The island, end to end.

Fortress & Museum · Corfu Town

Old Fortress

A Venetian sea-fortress on a twin-peaked rock guarding the old town. Climb to the lighthouse for the best 360° view of Corfu.

Local tip · Go an hour before sunset — the light on the limestone is unreal.

Fortress & Museum · Corfu Town

New Fortress

Quieter than its sibling, with deep stone tunnels, vaulted galleries and a rooftop that looks down over the rooftops of the old town.

Old Town · Corfu Town

The Liston

A French-built arcade modeled on the Rue de Rivoli, lined with cafés that spill onto the Spianada — the largest square in the Balkans.

Local tip · Sit with a freddo espresso and watch the cricket match on the green.

Old Town · Corfu Town

Campiello Quarter

The oldest part of the UNESCO old town: tall Venetian houses, laundry strung overhead, sudden squares and stairways that climb to nowhere.

Old Town · Corfu Town

Church of Agios Spyridon

The island's spiritual heart, home to the silver casket of Saint Spyridon. Look for the red bell tower — the tallest in the Ionian.

Fortress & Museum · Gastouri

Achilleion Palace

Empress Sissi's neoclassical retreat above the sea, built around the myth of Achilles. The garden statues are worth the trip alone.

Fortress & Museum · Kanoni

Mon Repos Estate

Birthplace of Prince Philip and a shaded park of cypress, ancient ruins and a small but excellent archaeological museum.

Nature · Kanoni

Pontikonisi & Vlacherna

The postcard view: a tiny chapel on a causeway and the green islet of Mouse Island just beyond. Planes from the airport skim overhead.

Beach & Coast · Northwest coast

Paleokastritsa

Six small coves wrapped around a wooded headland with a 13th-century clifftop monastery looking out to the open Ionian.

Local tip · Take a small boat to the sea caves — La Grotta cove is best for a swim after.

Fortress & Museum · Krini

Angelokastro

A Byzantine clifftop castle 1,000 feet above the sea — a steep climb rewarded with the most cinematic view on the island.

Beach & Coast · Sidari

Canal d'Amour

Wind- and water-carved sandstone channels meeting the sea. Local lore says couples who swim through it together stay together.

Nature · Peroulades

Cape Drastis

Jagged white cliffs and turquoise inlets at the island's northwest tip. Best from a viewpoint above or a small boat below.

Beach & Coast · Afionas

Porto Timoni

A double-bay beach reached by a 30-minute footpath from the village of Afionas. Two seas, one strip of pebbles, no road in.

Nature · North Corfu

Mount Pantokrator

The island's highest peak (906 m). On a clear morning you can see Albania, Italy and the whole length of Corfu from the monastery at the top.

Village · Pantokrator slopes

Old Perithia

A 14th-century stone village half-abandoned, half-revived by a few tavernas serving slow Corfiot food under walnut trees.

Local tip · Lunch at Foros — ask for whatever they cooked that morning.

Village · Northeast coast

Kassiopi

A working fishing harbor turned easy-going village with a ruined Angevin castle on the hill and small swimming coves a short walk away.

Local Favorite · Northeast coast

Agni Bay

Three family tavernas on a pebble cove with no road behind them. Most arrive by boat for long lunches of bourdetto and cold white wine.

Local tip · Toula's is famous for prawn pilaf — book ahead in summer.

Village · Northeast coast

Kalami & the White House

Lawrence Durrell's 1930s home sits at one end of a quiet bay. Swim, then eat upstairs in the house where Prospero's Cell was written.

Village · South of town

Benitses Old Village

Narrow lanes climbing into a green valley behind the harbor — an older, slower Corfu of cats, fountains and grandmothers on doorsteps.

Local Favorite · South Corfu

Lefkimmi

The unhurried south: a salt-canal running through pastel houses, working salt pans nearby and almost no tourists.

Nature · South Corfu

Alykes Lefkimmis Salt Pans

A protected wetland of salt flats where flamingos, herons and avocets stop on migration. Take binoculars and go at dusk.

Nature · Off Corfu Town

Vidos Island

A tiny pine-covered island a 10-minute ferry from the old port. Quiet beaches, a Serbian war memorial and almost no buildings.

Local Favorite · Corfu Town

Corfu Municipal Market

Where locals shop: fish on ice in the morning, mountains of olives, kumquat liqueur, noumboulo (smoked pork) and sour island cheese.

Local tip · Open mornings, Mon–Sat. Bring cash and small bags.