What is the Corfu self-guided walking tour?
The Corfu self-guided walking tour is an audio walk through the old town of Corfu, with narration on your phone taking the place of a guide. Plan on about 3 hours: 26 minutes of it is walking, the route covers 2.1 km, and at each of the 10 stops you stop to listen. There is no departure time, so you can pick a cool morning or a late afternoon.
The narration begins with Ioannis Kapodistrias, born on Corfu in 1776, who served as Russia's foreign minister before becoming the first governor of independent Greece. On Ionian Parliament Square you hear about the vote of 1863 for union with Greece, and at the Old Town Hall about the San Giacomo Theatre of 1720. At Saint Spyridon the story turns to the island's patron saint, credited by locals with saving Corfu from plague and from the siege of 1716, and at the Old Fortress to the twin peaks said to have given Corfu its name.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 26 min · 2.1 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Greek
What you do on the walking tour
Listen
At every stop the audio tells you the history of the place, the legends around it and the details you might walk past. You can also read the same text on screen.
Wander on
Between stops, Google Maps takes you through the lanes: 26 minutes on foot over 2.1 km, at an easy pace.
Pause
Sit down for a coffee under the arcades or spend an hour in a museum, and pick the walk up later or on another day.
Eat and shop
The stops come with tips for food and local shops near the route, and in the app you can change the starting point and the order.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walking tour is for
A first visit
One walk takes you from the squares of the old town through its lanes to the Spianada and the fortress, and explains what you are seeing.
History lovers
Venetian, French and British rule each left buildings on this route, from the Loggia that became a theatre to the Liston and the palace built for the Lord High Commissioner.
Anyone who avoids groups
No umbrella to follow and no meeting time: linger where you want and continue when you are ready.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: Ionian Parliament Square, Saint Spyridon, the Liston, the Old Fortress
10 stops · about 26 min walking · start: Kapodistrias Statue · finish: Old Fortress of Corfu
Your starting point is the Kapodistrias Statue. From there you reach Ionian Parliament Square and the Old Town Hall, once the San Giacomo Theatre, then wind through the lanes past the lone bell tower of the Annunziata and the Casa Parlante to the Church of Saint Spyridon. The route comes out at the Museum of Asian Art in the Palace of St Michael and St George, runs along the arcades of the Liston and across the Spianada, and ends at the Old Fortress of Corfu. The app lets you change the start and the order, and none of the stops requires a ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Kapodistrias StatueStart
This statue honours Ioannis Kapodistrias, born in Corfu in 1776, who served as foreign minister of Russia before becoming the first governor of independent Greece in 1828. He was assassinated in Nafplio in 1831, and Corfu remembers him as one of its greatest sons.
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2Ionian Parliament Square
The square takes its name from the neoclassical building of the Ionian Parliament, built in the mid-19th century when the Ionian Islands were a British protectorate. Here the islands' parliament voted in 1863 for union with Greece, which took effect in 1864.
3Old Town Hall (San Giacomo Theatre)
Built in the late 17th century as a loggia where the Venetian nobles met, this building became the San Giacomo Theatre in 1720, often described as the first theatre in modern Greece. Since 1903 it has served as the town hall; look at the carved stone decoration of its façade.
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4Bell Tower of the Annunziata
Only the bell tower remains of the Venetian church of the Annunziata, built in the 14th century and destroyed by bombing in 1943. According to tradition, men who fell in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 were buried in the church.
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5Casa Parlante
The Casa Parlante, or Talking House, is a museum in a 19th-century mansion of the old town. Moving, speaking figures recreate the daily life of an aristocratic Corfiot family of that time, from the salon to the kitchen.
6Church of Saint Spyridon
This church was built at the end of the 16th century to hold the relics of Saint Spyridon, a 4th-century bishop from Cyprus and the patron saint of Corfu. Its tall bell tower with a red dome rises above the old town, and locals credit the saint with saving the island from plague and from the Ottoman siege of 1716.
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7Museum of Asian Art
The museum occupies the Palace of St Michael and St George, built by the British between 1819 and 1824 as the residence of the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. Founded in 1927 with the collection of the diplomat Gregorios Manos, it shows art from China, Japan, India and other parts of Asia.
8Liston
The Liston is the long arcaded building along the western edge of the Spianada, begun during French rule in 1807 and modelled on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Its name is said to come from the Venetian list of noble families, who alone were allowed to stroll here; today its arcades are lined with cafés.
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9Spianada
The Spianada is one of the largest squares in Greece. The Venetians kept this open ground free of buildings so that the guns of the Old Fortress had a clear field of fire, and the British later laid out a cricket ground and built the Ionic Maitland Rotunda in honour of Sir Thomas Maitland, the first Lord High Commissioner.
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10Old Fortress of CorfuFinish
The Venetians turned this rocky promontory with its two peaks into the Old Fortress, cutting it off from the town with a sea moat, the Contrafossa. The twin peaks, koryfi in Greek, are said to have given Corfu its international name, and inside stands the Church of St George, built by the British in the form of a Greek temple.
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