A treasure hunt through Corfu's Venetian, French and British old town
The Corfu treasure hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk through Corfu's old town, solve a riddle at each landmark by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and legends behind it. The Venetian lanes keep distances short: about 26 minutes of walking and 2.1 km link the 10 stops, and with the riddles and stories the whole game lasts some 2 hours, starting from the statue of Kapodistrias.
Highlights include the Old Town Hall, once the San Giacomo Theatre, the red-domed bell tower of Saint Spyridon, the arcades of the Liston, the wide Spianada and the Old Fortress. The old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, mixes Venetian, French and British buildings in a compact web of lanes that is easy to explore on foot.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 26 min · 2.1 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Greek
What you work out between the kantounia and the Spianada
Stone carvings, a red dome and twin peaks
At each of the 10 stops one riddle is waiting, and the solution is always somewhere around you: in the carved stone of the old Venetian loggia, on the red-domed bell tower of Saint Spyridon, along the arcades of the Liston. Keen eyes and logic are what count, not Greek or a guidebook.
Lepanto, a siege and a saint
Each solved riddle opens a chapter of Corfu's past: the men from the Battle of Lepanto said to lie buried at the Annunziata, the saint whom islanders credit with saving them from plague and from the Ottoman siege of 1716, and the parliament that voted in 1863 to join Greece. The audio narration can tell each chapter while you stand in the shade.
Narrow lanes, then wide open space
The first half of the route winds through the kantounia, the narrow lanes of the old town, where Google Maps saves you from guessing at every corner. Then the town opens out onto the Spianada and the sea, about 26 minutes and 2.1 km of walking in total.
Ginger beer under the arcades
Nothing is timed, so a long pause in a café under the Liston arcades, perhaps with the ginger beer the British left behind, fits right in. Resume with the next riddle when the heat eases or come back another day.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of players. 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.
- Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who takes to the Corfu treasure hunt
Beach holidaymakers with a day in town
If you are staying at a resort elsewhere on the island, the hunt turns a trip into Corfu Town into something more than shopping: about 2 hours, from Kapodistrias to the Old Fortress, with time left for a swim afterwards.
Cruise passengers
The route is short and needs no booking slot, so it fits a day ashore: start whenever you reach the old town, pause for lunch and finish within sight of the sea.
Families and groups of friends
Talking figures behind a mansion window, a cricket pitch in the middle of a Greek square and a fortress cut off by a sea moat give children plenty to wonder about, with an adult playing alongside. Teams of up to 5 friends each follow the game on their own phones.
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.
- Teams of up to 5 work best; bigger groups split into several teams, one ticket per player.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The route: Kapodistrias, the old town lanes, Saint Spyridon, the Liston and the Old Fortress
10 stops · about 26 min walking · start: Kapodistrias Statue · finish: Old Fortress of Corfu
The hunt starts at the Kapodistrias Statue and leads to Ionian Parliament Square and the Old Town Hall. You continue through the lanes of the old town to the Annunziata bell tower, the Casa Parlante and the Church of Saint Spyridon, then out to the Museum of Asian Art, the Liston and the Spianada, and finish at the Old Fortress of Corfu. The Casa Parlante, the museum and the fortress all keep their riddles on the outside, so you never pay at a gate during the game, and if you are staying by the Spianada, the app can put the first riddle there and run the old town stops in a different order.
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.
Read the full story →
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.
Read the full story →
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.
Read the full story →
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Adrian– Belgium –
Collected on GetYourGuide
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Tres bonne activité pour découvrir Corfou. La seule chose est que nous n’avions pas beaucoup de réseau internet. Mais très bonne activité.
Mauritius –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Sympa ! Une bonne connexion internet est requise par contre. Mais l’idée est bonne !
Helen– United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Once we’d got the hang of it, it was such good fun. The places we visited encouraged us to explore and discover different areas of the town and in our own time 👍
Madeleine– United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Such a fun and quirky way to learn about the city
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Self guided tour . Puzzles good . It would be helpful if you could scroll back to previous point easily
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Figuring the clues was not easy – deflating. However good information about each site.
Tony– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Parfait pour découvrir la ville, son passé rayonnant, sa culture
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
nette Rätsel, schöner Rundgang durch die Altstadt mit vielen Informationen – die Texte könnte man noch mal überarbeiten, insgesamt aber ein schöner Zeitvertreib
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Really excellent way to see ten highlights of Corfu town. We all really enjoyed finding the locations and it was all covered in a small area. Would definitely recommend and I would definitely do another in a different city. Excellent value for money too.
A-Sophie– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Excellente solution pour visiter la ville à petit prix tout en s’amusant. Les énigmes vous obligent à être attentif et les explications historiques sont très intéressantes.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Υπέροχος τρόπος να εξερευνήσεις την πόλη. διασκεδαστικό κ πολύ ενδιαφέρον. κατάλληλο για όλη την οικογένεια. θα το δοκιμάζουμε σε κάθε μας ταξίδι.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Tolle selbstgeführte Stadttour, manche Fragen sind etwas schwierig. Leider musste man zur Beantwortung der letzten Frage Eintritt zahlen. Die Idee ist aber super.
Sandra– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
vraiment intéressant pour connaitre l’histoire d’une ville et les coins à visiter !!!!