Corfu in 3 Days: The Old Town, Paleokastritsa & the Achilleion
Who this is for: First-time visitors with ~3 full days who want the UNESCO-listed town, the island’s best coastal scenery and the famous southern sights — without pretending a 3-day trip can also cover the far north, the far south and a boat day to Paxos.
Timing assumptions: Assumes you are based in or immediately around Corfu Town. Day 1 is the Old Town entirely on foot. Day 2 goes northwest to Paleokastritsa, Lakones and Angelokastro, and works best with a hire car (the green KTEL bus covers it, but check the return time before you go). Day 3 runs south to Kanoni and the Achilleion and is deliberately built to work on blue urban buses 2a and 10, so a car-free traveller loses nothing. Arrival and departure are handled separately.
Getting around: Two separate bus systems, and confusing them is the classic first-timer error. BLUE urban buses (Astiko KTEL Kerkyras) cover Corfu Town and its near suburbs frequently — line 15 to the airport, 2a to Kanoni, 10 to the Achilleion, 7 to Dassia and Ipsos — with a Zone A single at €1.30, Zone B at €1.80 and a day ticket at €5, cheaper from the kiosk than bought onboard. GREEN KTEL buses run from a separate station on Eptanisou Avenue to the rest of the island — Paleokastritsa, Sidari, Kassiopi, Glyfada, Agios Gordios, Kavos — but far less often, with sharp cuts on Sundays and outside the summer season. Corfu International Airport (CFU) sits immediately south of town at the edge of the lagoon, one of the shortest airport hops in Greece. Beyond a town-only trip, most visitors hire a car: the island is long, the coast roads are winding, and the northeast coves are reached by steep, narrow lanes where a small car is a real advantage. Book the car when you book the room — in August the fleets run out before the hotels do.
When to go: May–June and September are Corfu at its best: daytime highs around 23–28°C, sea warm enough to swim, resorts fully open and prices a long way below the August level. July and August are the hottest (highs around 32–33°C) and by far the busiest, with the northern-European charter season and the Italian and Greek domestic holidays landing on top of one another. October is cheaper and still swimmable early in the month, but the rain arrives fast and properties start closing through it. November through January are the genuinely wet months — 13 to 15 rain days each, and by far the heaviest rainfall of the year — with February and March drying out only gradually. That rain is exactly why Corfu is the greenest of the big Greek islands, and why the coastal resorts shut. Winter travel here means a Corfu Town trip, not a beach one.
When to go — month by month
Average daytime high (bars) and rainy days per month, from 5-year climate normals. Greener months are the most comfortable to visit.
Best months to visit: Mar–May
Daylight by month
Hours of daylight through the year in Corfu — it swings from about 9h 13m in midwinter to 14h 47m at midsummer, which decides how many stops realistically fit in a day.
Day 1 — Corfu Town on foot
Read the town the way it was built — a Venetian fortress town with French arcades and British leftovers layered on top — without getting in a vehicle all day.
- ~1.5hOld Fortress (Palaio Frourio) walk-upStart here at opening: the rock-and-moat fortress on its own peninsula, the British-built church of St George that looks like a Greek temple, and the climb to the summit for the orientation view over the whole town and lagoon.
- ~45mSpianada & the Liston walk-upThe huge green between the fortress and the town, with the arcaded Liston along one side — built under French rule and still where the town does its evening walk. Cricket on the Spianada is the British protectorate’s strangest survival.
- ~1.3hAgios Spyridon & the Campiello alleys walk-upThe island’s patron saint lies in the church with the red-domed campanile, the tallest thing in the Old Town. Around it, the kantounia — tall, narrow Venetian lanes with laundry strung between the balconies — are the part worth getting lost in.
- ~1.5hPalace of St Michael & St George / Museum of Asian Art walk-upThe British-built palace at the north end of the Spianada now houses a genuinely unexpected collection of Asian art. Open 08:00–20:00 daily from 1 April to 31 October; from 1 November to 31 March it runs 08:30–15:30 and closes on Tuesdays.
- ~1hNew Fortress & sunset over the old port walk-upThe later Venetian fortress above the port has the best late view back over the rooftops; finish with dinner in the streets behind the old port rather than on the Liston, where you pay for the arcade.
- Route logic:
- Fortress first for the aerial orientation, then downhill into the Spianada and the alleys, then the palace, then back up to the New Fortress as the light goes — a single loop with no backtracking and the two best views at the two ends of the day.
- Getting between stops:
- Entirely on foot. The Old Town is compact and largely pedestrianised; the only real distances are the ramps up to each fortress.
