Greece - Korina Miller [554]
From Corfu it’s possible to cross to Albania, or to visit on a day trip. Petrakis Lines (Map; 26610 31649; Ethnikis Antistasis 4) operates hydrofoil services connecting Corfu and Albania. Daily sailings go to/from the Albanian town of Saranda. As well as the ticket price, travellers also pay €10 to obtain a temporary visa for Albania.
Note: the only ferry companies that accept Eurail and Inter-rail passes are Bluestar, Superfast and Agoudimos. All international ferry companies also have special offers and concessions for seniors, families and last-minute tickets.
BUS
KTEL ( 26610 28898) runs buses three times daily (and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday via Lefkimmi in the island’s south) between Corfu Town and Athens (€39.50, 8½ hours). There’s also a daily service to/from Thessaloniki (€37.70, eight hours); for both destinations budget another €7.50 for the ferry between Corfu and the mainland. Long-distance tickets should be purchased in advance from Corfu Town’s long-distance bus station (Map; 26610 28927/30627; I Theotoki), between Plateia San Rocco and the new port.
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INTERNATIONAL FERRIES FROM CORFU TOWN
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Getting Around
TO/FROM THE AIRPORT
There is no bus service between Corfu Town and the airport. Buses 6 and 10 from Plateia San Rocco in Corfu Town stop on the main road 800m from the airport (en route to Benitses and Ahillion). A taxi between the airport and Corfu Town costs around €12.
BUS
Long-Distance (Green) Buses from Corfu Town
Long-distance KTEL buses (known as green buses) travel from Corfu Town’s long-distance bus station (Map; 26610 28927/30627; I Theotoki).
Fares cost €1.40 to €3.40. Printed timetables are available at the ticket kiosk. Sunday and holiday services are reduced considerably, or don’t run at all.
Local (Blue) Buses in Corfu Town
Local buses (blue buses) depart from the local bus station (Map; 26610 28927; Plateia San Rocco) in Corfu Old Town.
Tickets are either €0.90 or €1.30 depending on the length of journey, and can be purchased from the booth on Plateia San Rocco (although tickets for Ahillion, Benitses and Kouramades are bought on the bus). All trips are under 30 minutes.
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
Car- and motorbike-hire outlets are plentiful in Corfu Town and most of the resort towns on the island. Prices start at around €45 per day (less for longer-term hire). Most international car-hire companies are represented in Corfu Town and at the airport. Most local companies have offices along the northern waterfront.
Recommended agencies:
Budget (Map; 26610 22062; Ioannou Theotoki 132)
Easy Rider (Map; 26610 43026) Opposite the new port; rents out scooters and motorbikes.
International Rent-a-Car (Map; 26610 33411/37710; 20a Kapodistriou) Reliable, long-established company with an office on the Spianada (doubles as the Irish Consulate).
Sunrise (Map; 26610 26511/44325; www.corfusunrise.com; Ethnikis Antistasis 6) A reliable choice along the waterfront near the new port.
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CORFU TOWN
pop 28,200
Corfu Town takes hold of you and never lets go. Pastel-hued Venetian-era mansions grace the old town, the Campiello. The seafront is a majestic esplanade, known as the Spianada. It is lined with handsome buildings and an arcaded promenade, the Liston, built by the French as a nostalgic nod to Paris’s Rue de Rivoli. Today, the Liston, with its swath of packed cafes, is the town’s social focus. At the Spianada’s northern end stands the Palace of St Michael and St George, a grand neoclassical gesture that was built as the residence for a succession of British high commissioners. To seaward, across a narrow ‘moat’, the Contrafossa, lies the famous Palaio Frourio (Old Fortress) originating in the 6th century and massively extended by the Venetians. Inland, from all of this