Sightseeing in Corfu

Corfu Town sits on a headland between two fortresses, and that is literal: the Old Fortress occupies a rocky spur cut off from the town by a seawater moat, the New Fortress holds the hill on the other side. Between them lies the one town in Greece built to Venetian rules — tall narrow houses of six or seven storeys, washing strung across the street, stairways instead of alleys. The quarter is called Campiello, and getting lost in it is part of the programme, because any way out runs into either the waterfront or the Spianada.

The Spianada is the largest square in Greece, a former parade ground the Venetians kept clear so the fortress guns had a field of fire. Along it runs the Liston, an arcaded gallery the French built on the model of the Rue de Rivoli; today the vaults hold cafés. On the lawn in summer they play cricket — a legacy of the British protectorate and the only place in the country where this is ordinary. Beside it stands the Palace of Saint Michael and Saint George, the British residence, now the Museum of Asian Art.

The town's chief shrine is the church of Saint Spyridon, with the tallest bell tower on the island; the patron's relics are carried out four times a year, and on those days the town stops. To the south, the viewpoint at Kanoni looks out on Vlacherna and Pontikonisi, the Mouse Island with its cypresses. And nearly everything out of town starts here: jeeps into the mountains, coaches to the Achilleion, boats to Paxos and Sivota.