Corfu is blessed with paradisiacal beaches, invigorating scenery and beguiling villages and towns. One such captivating village is Paleokastritsa, settled on the island’s north-west coast.
Fancy going somewhere different for Christmas and experiencing the festival season amidst a unique culture, scenery and climate?
Corfu might be one of the best-known and frequently-visited of the Greek islands but there’s plenty on this beautiful island that remains unspoiled and off the beaten track.
If you yearn to be away from the tourist trail during your holiday to Corfu, check out the following three lesser known highlights of this sun-soaked and fascinating Greek island.
The cove of Kouloúra
Corfu’s coastline is scattered with pretty and peaceful coves. Kouloúra cove tends to remain hidden from the crowds. This horseshoe-shaped harbour was the place where Gerald Durrell wrote his famous ‘My Family and Other Animals’ book during the 1930s when the family lived on Corfu.
Kouloúra cove is located on the northeast of the island. Apart from a taverna and several properties, little can be found at Kouloúra, other than a handful of fishing boats bobbing up and down in the water. The lack of development in the area is owed to the steep shoreline that surrounds the tree-enclosed bay, which doesn’t lend its hand to building work.
Palaiokastritsa
Palaiokastritsa is a pretty village hidden in the mountains on the western flank of the island. Little is here except a charming beach bar known as La Grotto. The bay is lapped by translucent water. According to legend, Palaiokastritsa’s bay is where Odysseus met Nausicaa for the first time. There is also a monastery at Palaiokastritsa which dates back to 1225.
Myrtiótissa Monastery
Lawrence Durrell described Myrtiótissa Beach as “Perhaps the loveliest beach in the world.” Whilst the beach at Myrtiótissa may have become considerably more popular since Lawrence Durrell lived on the island, the monastery at Myrtiótissa remains something of a lesser-known highlight.
This 14th century monastery is up the hill from the beach. A lone monk at the site shows visitors where the monastery’s sacred grotto lies.
Not far from the Greek mainland and the coast of Albania, lies the beautiful island of Corfu. It is only 65 kilometres long and half that distance in width, at its widest point. But what Corfu does have is some 217 kilometres of coastline, which attracts visitors all year round. Much of the island is mountainous, the highest point being Mount Pantokrator, some 906 metres above sea level.
Corfu is known for its stunning coastline, scattered with beautiful beaches, where translucent water laps the golden sand and pretty pebbles. If you’re lucky enough to be heading to this sun-drenched island sometime soon and are intent on finding some idyllic spots to lay out the towel and laze the day away, take a look at the following five fabulous beaches every beach-lover should strive to make part of their Corfu itinerary.
The Arena of Pula, in Croatia’s province of Istria, overlooking the harbour to the northeast of the old town, is a spectacular reminder of the past where gladiators fought to the death. It does not take much imagination to picture sitting in one of the rows and envisage the roar of a blood thirsty crowd. The amphitheatre could hold 20,000 people but now it stands silent, and if you go out of season you may well be the only person standing in this vast space.
Kalami Bay is situated on the northern coast of Corfu. A horseshoe bay, swathed in beauty, looking out over the Ionian Sea, surrounded by wonderful hillside villages. If you are thinking about travelling to the stunning town of Kalami, take a look at some of the things to do in this bustling Corfu town.
Why wait until next summer to enjoy a well-deserved holiday? If the prospect of travelling abroad this winter sounds appealing, then why not head to the stunningly verdant lands of Corfu?
If you’re thinking about visiting a Greek island, the picturesque yet bustling islands of Crete and Corfu would make a wonderful choice. Here’s why…
Through a classic trilogy of Corfu memoirs, late British nature writer and expatriate of Corfu, Gerald Durrell, is hailed as being responsible for putting Corfu on the tourist map, accountable for the tourist invasion of the 1970s and 80s. Now a new six-part ITV drama, The Durrells, based on Gerald Durrell’s memoirs of his life on Corfu, is putting the beautiful Greek island back on the public pedestal it deserves.
Set in 1935, the drama is centred on the Durrell family and their life on the Greek island. Louisa Durrell’s husband had died several years earlier and the money he left the family is almost gone. With her four children going off the rails, Louisa has a decision to make – continue to struggle, marry someone wealthy but oppressive or make a radical escape… Mrs Durrell decides on the latter and the family uproot to Corfu…
