Corfu travel guide: when to go, what to do and which area to pick

The heart of the island fits inside the old town of Kerkyra, a UNESCO site, with its two fortresses, the Liston arcades built under Napoleon and the maze of the Campiello. Allow two full days for the town, the Mon Repos palace and the Kanoni viewpoint facing the islet of Pontikonisi. Ten kilometres south, the Achilleion palace commissioned by Empress Sissi takes half a day, closed on Mondays out of season. This is the area to choose without a car: everything is reachable by blue town buses.

From Kontokali to Kassiopi runs the wooded coast where the Durrell family lived in the 1930s. The pebble coves of Nissaki, Kalami and Agni link up by small motorboat, rentable without a licence. Above, the road climbs to the Pantokrator summit at 906 m, with views of Albania and, on a clear day, Italy. The partly ruined village of Old Perithia, on the northern slope, has Venetian houses and four tavernas. Set aside a full day for the loop.

The west holds the most spectacular scenery: the six coves of Paleokastritsa below a 13th-century monastery, the Byzantine fortress of Angelokastro and the Bella Vista viewpoint at Lakones. Further south, the sandy beaches of Agios Gordios, Glyfada and Myrtiotissa face the swell but are well placed for sunset. A rowing-boat trip to the sea caves from Paleokastritsa lasts about 40 minutes and costs around fifteen euros.

From Corfu, a boat day reaches Paxos and the turquoise water of Antipaxos: leave early from Kerkyra or Kavos, about an hour's crossing, back in the late afternoon. On land, the Corfu Trail crosses the island over 220 km from south to north; a three-hour section through the olive groves is enough for a taste. The other Ionian Islands such as Lefkada or Kefalonia, by contrast, need a flight or a long trip via the mainland.