Corfu Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing Bus Tour

Corfu Old Town, Spianada and the Liston

Corfu Old Town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007, and it looks unlike any other Greek town. Four centuries of Venetian rule, followed by French and British administrations, left tall pastel houses, arcaded streets and narrow stepped lanes called kantounia, all packed between two fortresses. Its heart is Spianada Square, one of the largest squares in Greece, with gardens, a cricket pitch from the British era and the Palace of St Michael and St George at its northern end.

Along the western side runs the Liston, an elegant arcade built in the early nineteenth century and lined with cafés, a few steps from the red-domed bell tower of the Church of Saint Spyridon, the island's patron saint. Hop off at the Spianada stop and allow at least two hours here; a Corfu Old Town tour on foot is best in the morning or after five, when the lanes are cooler.

The Old Fortress, the New Fortress and the ports

The Old Fortress stands on a rocky promontory with two peaks at the eastern edge of town, cut off from Spianada by a sea moat dug by the Venetians. Inside are barracks, tunnels, a British-built church in the shape of a Greek temple and a lighthouse at the top with sweeping views over the town and the sea towards Albania. The New Fortress, built by the Venetians from the late sixteenth century, rises above the Old Port, its gate still marked by the winged lion of Saint Mark.

The bus passes both on its way between Spianada, Spilia Square and the Old Port, and Spilia is the easiest stop for walking into the western side of the Old Town and up to the New Fortress. Entry tickets to the fortresses are not part of the bus ticket and are bought at the gate. Plan about an hour for the Old Fortress if you want to climb to the lighthouse.

Kanoni, Vlacherna Monastery and Pontikonisi

Kanoni, on the tip of the peninsula south of town, takes its name from a cannon placed here during the French period, and it gives one of the most photographed views in Greece. Below the terrace, the small white Vlacherna Monastery from the seventeenth century sits on its own islet, reached by a narrow causeway, while further out the wooded islet of Pontikonisi, or Mouse Island, holds a tiny Byzantine chapel. Just beside them, planes land and take off over the lagoon at Corfu's airport.

Hop off at the Kanoni stop, walk down the steps to the causeway and visit the monastery, then catch a later bus; small boats run across to Pontikonisi in summer. Allow 45 minutes to an hour. Kanoni is also where a pedestrian bridge crosses the lagoon towards Perama, linking the two bus lines in a walk of about fifteen to twenty minutes.

Mon Repos and the Anemomylos waterfront

Mon Repos is a neoclassical villa built between 1828 and 1831 as a summer residence for the British governor of the Ionian Islands and later used by the Greek royal family. Today it houses the archaeological museum of Palaiopolis, telling the story of ancient Corcyra, the city that once stood on this peninsula. The shady park around it hides the remains of Doric temples and is one of the calmest green spaces near Corfu Town.

The next stop, Anemomylos, takes its name from the old stone windmill tower at the southern end of the Garitsa promenade. From here a seafront walk of about fifteen minutes leads back towards Spianada, with the Old Fortress straight ahead across the water, and there is a small swimming spot by the rocks. Mon Repos is a good place to spend an hour in the shade during the hottest part of the day.

The Achilleion Palace, Gastouri and Perama

The Achilleion Palace stands in the hill village of Gastouri, about ten kilometres south of Corfu Town. It was built in the early 1890s as a summer palace for an Austrian empress and dedicated to the hero Achilles, whose statues dominate its terraced gardens: the marble Dying Achilles and a colossal bronze Achilles facing the sea. A terrace lined with statues of the Muses looks out over the east coast and the mainland mountains beyond.

On the Achilleion line the bus stops for about 30 minutes, and the default ticket includes entry to the gardens and outdoor areas; the museum rooms inside are closed for restoration. Achilleion Palace opening hours start in the morning, and the first bus at 09:30 is the best time to visit Achilleion, before the tour coaches. The route returns along the coast through Perama, a seaside village with views back to Pontikonisi, before reaching Spianada and the Old Port.