Greece - Korina Miller [558]
Rouvás (Map; 26610 31182; S Desilla 13; mains €8-14; lunch) Resilient traditional cooking makes this a favourite lunch stop for many locals. It’s just down from the market and has even caught the eye of UK celebrity chef Rick Stein for a TV cooking program.
San Giacomo (Map; 26610 30146; Plateia Dimarchiou; mains €8-22) Located in Town Hall Sq, this fine restaurant has such creative starters as octopus in a vinegar and herb sauce and mains of baked lamb with potatoes, paprika, onions, garlic and feta. The wine list is unassumingly good, as is the house wine.
SELF-CATERING
North of Plateia San Rocco is the bustling produce market (Map; Mon-Sat), open morning to early afternoon and selling fresh fruit, vegetables and fish. A brand new market on the site was still under construction at the time of writing. For groceries try Dimitra supermarket (Map; G Markora). Right opposite the supermarket is the traditional food shop Pogoniou ( 26610 31320; G Markora 17) which is crammed with cheeses, cold meats, spices, olive oil and much more.
Drinking
The bars along the Liston are top places for preening. They include (all on Map): Libro d’ Oro, Arco, Liston and Kafe Koklia. Clustered near the Cavalieri are small, intimate music bars such as Hook and Base Bar.
Dali (Click here; N Theotoki) There are other great bars of character deeper into town such as this one with comfy indoor seating and mainstream music.
Cavalieri Hotel (Click here; Kapadistriou) The rooftop garden bar of this hotel at the southern end of Kapadistriou is a long-time favourite, if you want to rise in the world.
Entertainment
For bigger dance venues, after 11pm, head to Corfu’s disco strip, 2km northwest of the new port, along Ethnikis Antistasis (off Map; take a taxi – it’s a very busy unlit road without walkways). Recommended are the fashionable and mainstream Privilege, the enduring Au Bar (Ω in Greek) for sharper house, R‘n’B and Greek music and the biggest of all, Cristal, the ex-Hippodrome, with several bars. There’s usually a €10 admission fee that includes one drink.
For visual entertainment, Corfu Town’s Orpheus Cinema (Map; 26610 39768; G Aspioti) screens English-language films with Greek subtitles. Just across the road is the summertime open air Pheonix Cinema (Map; 69366 91419; G Aspioti) run on the same lines, but you can order pizzas from your seat. Tickets for both are about €7.50.
The Municipal Theatre (Map; 26610 33598; Mantzarou) is Corfu’s cultural power house and stages various classical music, opera, dance and drama performances, some of which are also staged at the theatre next to the Mon Repos Estate.
Shopping
Numerous sweet shops and tourist haunts cram the streets of the tourist-oriented old town. Some reasonable fashion shops – for shoes, swimwear and dress items – are located in the new town, especially along G Theotoki.
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NORTH & NORTHWEST OF CORFU TOWN
Much of the coast just north of Corfu Town is overwhelmed with beach resorts such as Gouvia, Dasia and the linked resorts of Ipsos and Pyrgi, all with close-quarters humanity and narrow beaches, but with everything for a fun-time holiday for all the family. To explore fully all regions of the island outside Corfu Town your own transport is advised. Beyond Pyrgi the tawny slopes of Mt Pantokrator (906m), the island’s highest peak, crowd down to the sea and reclaim the coast at some lovely scenic stretches along a winding road.
Just beyond Pyrgi, you can detour to Mt Pantokrator. Initially, the road corkscrews upward through about 25 hairpin bends and later passes through the picturesque villages of Spartylas and Strinylas. The road then climbs through stark terrain that is transformed by wildflowers in spring to the mountain’s summit and to where the monastery, Moni Pantokrator, is now