Corfu does not look Greek. Not in the way the Cyclades look Greek, anyway — no whitewashed cubes, no cobalt domes. What you see instead is shuttered Italianate palazzi, tall buildings crowding narrow lanes, a cricket ground inside the main square, and a drink called tsitsibira (ginger beer) on every café menu. The explanation is simple: while the rest of Greece spent four centuries under Ottoman rule, Corfu spent them under Venice, then briefly under France, then under Britain. Union with Greece came only in 1864.
This guide is the short version of a long and unusually interesting story — the dates, places and legacies you'll want in your head before you walk the Old Town.
Ancient Corcyra (8th century BC – 337 AD)
Homer placed Odysseus's shipwreck on an island called Scheria, home of the Phaeacians, and Greek tradition equates that island with Corfu. Historically, the colony of Corcyra was founded by Corinthians around 734 BC. Its position on the Adriatic trade routes made it rich fast. By the 5th century BC it had one of the largest fleets in Greece, and a naval clash with Corinth in 433 BC helped trigger the Peloponnesian War.
The ancient city stood on the Kanoni peninsula, where Mon Repos Palace now sits. The famous Gorgon Pediment in Corfu Town's Archaeological Museum — one of the finest pieces of Archaic Greek sculpture — came from a temple of Artemis on this peninsula.
The Byzantine Era (337 – 1267)
When the Roman Empire split, Corfu joined the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) world. For eight centuries it sat on the maritime frontier between Constantinople and the western powers — exposed to Goths, Vandals, Saracen pirates and Normans, but also enriched by the cultural traffic that passed through. The twin-peaked fortifications of what is now the Old Fortress date from this period, as does the mountain stronghold of Angelokastro in the northwest.
Angevin Rule (1267 – 1386)
After the Fourth Crusade wrecked Byzantium, the French-Neapolitan Angevin dynasty took control of Corfu. This was the island's first taste of Western European rule — feudalism, a Catholic presence alongside the Orthodox majority, and a landowning nobility that would persist through the Venetian era. By the late 14th century the Angevins were weakening and the Ottomans were advancing. Corfu needed a stronger protector, and the Corfiots turned to Venice.
Venetian Rule: The Defining Era (1386 – 1797)
Four hundred and eleven years — longer than the entire history of the United States. Everything that makes Corfu feel not-quite-Greek dates from here. Venice rebuilt both fortresses to withstand every major Ottoman siege (1537, 1571, 1573, 1716); Corfu is the only part of Greece never to fall to the Ottomans. Italian became the language of law, education and high society. The Old Town's tall buildings, shuttered windows and hidden courtyards are Venetian urban planning transplanted south.
Venice also paid Corfiot farmers a gold coin for every hundred olive trees planted. The result is the four million olive trees that still blanket the island — many of them the same gnarled, monumental trees planted in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The French Interlude (1797 – 1814)
Napoleon dissolved the Republic of Venice in 1797 and Corfu passed to France. He called it more valuable to France than all of Italy. The first French occupation (1797–1799) brought revolutionary ideas — the Libro d'Oro that listed the noble families was publicly burned, feudal privileges were abolished, and construction began on the Liston arcade, now one of the most elegant public spaces in Greece.
A brief Russo-Ottoman interlude (1799–1807) created the Septinsular Republic — the first semi-independent Greek state since Byzantium. The French returned under Napoleon from 1807 to 1814, improving fortifications and promoting Greek-language education.
The British Protectorate (1815 – 1864)
After Napoleon's defeat, the Congress of Vienna placed the Ionian Islands under British protection as the United States of the Ionian Islands. Half a century of British administration left more visible traces than you'd expect.
Palace of St Michael & St George
Built 1819–1824 as the residence of the Lord High Commissioner. Now the Museum of Asian Art, and one of the finest neoclassical buildings in Greece. It stands at the north end of the Spianada and is unmissable on any Old Town walk.
Mon Repos Palace
Commissioned in 1828 by Sir Frederick Adam for his Corfiot wife. Later became the Greek royal family's summer residence — and, in 1921, the birthplace of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Cricket & Ginger Beer
The British garrison left Corfu cricket on the Spianada (still played weekly in season) and ginger beer — locally tsitsibira — still sold in every taverna. Corfu's brass marching bands, which accompany every festival and procession, also trace back to British military band traditions.
Union with Greece (1864)
Greek national consciousness grew throughout the Protectorate. After decades of political agitation, the Treaty of London in 1864 ceded the Ionian Islands to the new Greek state. May 21 is still a public holiday in the islands. The British departed, leaving behind an excellent road network, the aqueduct that supplied Corfu Town, and a well-ordered bureaucracy.
Modern Corfu and the UNESCO Old Town
Italian was spoken by the Corfiot upper classes well into the 20th century. WWII brought Italian then German occupation; the 1943 German bombardment destroyed parts of the Venetian old town and the island's Jewish community — continuous since Venetian times — was almost entirely deported to Auschwitz. A small memorial in the Old Town commemorates them.
In 2007, Corfu Old Town was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The citation recognises exactly what you see when you walk it — a living ensemble of Venetian, French and British architecture unlike any other Mediterranean port.
Local Tip
Lawrence Durrell's Prospero's Cell is the best short book on 1930s Corfu, and Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals the most charming. Read either before you arrive and the Old Town starts making sense a decade faster than it otherwise would.
What to See Where
Venetian layer: Old Fortress, New Fortress, Angelokastro, the whole Old Town street plan.
French layer: the Liston arcade, the Spianada esplanade.
British layer: Palace of St Michael & St George, Mon Repos, the Adam aqueduct, cricket on weekends.
Ancient layer: Archaeological Museum, Temple of Artemis ruins on Kanoni, Church of Saints Jason and Sosipater.
How to Get Around
The historic sites are spread — most are in or near the Old Town, but Mon Repos is 2km south on the Kanoni peninsula, Angelokastro is a 40-minute drive west, and the best surviving Venetian olive groves are inland around Skripero and Gastouri. A hire car unlocks a proper history day without the bus timetable constraining your pace.
★ Get there with Herbie Cars
Our partner for car rental in Corfu. Free delivery to your hotel, airport or port. Perfect for a day combining the Old Town, Mon Repos and Achillion Palace.
Heading to Corfu Town? See the Corfu Town area guide for free-delivery details and drive distances.
Book a car →Bag Drop in the Old Town
If you're arriving by ferry or flying out later the same day and want to walk the historic sites unencumbered, Lock and Walk near the Old Port keeps luggage securely while you explore.
Where to Stay
★ Ef Zin Villa
Set among centuries-old Venetian-era olive groves in Skripero, a peaceful base within an easy drive of the Old Town and the major historical sites.
View villa →Read Next
For a proper deep dive on one specific chapter of this story, our guide to Mon Repos Palace covers the British Protectorate and the Greek royal family. The Old Town guide walks the Venetian layer street by street. Or browse all of CorfuRide for 2,950+ places to see.