hours. The most popular destination is the UNESCO-listed ancient site of Butrint. You'll need a passport; an ID card isn't enough.
Because of British rule over the island between 1815 and 1864. The British left behind a cricket pitch right in the centre of town by the Liston, and the tradition has survived to this day. It's the only place in Greece where cricket is regularly played.
3–4 days with a car for the island itself, if you want to see the town, the west coast and the north. For a classic week-long beach holiday, this is the ideal amount of time, as it still leaves room for a boat trip to Paxos or Albania.
Check the latest visa requirements for entering this country. Some nationalities may need to apply for a visa or e-visa before travel.
Check visa requirementsLanguage
Greek
Currency
EUR
Timezone
Europe/Athens
Dial Code
+30
Population
10.4M
Area
131,957 km²
Voltage
230V / 50Hz
Driving Side
Right