- Meals:
- Lunch: a small taverna in the Campiello lanes rather than on the Spianada. Dinner: the old-port side of town — try the Corfiot dishes (sofrito, pastitsada, bourdeto) rather than a generic Greek menu, and finish with a kumquat liqueur or a tsitsibira ginger beer.
- Rain / limited mobility:
- If cruise ships are in port, invert the day: fortresses and museum in the morning, alleys in the early evening once the ships have sailed. Wet day: the Museum of Asian Art plus the Archaeological Museum will carry an afternoon comfortably.
Day 2 — Paleokastritsa & the northwest
Give a full day to the coast Corfu is photographed for, and end it on the sunset side of the island.
- ~2hPaleokastritsa coves & the monastery walk-upA cluster of small bays under wooded cliffs, with the Theotokos monastery on the headland above them — free to enter, modest dress expected. Go early: the coves are small and the tour boats and day-trippers arrive mid-morning.
- ~1hSea-cave boat trip walk-upSmall boats run from the coves along the cliffs into the sea caves — a short, cheap, genuinely worthwhile add-on, and the one thing here that the weather can cancel.
- ~45mLakones & the Bella Vista lookout walk-upThe switchback road climbing out of Paleokastritsa reaches the panorama back down over the whole bay — the single most photographed view on Corfu, and free.
- ~1.3hAngelokastro walk-upA Byzantine fortress on a crag above the west coast, reached by a short steep walk from the road. Ruined rather than restored, which is rather the point — the view runs the length of the coast.
- ~2hGlyfada or Agios Gordios for the sunset walk-upDrop back down to the west-coast sand for a late swim and the sunset — this is the side of the island the sun sets over, and the beaches here are broad sand rather than the pebble of the northeast.
- Route logic:
- North-west first while the coves are still quiet, then up the hill for the viewpoints, then south along the coast as the sun moves — the day tracks the light instead of fighting it.
- Getting between stops:
- Roughly 45 minutes by car from Corfu Town to Paleokastritsa, then a winding climb to Lakones and Angelokastro and a cross-island run south to the Glyfada/Agios Gordios coast. Without a car, the green KTEL bus reaches Paleokastritsa from the Eptanisou Avenue station — check the last return before you settle in for the sunset.
- Meals:
- Lunch: a taverna above Paleokastritsa or in Lakones for the view. Dinner: on the sand at Glyfada or Agios Gordios, or back in Corfu Town if you would rather not drive the hill road after dark.
- Rain / limited mobility:
- Prefer clear water to scenery? Swap the whole day for the northeast: Kassiopi, the coves at Agni and Kalami, and the drive up Mount Pantokrator through Old Perithia. Windy day: the west coast picks up swell, so the sheltered northeast is the better call.
Day 3 — Kanoni, the Achilleion & a flex afternoon
Cover the two southern sights everyone comes for, on a route that works without a car, and keep the afternoon open for a boat day or the northeast.
- ~1.3hKanoni, Vlacherna & Pontikonisi walk-upThe postcard: the little white Vlacherna monastery on its causeway with wooded Mouse Island behind it, and aircraft coming in low over the lagoon. Blue bus line 2a runs here from the Spianada.
- ~1.5hMon Repos estate & Palaiopolis walk-upThe wooded former royal estate on the peninsula below town, with the ruins of the ancient city in its grounds — the quietest green space near Corfu Town and an easy walk from Kanoni.
- ~1.5hThe Achilleion at Gastouri walk-upEmpress Elisabeth of Austria’s neoclassical palace, its terraces lined with statuary above the coast. The palace interior is shut for restoration — its own site says only the exterior open areas and the Imperial Gardens can be visited — so come for the terraces, the statuary and the view. €7 general entry, €5 reduced, 08:00–20:00 from 1 April to 31 October and 08:00–16:00 from 1 November to 31 March. Blue bus line 10 goes from town.
- ~8hFlex: a Paxos & Antipaxos boat day book aheadIf the forecast is good and you would rather have a boat day than the southern sights, give the whole of day 3 to Paxos and Antipaxos — the sea caves along the Paxos cliffs and the water off Antipaxos are the best swimming within reach of Corfu. Book ahead; wind cancels it regularly.
- ~5hFlex: the northeast coves walk-upThe alternative land option — Barbati, Nissaki, Kalami and Agni, then Kassiopi harbour for dinner. Needs a car, and rewards a small one.
- Route logic:
- Everything on this day sits south of Corfu Town within a few kilometres of the same road, so it stacks into one southbound run instead of three separate trips out of town.
- Getting between stops:
- Blue urban buses cover the fixed part of this day — line 2a to Kanoni, line 10 to the Achilleion — so a €5 day ticket covers it. A car saves an hour or so and makes the flex options possible.
