NOTE: this post was updated for clarity on September 14, 2020.
The Greek island of Corfu is a popular port call on Eastern Mediterranean and Greek Isles cruise itineraries.
With its strategic location in the Ionian Sea, the island of Corfu has a colorful history of battles and conquests, as well as prominent ties to Greek mythology.
The island of Corfu covers 146,500 acres and is 40 miles long and up to 20 miles wide. We visited twice on two different cruises.
The first time we visited Corfu, we took a 4 X 4 back road adventure around the island. Those participating in this shore excursion were divided into groups with three or four people. Each group was given a 4-wheel drive vehicle to drive in caravan style around the more mountainous areas of Corfu.
Our group made stops along the way for photos and enjoyed a coffee break in a small village. At one stop, the guide pointed out Albania in the distance. The northeastern edge of Corfu lies only two miles from the coast of Saranda, Albania.
This tour was a scenic and fun way to explore the rugged, rural beauty of Corfu.
During our next visit to Corfu, we wanted to visit Achilleion, the palace originally built in 1889 for Empress Elizabeth of Austria.
“Sissi” — as the Empress was known — had studied ancient Greek literature, especially Homer. She decorated her Corfu palace and surrounding gardens with paintings and statues from Greek mythology.
The palace was named Achilleion after Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan Was and the central character in Homer’s The Iliad.
Empress Elisabeth wrote “I want a palace with pillared colonnades and hanging gardens, protected from prying glances – a palace worthy of Achilles, who despised all mortals and did not fear even the gods.”
Italian architect Raffaele Caritto designed the palace, and German sculptor Ernst Herter created the statues inspired by Greek mythology. His famous Dying Achilles sculpture is the centerpiece of the Achilleion gardens.
The hilltop gardens surrounding Achilleion provide panoramic views of the surrounding hills and valleys, as well as the Ionian sea.
Elisabeth visited Achilleion frequently until her death in 1898. (She was assassinated in Geneva by Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni.)
Elisabeth’s daughter inherited Achilleion but rarely visited.
In 1907, German Kaiser Wilhelm II purchased Achilleion. He commissioned the bolder, giant statue of the Triumphant Achilles as a sign of his power. Wilhelm II used the palace as his summer residence until 1914 when World War I was declared.
During World War I, the Achilleion was used as a military hospital by French and Serbian troops. After World War I, it became the property of the Greek state, and was used to house a variety of government services.
The German-led Axis powers used Achilleion as military headquarters during World War II.
After World War II, the Achilleion was managed by the Greek National Tourism Organization. In 1962 the Achilleion was leased to a private company that converted the upper level into a casino and the lower grounds to a museum.
During September 1979, twelve historians from the United States, the UK, and Germany assembled at Achilleion to discuss Kaiser Wilhelm’s character and the historical role he played in German politics and society. The conference proceedings were published in the book Kaiser Wilhelm II New Interpretations: The Corfu Papers
The casino scene in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only was filmed at the Achilleion.
The palace now belongs to the Greek state and is open to the public as a museum. We toured Achilleion as part of a shore excursion that also included stops at other Corfu highlights.
The next stop on our tour was to take views of the Vlachеrnа Monastery and Pontikonisi — better known as ‘Mouse Island.’
The Vlachеrnа Monastery and Pоntiкοnissi island (Mouse island) lie very close to each other and are often confused.
The Vlachеrnа Monastery is the only building occupying а small islet just sοuth of Kanоni peninsula and the intеrnаtiοnal airport оf Cοrfu. A stone pier connects the islet tо the mainlаnd. Visitors can wаlk tо the mοnastеrу (non-functioning since 1980.) There is a small chapel with a place to light a candle and a gift shop. Many visitors stand outside the monastery for a close-up view of planes overhead in final approach to the Corfu airport.
The tiny Pontikonisi Island (Greek for ‘Mouse Island’) houses the Byzantine church of Pantokrator, which was built in the 11th century. According to Greek legend the boat of Odysseus was turned into this island by Poseidon.
From the same viewpoint we watched airplanes landing at Corfu’s Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport (CFU).
The location of Corfu airport’s runway gives arriving and departing passengers spectacular aerial views of Pontikonisi and Vlaheraina Monastery, and the hills of Kanoni.
Our tour also offered free time in the city center of Corfu’s old town. The bell tower of the Saint Spyridon Church can be seen in the background among the tourist shops. Above the stores are apartments with balconies.
Corfiots (local residents of Corfu) mark Holy Saturday (the Saturday before Easter) with an unusual custom called the “botides” — where they throw large clay jugs filled with water from the balconies of these homes. Thousands gather to watch these clay pots smashing into many pieces as they hit the streets below.
One is never far from a view of the sea when in Corfu’s Old Town. If we had more time, we would have enjoyed a drink by the water.
Our tour guide, however, was looking at his watch and using his “worry beads.”
Worry beads or “kompoloi” are a string of beads manipulated with one or both hands to pass time in Greek and Cypriot culture.
Learn more about a visit to Corfu or it’s history with these books:
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