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The Old Fortress rising above Corfu old town and its harbour

Fortress

Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio)

Corfu · Ionian Islands

QUICK INFORMATION

CATEGORY
Fortress
COUNTRY
Greece
REGION
Corfu · Ionian Islands
DURATION
3–4 days

ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION

The Old Fortress is Corfu’s headline silhouette: a natural rock islet turned citadel, cut off from the town by the artificial Contrafossa channel in the 16th century. Byzantine builders fortified the rock first; Venetian engineers — Michele Sanmicheli among them — turned it into a state-of-the-art bastion fortress that repelled the great Ottoman sieges of 1537 and 1716 and the shorter one of 1571. Inside stand the British-era Church of St George (1840), the Venetian prisons-turned-barracks and a Byzantine collection; the rampart paths climb to the Land and Sea towers for the island’s defining panorama, Albania across the water.

HISTORY & BACKGROUND

The story behind it

More here soon — the road is still being mapped.

WHAT TO SEE

What to see here

01

The Contrafossa moat bridge and the massive Ventian gate.

02

The Church of St George, built by the British in 1840.

03

The climb to the Land Tower — the classic old-town-plus-sea panorama.

04

The Byzantine collection in the central gate museum.

MAP & LOCATION

Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio)

Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio), Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece

39.6243, 19.9260

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MORE ATTRACTIONS

More to see in Corfu

The Liston arcade on Spianada square, Corfu old town
Old Town & UNESCO

Corfu Old Town (UNESCO World Heritage)

A medieval town of Venetian lanes, arcades and hidden campielli — the only Greek old town UNESCO lists in its entirety.

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The New Fortress dominating Corfu town from its hill above the old port
Fortress

New Fortress (Neo Frourio)

The 16th–17th-century Venetian fortress above the old port — vaulted casemates, sea tunnels and the best rooftop views across the roofs.

View attraction
The red-domed bell tower of Saint Spyridon church above the old town lanes
Church

Church of Saint Spyridon

The island’s beloved patron, whose silver reliquary rests beneath the tallest bell tower in Corfu — the tallest in the Ionian.

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The neoclassical Achilleion palace above its terraced gardens
Palace & Gardens

Achilleion Palace

Empress Sisi’s marble shrine to Achilles, later Kaiser Wilhelm II’s retreat — terraced gardens, mythological statuary and views to the Albanian coast.

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The cypress-headland bays of Paleokastritsa
Coast & Monastery

Paleokastritsa

Forest-green headlands plunging into a chain of sapphire bays — Corfu’s postcard coast, with the 13th-century Theotokos monastery crowning the cape.

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The ruins of Angelokastro castle on its sea cliff
Castle & Viewpoint

Angelokastro

A 13th-century Byzantine castle on a 300-metre sea cliff that never fell — the most dramatic ruin on the island.

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THINGS TO DO

Things to do nearby

01

Walk the Corfu Trail

02

Climb Mount Pantokrator

03

Kayak and paddle the west coast

04

Sail to Paxos and Antipaxos

05

Kitesurf the Korission dunes

06

Cycle the Ropa valley and the west villages

07

Camping on Corfu — Paleokastritsa, Dassia & Dionysus

FOOD & DRINK

Where to eat nearby

01

Rex Restaurant, Kapodistriou — a Corfu institution for pastitsada and sofrito in a 1930s-era townhouse.

02

Avli, old town lanes — Slow-food Corfiot cooking in a courtyard off the kantounia.

03

Taverna Ipsia, Gastouri — family taverna above the Achilleion famous for bianco fish stew.

04

Klimataria, Benitses — the island’s classic seafood table by the harbour since 1937.

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HOTELS & STAYS

Where to stay nearby

01

Old town boutiques around Campiello — restored Venetian palazzi, best for a car-free stay.

02

Kontokali and Gouvia marina resorts — mid-island, handy for both coasts.

03

Paleokastritsa hillside hotels and the campsite — green, cool and central for the west coast.

04

Agios Stefanos northeast — quiet cove stays within reach of Kassiopi.

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ITINERARIES

Day-by-day routes

Corfu Island Loop — Corfu3 days

Corfu Island Loop

View itinerary

NEARBY DESTINATIONS

Continue the journey

Patras

Patras

Western Greece

Ioannina

Ioannina

Epirus

INTERESTS

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ClimbingBeachesPhotographyHistory

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