Ionian Islands
Corfu Town
The Ionian's best base for a proper UNESCO old town over a resort strip: sleep beside the Venetian quarter, pay for the Old Fortress and the Achilleion, and treat the 3km airport as a 10-minute taxi.
Best length
2-3 nights for the town; more with beach days
Airport
Corfu (Ioannis Kapodistrias, CFU), ~3km south
Airport to centre
Taxi ~10 min €10-€15; Line 15 bus ~10 min ~€1.70
Best base
Campiello old town; Garitsa Bay for quieter, slightly cheaper rooms
In short
Corfu Town at a glance
Corfu Town is the Ionian's best base for travellers who want a proper UNESCO old town rather than a resort strip: stay inside or just beside the Venetian quarter, pay for the Old Fortress and the Achilleion but skip the chargeable beach excursions you can reach yourself, walk everywhere in the centre, and treat the 3km airport as a 10-minute taxi rather than a logistics problem.
The short version
- Stay inside the Campiello quarter or the Liston edge so you can walk to dinner and avoid relying on a car in the old town.
- Pay for the Old Fortress and the Achilleion Palace; the New Fortress is a cheaper, quieter alternative if you only want one viewpoint.
- The airport is barely 3km out, so a taxi is about €10-€15 and the Line 15 bus is roughly €1.70 rather than a half-day exercise.
- Base in town and day-trip out to Paleokastritsa or the south coast beaches; do not book a beach-resort hotel if you mainly came for the architecture.
- Two or three nights covers the old town, both fortresses and the palace; add nights only if you want beach days or boat trips.
Corfu Town is the rare Greek island capital you’d visit for the architecture before the beach. Four centuries of Venetian rule, a stint of French occupation and a spell under the British left a UNESCO old town of pastel lanes, an arcaded café terrace modelled on Paris’s Rue de Rivoli, a cricket-pitch square and two sea fortresses — all packed into a walkable spit you can cross in fifteen minutes. The trap is treating it like a resort: book a beach hotel on the far coast, hire a car you can’t drive into the centre, and you’ve missed why the town exists.
The honest plan is two or three nights with the town as your base. Stay inside the Campiello quarter or on the Liston edge so dinner is a stroll, pay for the Old Fortress and the Achilleion Palace, and use the local buses or a short taxi for the south-coast beaches rather than basing yourself out there. The airport is barely 3km away, so arrival is a ten-minute hop, not a logistics exercise. Below, the structured planning — where to stay, what to book, how the airport transfer works and a realistic budget in pounds — picks up from here.
Plan your Corfu Town trip
Keep a first trip focused: book the big timed sights, then leave room for neighbourhoods and food.
Top things to do in Corfu Town
Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio)
The Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio) is the Venetian sea fort on the eastern spit of Corfu Town, its twin peaks jutting out over the water. It is worth the climb to the lighthouse for the view back over the Liston rooftops and the bay. Go early in the day, before the cruise-ship groups land and fill the ramparts.
Old Fortress of Corfu
The Venetian sea-fort on the twin-peaked headland is a cheap, walk-in sight — about €6, no booking needed, reached on foot across the iron bridge from the Esplanade. The real reason to go is the climb to the British lighthouse on the higher peak, which gives a 360° view over the red roofs of the old town, the New Fortress and Vido island. Pay to go up; don't expect a polished museum.
Where to stay first
The areas that make a first visit easier — not an exhaustive directory.
Campiello (old town)
££ mid-rangeThe oldest, most atmospheric quarter: pastel Venetian houses, washing lines across the lanes and tiny squares. Stay here for the everywhere-on-foot evenings, but accept small rooms, stairs and luggage hassle through pedestrian alleys.
Best for: First-timers, couples, walkers
Liston / Spianada edge
£££ premiumOn the smarter western fringe by the arcaded cafés and the cricket-pitch Spianada. Slightly pricier and busier, but you are seconds from breakfast and both fortresses without the deepest old-town stairs.
Best for: Short stays, easy access, café life
Garitsa Bay
££ mid-rangeA 10-minute waterfront walk south of the centre with bigger, quieter rooms and better value than the old town. Good if you want a sea view and a calmer base but still want to walk in for dinner.
Best for: Value, quiet, sea views
Mandouki / old port
£ valueNear the ferry and old port, handy if you are island-hopping or arriving by boat. Less charming and a bit scruffier, so choose it for logistics rather than atmosphere.
Best for: Ferry connections, budget
Airport to city centre
| Option | Time | Cost | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxi to old town | ~10 min | about €10-€15 | Simplest with luggage; agree the fare or meter first |
| Line 15 blue bus | ~10 min | about €1.70 single | Cheapest, runs roughly every 30-45 min; not ideal late at night |
| Pre-booked private transfer | ~10 min | around €20-€30 | Worth it for groups or late arrivals |
| Walk | ~40-45 min | free | Doable with light bags; the airport is only ~3km out |
When to go
Sweet spot: May, June, September and early October are the sweet spot: warm enough for the south-coast beaches and boat trips, comfortable for the old-town stairs, and far calmer than the August charter peak.
July and August are hot, packed and pricey because Corfu is a core UK package island and August sits in the school holidays; spring and autumn give you better fares and walkable heat. Many resort-side restaurants and excursions wind down from late October to April, so a winter visit is town-and-fortress only, not a beach trip.
What it costs
UK return flights to Corfu are often £40-£120 in spring and autumn when booked ahead, but summer Saturday charter dates and the August school holidays push fares well past £200; Corfu is a heavily packaged route so fares spike around the Saturday changeover.
Daily budget per person
Eating on the Liston arcade is the priciest meal in town; a freddo there can run €4-€5. Walk two lanes back into Campiello or up towards San Rocco for taverna prices closer to €10-€14 a main.
Book the essentials
Where to stay
Tours & tickets
Airport transfers
Car hire
Stay connected
Also in Greece
Corfu Town FAQs
How many days do you need in Corfu Town?
Where should first-timers stay in Corfu Town?
Do you need a car in Corfu Town?
Ready to book?
Find hotels in Corfu Town