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The insider’s guide to hidden Corfu

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Paleokastritsa, Greece

Paleokastritsa, Coastline of Corfu, Greece

Nick Edwards, author of numerous guides to the Greek Islands for Rough Guides and DK, reveals his secret spots and off the beaten track highlights on the beautiful Ionian Island of Corfu.

As Corfu approaches its half century of mass tourism, many people still share the popular misconception that the island is only about rowdy bars, sardine-packed beaches and fish’n'chips.

While it is true there is no shortage of busy resorts from Sidari in the northwest down to the notorious party haven of Kavos near the southern tip, where hi-tech nightclubs and bars engage in decibel level duels, Corfu offers plenty of idyllic and peaceful escapes for those wanting a truly Greek experience away from the cheesy “Greek Nights”. After all, the locals had given up smashing plates long before the economic crisis made the practice rather unviable.

If it’s unspoilt and quiet beaches you are after there is a plethora to choose, and you may well find yourself with a stretch of shoreline to yourself, even in high season. One fine example is Almyros on the north coast, east of bustling Acharavi. Here several kilometres of fine sand back onto the marshy Andinioti Lagoon, with just a few holiday villas and the odd taverna for refreshment.

Its southern counterpart, three-quarters of the way down the west coast, is Halikouna, where soft dunes and even finer sand separate the Ionian Sea from the larger Korission Lagoon, home to an impressive number of migratory birds.

Even within a few kilometres of beer-soaked Kavos, just on the opposite side of the southern tip, you can luxuriate on the little visited strand of Aï Gordis Paleohoriou (not to be confused with the resort of Aï Gordis further north), which few of the nearby revellers reach on their quad bikes.

Halfway up the west coast is more famous Myrtiotissa, the place to go if you want to sun your nether regions. It does get crowded in high season but will give you the opportunity to visit the precariously perched monastery of Our Lady of the Myrtles (fully clothed, of course!) and to decide if you agree with Lawrence Durrell’s claim in Prospero’s Cell that it is “perhaps the loveliest beach in the world”.

Back to the top of the island, another beautiful spot for a dip is Longas, where a narrow strip of sand lies below red and ochre layered cliffs. This is by far the most attractive of the beaches in Corfu’s northwest corner, drawing a steady stream of discerning souls but far from crowded. It is an especially romantic place to enjoy a sunset dinner at the aptly named Panorama taverna (+30 26630 51846) or a cocktail at their open-air 7th Heaven bar.

There are many other superb locations for dining or staying at dotted around the coastline, including two great establishments in the southeast. On the narrow shore of Boukari, where the road almost seems to skim across the water, the welcoming Vlachopoulos family run Boukari Beach (+30 26620 51846), offering a selection of accommodations and one of Corfu’s best seafood tavernas – pick out a live lobster from their tank. A little further down the coast, Panorama Villas (+30 26620 51707) is tucked on a bluff above pebbly Notos beach. Its delightful restaurant serves up home style meals under the shade of luminescent bougainvillea.

View of Agni Beach, Corfu

View of Agni Beach, Corfu

Better known but definitely worth a trip for its growing gourmet reputation, the modest-sized bay of Agni lies amid the series of indentations in the northeast of the island that bulges out towards Albania, easily visible across the water.

Of the trio of tavernas here, Nikolaos (+30 26630 91243) shades it as the best for the warm welcome you will be afforded and the excellent range of tasty mezedes and traditional dishes such as lamb kleftiko, roast in a clay oven. Alternatively, you could try almost adjacent Toula’s (+30 26630 91350), a more upmarket restaurant with an international menu, where you can get the likes of Black Angus Argentinian steaks.

Corfu is not all about beaches and brine either. As the second largest of the Ionian Islands, there is a wealth of natural riches to explore inland, all too often ignored by the casual visitor. Take the island’s highest point, for example, Mount Pandokrator. This imposing hulk that dominates the northwest makes for a fine excursion and, needless to say, affords unmatched 360 degree vistas across the island and over the sea to the mainland and neighbouring Albania. While on its upper slopes, you can also stop at the picturesque village of Ano Perithia, which boasts a collection of stone houses and old churches, as well as several excellent tavernas, such as Old Perithia (+30 26630 98055), famed for its tender roast goat.

Down in the island’s core, not far from the only inland resort of Pelekas, another of the island’s most attractively authentic villages is Sinarades, where cobbled alleys wind up and down from the main road through town. On one of these you will find the Folk Museum of Central Corfu (Tues-Sun 9.30am- 2.30pm), which is basically a traditional house preserved in the aspic of time, complete with original furnishings, utensils and so on.

Some way further southeast, Agios Mattheos is another handsome village where few tourists tread and even less find their way up the south’s highest peak, Agii Deka, where the monks of the tiny eponymous monastery lovingly farm a peaceful orchard.

Finally, for those who really want to get acquainted with the island’s natural splendours there is the painstakingly devised Corfu Trail. Inaugurated in 2001 after years of preparation, the trail winds backwards and forwards across the island from Cape Asprokavos in the south to Cape Agias Ekaterinis in the far north, totalling a surprising two hundred kilometres in length.

The entire route is carefully marked out with yellow aluminium signs, making it quite straightforward to follow. Naturally enough, if you don’t have the time or stamina to cover it all, you can choose sections to suit your taste and the strength of your leg muscles. It’s certainly a good way to work up an appetite for one of the many tavernas along or nearby the trail.


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