Corfu is located in the northwestern parts of Greece and belongs to the Ionian Islands.
In this blog-post, we will show you some of our favourite beaches and restaurants from the very north of the island down to the south. At the end of this page, you will find our YouTube video from Corfu.
We flew into Corfu on a warm July day. The approach is beautiful and impressive. During the final approach you have mountains just on your left. Corfu Airport is proper city airport, only a 5 minute taxi ride from the very center. We rented a car and headed straight to the beach.
1. Avlaki Beach
Our first stop on our list is the beach called Avlaki Beach, located a 50 minutes car ride from Corfu Town. The reasons we like this beach is of course of it’s pure beauty with marble white round stones and crystal clear blue water but also because it’s super easy to find a parking and it has a great restaurant nearby that I will tell you about in a moment.
2. Cavo Barbaro
Next to the beach is a great restaurant called Cavo Barbaro. It has great reviews online and got completely full at 2pm. Make sure to get there early or make a reservation in advance.
The menu features traditional recipes made with local products.
We ordered the chicken souvlaki with delicious fries, grandma’s aubergine slow cooked in a pot, together with bread, an aubergine dip and a Greek salad. The bill came to 45.50 eur together with wine. Great value for quality food. Highly recommended.
3. Pipitas Beach and Bataria Beach
A 10 minutes drive from Avlaki Beach, you have two famous beaches. The first one is called Pipitos Beach. I let the video speak for itself. The parking space is limited, so make sure to get here early if you wanna secure a parking spot and a sunbed.
Just on the otherside of the peninsula, you have Bataria Beach. A stunning organized beach with crystal clear water. Also here the parking space is limited.
4. Ambelonas Vineyard and Restaurant
For a really special dinner, you should visit Ambelonas Vineyard and Restaurant. It’s location, about 20 minutes from Corfu Town is beautiful with rows after rows of grape vines.
We reserved a table through their website, link here.
For starters we had the warm goat cheese with bread and a tomato salad.
Then for mains the Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto. The chicken fillet with a goat cheese sauce and basmati rice. This is the rosemary slow cooked pork with chickpeas. And finally the seabass fillets with vegetables and potato slices. For dessert we got the Corfiot Pudding and Ambelonas Lemon Tart. The bill for 5 people came to 147 euros including wine and beer. We had a great night at Ambelonas Corfu.
5. Marathias Beach
It’s a new day and we are on the way to the south of the island. If you are looking for a sandy beach, this is a great option. Number 6 on our list is Marathias Beach.
It took us about an hour to drive here from Corfu Town. The water is more shallow here than the previous beaches we have shown. Golden sand and remarkably clear water is a great combination. A nice sea breeze makes the hot summer day perfect.
Parking space is available but it gets crowded at the middle of the day.
6. Fishalida’s Garden
In the evening we had made a reservation at a fish restaurant in Corfu Town. Number 7 on the list is Fishalida Garden. If you are looking for an upscale fish restaurant experience this is a good choice. The menu offers fish, seafood and salads. We started off with their Seabass carpaccio. Then a shrimp salad and grilled octopus with eggplant salad.
For the main we shared their Prawn linguini with roasted tomato sauce and basil. To finish of the night we enjoy a local Limoncello on the house. The bill came to 103 euros for 3 starters and a main, together with wine. An expected price for an upscale experience. The food was super tasty. My only comment would be that the food came out with a pace that was too fast.
6. Mikri Garitsa
The next evening we went to a restaurant in Corfu Town called Mikri Garitsa.
Mikri Garitsa serves traditional Greek and Corfiot dishes. We started as always with some great homemade bread and a Greek salad. For main we choose a supertasty chicken souvlaki with fries. We also tried the local corfu favourite Pastisada which is a pasta topped with meat braised in a spicy tomato sauce.
7. Fortress of Corfu
Tickets are 6 euros each and can be bought directly at the gate.
The Fortress is a Venetian Fortress from the 15th century. Previous fortifications date back to the 6th century and the Ostragoths. The first thing you will see is a small gallery with artifact from the island. Next to it a great photograph exhibition was on.
The views from the top of the fortress is something special, and we make our way up the hill. On the top there is a lighthouse and a large cross. The views over the city are beautiful. Try to get there just before closing at 8pm for the best sunset views.
See our YouTube video here:
