Why Corfu?
You will discover that it is an island with a long history and a
thousand different faces.
In the north-east, below
Mount Pantokrator, is a string of pure white beaches lapped by
translucent waters. Here in the morning, you can amble down to a
harbourside café and while away an hour over Greek coffee, yoghurt
and scented honey, soaking in the peace and heat of the
Mediterranean summer. Later, stretch out on a lilo in the warm
turquoise waters, with children splashing contentedly nearby, and,
behind you, the heat-blurred outline of the mainland mountains. Or
hire a little motor boat and potter off around a headland or two to
find another underpopulated beach with its own taverna and a
sprinkling of sunbeds.
Tomorrow you might take
a trip to Corfu Town, mingle with the crowds, pick up fresh fruit,
fish and local herbs at the market, stop at the Liston Arcade,
designed by the French when Corfu was under Napoleon, or visit the
museum which was once the British governor's headquarters. And catch
a local game of cricket in progress, beside the old Venetian
fortress which resisted all attempts at conquest by the Turks.
On another day, strike
out for the west coast, with its fabulous sandy beaches, and visit
the beauty spot of Paleokastritsa with its famous monastery. Then,
for the more adventurous, there are climbs around the foothills of
Mount Pantokrator, following old Venetian stone-flagged paths
through the olive groves to the abandoned villages of Sinies and
Perithea.
Yes, Corfu today has shaken off its
few years of tourist saturation to emerge fresh and rejuvenated, its
people once again displaying their legendary hospitality to
visitors.
Resorts
Barbati
Barbati beach is a white stretch of shingle against an azure
sea, some twenty kilometres north of Corfu Town.
Nissaki
An attractive village along the coast road which winds around
the lower slopes of Mount Pontocrator.
Aghios Gordis
A popular sandy-beach resort on the west coast of the island.
Kaminaki
Kaminaki nestles at the foot of the olive and cypress-clad
slopes of Corfu's northeast headland.
Aghios
Stephanos
In a beautiful natural setting on the island's northeast
coast, Aghios Stephanos is a former fishing village which remains "a
corner of Corfu as it used to be".