- Meals:
- Lunch: Benitses harbour or a taverna in Gastouri below the Achilleion. Dinner: back in Corfu Town, or in Kassiopi if you took the northeast option.
- Rain / limited mobility:
- Short on time: pick Kanoni OR the Achilleion, not both, and spend the saved hours swimming. Travelling with children: swap Mon Repos for a beach afternoon at Benitses or Dassia.
⚠︎ Before you book
- Boat trips to Paxos and Antipaxos, and the Paleokastritsa sea caves, are cancelled by wind often enough that you should book flexible and schedule them early in the trip, keeping a spare day in hand.
- August and Orthodox Easter are Corfu’s real peaks — book accommodation months ahead, and book the hire car at the same time, because the fleets run out before the hotels do.
- The Museum of Asian Art closes on Tuesdays under its 1 November–31 March timetable, and runs shorter hours (08:30–15:30) then; from 1 April to 31 October it is open daily 08:00–20:00.
- The Achilleion’s palace interior is closed for restoration — only the exterior open areas and the Imperial Gardens are open to visitors — and the works are a multi-year programme, so do not plan a trip around the rooms reopening soon.
Weather & mobility: July and August afternoons are genuinely hot — do the fortresses and the Old Town alleys early and swim in the middle of the day. Much of Corfu’s coast is pebble rather than sand, especially in the northeast, so water shoes are worth the few euros. The Old Town is cobbles, ramps and steps, and the fortress climbs are steeper than they look. Away from town the roads are winding and narrow, the northeast cove lanes especially so; drive them in daylight the first time. The west coast picks up swell when the wind turns, which is when the sheltered northeast becomes the better swim. From late October the rain is real and much of the coast closes.
Budget: Corfu is mid-priced for a Greek island — cheaper than the Cyclades, dearer than the mainland. Confirmed figures: a blue urban-bus Zone A single is €1.30, Zone B €1.80 and a day ticket €5; entry to the Achilleion is €7 (€5 reduced). Approximate, and worth verifying: a bakery breakfast €3–6; a gyros €4–6; a taverna lunch €10–18; a sit-down dinner with a carafe of wine €20–35 a head; a small hire car €35–70 a day depending on season; a shared full-day boat trip to Paxos and Antipaxos €40–70. August and Orthodox Easter push accommodation and car hire well above these baselines; May, June and September run considerably cheaper.
Optional swaps
- No hire car? Days 1 and 3 work entirely on blue urban buses (lines 2a and 10, €5 day ticket); for day 2 take the green KTEL bus to Paleokastritsa from the Eptanisou Avenue station and check the last return before you settle in.
- Travelling in the shoulder or in rain? Give day 2’s boat time to the Old Town museums and Mon Repos — the Lakones and Angelokastro viewpoints are still worth the drive, and are better with cloud than most people expect.
- Water first, sights second? Trade day 3 entirely for the Paxos and Antipaxos boat day and see the Achilleion on your way to the airport instead.
What this plan intentionally leaves out
- Kavos: A dedicated young-nightlife strip at the far southern tip — a legitimate holiday, but a specific one, and an hour and a half from everything else in this plan.
- Sidari and the far-north package coast: Cheap, sandy and shallow, which makes it a good base for a week, but it is over an hour from Corfu Town and adds nothing a 3-day, town-based trip needs.
- The Corfu Trail end to end: The waymarked long-distance route runs the length of the island and takes the better part of a fortnight — a separate trip, not a day of this one.
- A day trip to Albania: Saranda and Butrint are genuinely reachable by hydrofoil, but it is a full day and a real border crossing (bring a passport, not an ID card) — it belongs in a trip of five days or more, not three.
Planning notes & sources
The day-by-day routing here — one town day entirely on foot, one northwest scenery day, and a southern day deliberately built to run on the blue urban buses — and the time estimates are our own, shaped around how far apart Corfu’s areas actually are and how thin the green-bus timetable gets outside summer. Prices, opening hours and seasonal operation shift, and a great deal of the island closes between November and April, so confirm current details with the operators and sites below before you set out — particularly the boat trips, which the wind cancels.
- Visit Greece — official Greek tourism, Corfu
- Astiko KTEL Kerkyras — Corfu blue urban buses (fares & routes)
- KTEL Kerkyras “Green Buses” — island-wide intercity buses
- Corfu International Airport “Ioannis Kapodistrias” (CFU)
- Achilleion Palace — official opening hours & tickets
- Museum of Asian Art of Corfu — official
- Corfu Port Authority — ferry & cruise schedules
- AADE — short-term rental rules & the Short-Term Residence Property Registry (AMA)