Must-see attractions in Ionian Islands

  • CORFU,GREECE-APIRL 16,2019 : Tourists walking around Palaio Frourio in corfu city; Shutterstock ID 1545626501; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi
1545626501

    Palaio Frourio

    Corfu Town

    The rocky headland that juts east from Corfu Town is topped by the Venetian-built 14th-century Palaio Frourio. Before that, already enclosed within…

  • Achilleion Palace

    Corfu Town

    Set atop a steep coastal hill 12km south of Corfu Town, the Achilleion Palace was built during the 1890s as the summer palace of Austria's empress…

  • Corfu Museum of Asian Art

    Corfu Town

    Home to stunning artefacts ranging from prehistoric bronzes to works in onyx and ivory, this excellent museum occupies the central portions of the Palace…

  • Kastro

    Kythira

    Crowning the rocky headland that soars at the southern end of Hora, this tumble-down 14th-century fortress was built by Kythira’s first Venetian governor…

  • Myrtos Beach

    Kefallonia

    From the road that zigzags down to it, you'll understand why Myrtos is touted as one of the most breathtaking beaches in all of Greece. From afar it's…

  • Petani Beach

    Kefallonia

    The highlight of the Paliki Peninsula is breathtaking Petani Beach, a spectacular strand of white sand and pebble that’s enough to entice a jaded mermaid…

  • Byzantine Museum

    Zakynthos

    This magnificent museum of ecclesiastical art is housed in a beautifully restored building on the central waterfront plaza. Almost everything here was…

  • Myrtiotissa Beach

    Corfu

    Writer Lawrence Durrell hailed Myrtiotissa as arguably the best beach in the world. Now dominated by nudists, it remains relatively pristine because it’s…

  • Palace of St Michael and St George Corfu

    Palace of St Michael & St George

    Corfu Town

    Beyond the northern end of the Spianada, the smart Regency-style Palace of St Michael and St George was built by the British from 1819 onwards, to house…

  • Liston, a pedestrian street with arcaded terraces and fashionable cafes in the western edge of Spianada Square in the center of the city.

    Liston

    Corfu Town

    Corfu Town owes the elegant, photogenic Liston, the arcade that lines the northern half of the Spianada, to neither the Venetians nor the British but to…

  • Aerial drone bird's eye view photo of iconic historical small island of Vidos a few nautical miles away from Corfu old town, Corfu island, Ionian, Greece; Shutterstock ID 1201132525; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Vidos Island

    Corfu Town

    Hourly boats from the Old Port make the 10-minute crossing to tiny, thickly wooded Vidos Island (€4 return), immediately offshore. The island is the final…

  • Colourful rooftop view, Corfu Town, Corfu, Greece

    Church of Agios Spyridon

    Corfu Town

    Pilgrims and day-trippers alike throng this Old Town landmark. As well as magnificent frescoes, the small 16th-century basilica holds the remains of Corfu…

  • Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint

    Zakynthos

    The most dramatic sight along the west coast is magnificent Shipwreck Beach. A favourite of Instagrammers travelling through the Greek islands, the beach…

  • Mon Repos Estate

    Corfu Town

    This park-like wooded estate 2km around the bay south of the Old Town was the site of Corfu’s most important ancient settlement, Palaeopolis. More…

  • Church of St Dionysios

    Zakynthos

    Devoted to Zakynthos' patron saint, the Church of St Dionysios (1948; rebuilt following the 1953 earthquake) stands at the southern end of the waterfront,…

  • Temple of Artemis

    Corfu Town

    Of the many ruins from ancient Palaeopolis that lie scattered throughout the Kanoni Peninsula, the most important is the Temple of Artemis, signposted…

  • Moni Agiou Gerasimou

    Kefallonia

    Dedicated to Kefallonia’s patron saint, Moni Agiou Gerasimou is maintained by nuns. The large complex contains pretty gardens, a big, modern church and a…

  • Corfu Living History

    Corfu Town

    This town house has been remodelled to illustrate the daily lives of a fictitious merchant family from the mid-19th century. Enthusiastic guides make the…

