The Spianada (Esplanade) is the great open square between Corfu's old town and the Old Fortress, often described as the largest square in Greece. Venetians, French and British all left their mark on it, which is why you can sit under Parisian-style arcades, look at an Ionic rotunda built for a British governor, and watch a cricket match on the grass in the middle of a Greek town.
Spianada Square at a glance
- Where: on the eastern edge of Corfu Town, between the old town and the moat of the Old Fortress; the Liston runs along its western side.
- Created: kept open as a defensive field under Venetian rule; its present form dates from the French period (1807–1814) and the British Protectorate (1814–1864).
- What it is today: a large public square and park in two parts, an upper square with gardens, a bandstand and the Maitland Rotunda, and a lower square with the cricket ground.
- Time needed: 30–45 minutes to walk round it, longer with a coffee on the Liston.
From Venetian firing range to British cricket pitch
Corfu was ruled by Venice for about four centuries, until 1797. The Venetians kept the ground in front of the Old Fortress free of houses so that the defenders had a clear line of fire towards the town, and the name comes from the Venetian word for a flattened open area. In 1716 the fortress held out against a great Ottoman siege, led on the Venetian side by the German general Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg, whose marble statue still stands on the square.
After Venice fell, the French ruled the island, and from 1807 they began the Liston, a row of arcaded buildings on the west side modelled on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, finished in 1814. Then came the British Protectorate of the Ionian Islands. The British built the Palace of St Michael and St George at the northern end and the Maitland Rotunda in the upper square, and they brought cricket, which Corfiots still play here. In 1864 the islands were united with Greece, an event remembered by a monument on the square.
What to look for
- The Liston: the arcades with cafés along the western side, which locals call the volta for its covered walk. The name is usually explained by the 'list' of noble families who alone were once allowed to stroll here.
- The Maitland Rotunda: a circle of twenty Ionic columns in the upper square, built in 1821 by the Royal Engineer George Whitmore in honour of Sir Thomas Maitland, the first Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. It stands on top of a Venetian water cistern.
- The cricket ground: the lawn of the lower square, where local clubs play in the warmer months, a legacy of fifty years of British rule.
- The Palace of St Michael and St George: the neoclassical palace closing the northern end of the square, built for the British Lord High Commissioner and today home to the Museum of Asian Art.
- The Schulenburg statue: the white Carrara marble statue of the Venetian commander, carved in 1718 by Antonio Corradini, near the bridge to the Old Fortress.
- The bandstand: in the upper square, where Corfu's philharmonic bands give open-air concerts, especially in summer.
St Spyridon's processions
Corfu's patron saint, St Spyridon, rests in the church a few streets behind the Liston, and four times a year, on Palm Sunday, Holy Saturday, 11 August and the first Sunday in November, his relics are carried through the town in a procession led by the island's philharmonic bands. The route passes along the Spianada, and on these days the square and the Liston fill with people.
Tips for your visit
- Come in the late afternoon or evening, when the Liston cafés fill up and the sun lights the old town façades from the west.
- Check if a cricket match is on: games are usually played on summer weekends, and you can watch from the edge of the lawn for free.
- For the best view of the whole square, cross the bridge to the Old Fortress and look back from its walls.
- Coffee on the Liston is a classic, but prices are higher than a street or two back; it is fine to just walk the arcades.
Nearby
- Old Fortress: the Venetian fortress on its rocky headland, across a sea moat from the Spianada, with views over the town and the sea.
- Church of St Spyridon: the church of Corfu's patron saint, with its red-domed bell tower, a few minutes' walk from the Liston.
- Campiello: the oldest quarter of the old town, a maze of narrow lanes and small squares on the hill north-west of the Spianada.
- Mon Repos: the park and villa south along the bay where Prince Philip was born in 1921, now with an archaeological museum, a longer walk away.
See Corfu with World City Trail
Our Corfu scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 26 minutes of walking. The Spianada is one of the stops, along with the Liston arcades. You can play in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch or Greek.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Corfu.
Play the Corfu scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Corfu →
Play the outdoor escape game in Corfu →
Facts checked in October 2026.