Current Time in Corfu, Greece

Corfu, known in Greek as Kerkyra, is the principal city and capital of the island of Corfu in the Ionian Islands of northwestern Greece, situated on the eastern coast of the island overlooking the Corfu Channel that separates the island from Albania and mainland Greece. The old town of Corfu is one of the most extraordinarily well-preserved historic cities in the Greek world, containing an exceptional ensemble of Venetian, French, and British colonial architecture that reflects the island's unique history as a possession of these successive Western European powers. The Old Town of Corfu was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

With a population of approximately 40,000 in the city, Corfu is the capital of the Ionian Islands regional unit and one of Greece's most important and historically distinctive cities. The island of Corfu receives millions of visitors annually, drawn by the combination of the extraordinary old town, the lush green landscape (Corfu is the greenest of the major Greek islands due to its higher rainfall), excellent beaches, and a cultural sophistication rooted in its long Western European connection that distinguishes it from the more classically Greek character of the Aegean islands.

The history of Corfu as a major city begins with the ancient Greek colony of Corcyra, established by Corinthian colonists in 734 BC, which rapidly grew into one of the most powerful city-states in ancient Greece. The naval battle between Corcyra and Corinth in 433 BC, and the alliance that Corcyra subsequently formed with Athens, was a direct cause of the Peloponnesian War according to Thucydides, making Corfu significant in the geopolitics of classical Greece. After the Byzantine period, the island was captured by the Venetian Republic in 1401 and remained under Venetian rule for nearly four centuries until 1797, a period that left an indelible architectural and cultural mark on the old town.

The Old Town of Corfu occupies a promontory between two Venetian fortresses. The Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio), built on a small peninsula, and the New Fortress (Neo Frourio) to the west together form the defensive framework of the old town. The Liston, a French neoclassical arcade modeled on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris and built during the period of French rule (1807-1814), faces the Spianada (Esplanade), the largest square in Greece, which was used by the Venetians and British as a cricket ground, a tradition maintained by local cricket clubs to the present day. Cricket in Corfu is one of the most charming legacies of British colonial rule (1814-1864), when Corfu served as the capital of the United States of the Ionian Islands under British protection.

The Church of Saint Spyridon, the patron saint of Corfu, houses the mummified body of the saint whose intercession Corfiots credit with saving the island from plague and Ottoman invasion on multiple occasions. The silver reliquary containing the saint's remains is carried in procession through the old town four times a year in celebrations that are among the most moving expressions of religious and civic identity in Greece. The Archaeological Museum of Corfu houses significant collections including the Gorgon Pediment from the Temple of Artemis, one of the finest examples of early Greek architectural sculpture.

The Achilleion Palace, built by the Austrian Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) in 1890 and later used by Kaiser Wilhelm II, stands on a hilltop south of the city with extensive gardens and panoramic views over the island and sea. The island's landscape of olive groves, cypress trees, and Venetian village houses creates a scenery of uncommon beauty, and the beaches of the island including Glyfada, Paleokastritsa, and Sidari offer excellent swimming and snorkeling.

Corfu is served by an international airport with connections across Europe and by ferry services from Brindisi, Ancona, and Patras. The city's UNESCO World Heritage old town, unique Venetian-French-British architectural heritage, cricket tradition, Saint Spyridon devotion, and exceptional island landscape make Corfu one of the most historically distinctive and culturally rich destinations in all of Greece.