  • Agios Georgios Kastro

    Kefallonia

    This 16th-century Venetian castle enjoys stellar views from atop a conspicuous pyramid-shaped hill 7km southeast of Argostoli. Kefallonia's capital for…

  • Antivouniotissa Museum

    Corfu Town

    Home to an outstanding collection of Byzantine and post-Byzantine icons and artefacts, the exquisite, timber-roofed Church of Our Lady of Antivouniotissa…

  • Museum of Palaeopolis

    Corfu Town

    The Museum of Palaeopolis lies deep in the woods within Mon Repos Estate, built by the British in 1832. It's all a bit rundown, but if you can see through…

  • Erimitis Beach

    Ionian Islands

    At the foot of huge cliffs on the west coast of Paxi, Ermitis is about as dramatic as beaches come. The waters sparkle in a surreal, almost unnatural blue…

  • Municipal Art Gallery I

    Corfu Town

    Make the effort to find this gallery – it's entered from the exterior on the eastern side of the Palace of St Michael and St George. You’ll be rewarded…

  • Spianada

    Corfu Town

    The Spianada, the broad park adjoining the Old Town, was cleared by the Venetians to allow a clear line of fire from the Old Fort. During the 19th century…

  • Archaeological Museum

    Corfu Town

    Built in the 1960s, Corfu Town’s Archaeological Museum has finally reopened after nearly a decade of renovations. The result of this work is a modern and…

  • Menekrates Funeral Monument

    Corfu Town

    A small circular tomb, constructed using stone slabs during the 6th century BC, stands not far south of the Old Town. While not open to visitors, it’s…

  • Logothetis Organic Farm

    Zakynthos

    The 80-hectare Logothetis farm produces purely organic olive oils (some flavoured with orange, lemon and other fruits) as well as olive-oil products. You…

  • Corfu Reading Society

    Corfu Town

    Although there’s no obvious sign on this grand cream-and-white villa, anyone is welcome to climb its external staircase and settle down with a book in the…

  • Monastery of St George

    Zakynthos

    In an evocative clifftop site, the Monastery of St George has an interior covered in faded frescoes. The strange tower at the centre of the complex was…

  • Egremni Beach

    Lefkada

    Long famed as one of the best beaches in Greece, remote Egremni was devastated by an earthquake in 2015. Both the road that ran to the clifftop above it…

  • Museum of Solomos

    Zakynthos

    To give it its full name, the Museum of Solomos and Eminent Zakynthian People houses not only the archives of island-born poet Dionysios Solomos (1798…

  • Neo Frourio

    Corfu Town

    The forbidding Neo Frourio is in fact only a little younger than the Old Fort across town. Surrounded by massive walls that crown the low hill at the…

  • Kastro

    Zakynthos

    A ruined Venetian fortress sits atop the wooded slope that looms over the town centre. Reached by a steep but enjoyable 15-minute hike or a circuitous 2…

  • Church of St George

    Corfu Town

    A dazzling white edifice resembling an ancient Greek temple dominates a sweeping flat platform on the southern flanks of the Palaio Frourio. Visible from…

  • Corfu Philharmonic Society

    Corfu Town

    Via battered old instruments, photos and scores, this entertaining little museum tells the story of Greece’s first-ever marching band, which performed at…

  • Serbian Museum of Corfu

    Corfu Town

    Housed in the Serbian Consulate, this small museum tells of how Serbia’s army and government, retreating from the Bulgarians during WWI, were invited by…

  • Byzantine Collection of Corfu

    Corfu Town

    This gallery occupies one room of a former gatehouse within the Palaio Frourio. While it’s not to be confused with the superior Antivouniotissa Museum, it…

  • Moni Faneromenis

    Lefkada

    Set in beautiful hilltop gardens 3km west of town towards Agios Nikitas, Moni Faneromenis was founded in 1634 and rebuilt following a fire in 1886. The…

  • Drogarati Cave

    Kefallonia

    A popular stop for round-island coach tours, Drogarati Cave is a natural cavern hollowed into the hillside 4km south of Sami. A short, steep stairway…

  • Fortress of Agia Mavra

    Lefkada

    Guarding Lefkada at the start of the causeway, 1.4km from town, the Agia Mavra fortress was constructed in the 14th century and later expanded by the…