The island of Corfu's chief town is Kérkyra, beautifully situated on a promontory on the east coast and dominated by the New Fort. The ancient city lay farther south on the Kanóni peninsula. Kérkyra is now the seat of both a Greek Orthodox and a Roman Catholic archbishop.
The Royal Palace Museum of Asian Art is housed in a wonderful old building built in the early 19th C. Collections include Chinese, Japanese and Indian art.
From the Spianada Leofóros Dimokratías runs south along the seafront. 200m/220yd along this street, off on the right just beyond the Corfu Palace Hotel, is the Archeological Museum; its most notable exhibit is the Gorgon Pediment (C. 585 B.C.) from the temple of Artemi.
From the outside the museum is rather unimpressive, in a modern looking complex which looks more like a small apartment complex.
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Greek National Day (March 25), May Day / Labor Day (May 1), Day after Christmas, St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day (December 26), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Easter - Christian, Good Friday - Christian
Tips: Admission is free on Sundays between November and March.
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
The Solomos Museum on Corfu, located in the restored house where the poet spent most of his life, houses a collection of items related to Solomos personal life and writing career.
The Ionian University aspires to emulate the prestige of the 19th century Ionian Academy. Its departments include History, Foreign Languages and Interpreters' School, Music and Archive and Library Science.
In the summer it operates as a Greek language center.
The Municipal Gallery of Cofu contains collections of the Samartzis, the Aglaia Papa, and Philippos Makotsis, as well as two works donated by Nikolaos Ventouras.
Address: Municipal Gallery of Corfu, 1 Acadimias Street, 49100 Kérkyra, Greece
At the north end of Corfu town is the harbor, with the massive New Fort (16th C.) rising above it on the south. Offshore to the north, 1km/.75mi away, is the island of Vídos.
The fort also houses the Museum of Authentic Casts and New Fortress.
Address: Corfu New Fort & Museum of Authentic Casts, Plateía Solomou, Kérkyra , Greece
Hours:
April 1 to October 31: 9am-9pm; Sun:9am-3:30pm
Tips: Admission to the fortress included in the price.
One km/.75mi west of Mon Repos Park, beyond the monastery of Áyios Theodóros, are the scanty remains of a temple of Artemi of the sixth century B.C.; its west pediment, known as the Gorgon Pediment, is now in the Archeological Museum.
500m/550yd beyond the Archeological Museum, on the right in the garden of a police station, can be seen the Tomb of Menekrates (seventh or sixth century B.C.), a low circular structure resembling a fountain-house which was discovered in 1843 during the demolition of the old Salvator Bastion. Leofóros Dimokratías ends at the bathing station of Mon Repos, at the southeastern end of the suburban district of Garítsa.
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Greek National Day (March 25), May Day / Labor Day (May 1), Day after Christmas, St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day (December 26), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Easter - Christian, Good Friday - Christian
Corfu town celebrates carnival with special festivities and customs on the last Sunday before Lent. Events include a parade of floats and bands, followed by the traditional burning of an effigy representing the spirit of Carnival.