Here’s where to eat and what to do right on your doorstep in Gouvia (or at the very least no more than half an hour away).
We always stay in Gouvia, because that’s where Mary Stylianou used to live and work (some say it all went a bit Mamma Mia when she had to leave…). And that’s where our pals are.
Let’s start at The Iliada Beach Hotel. HQ for the wedding party. Great dinners, great friends, great view of the beach. There’s a shortcut up some stairs to the main strip of Gouvia, where you’ll pop out next to Fresh. It’s the perfect place for a coffee, brunch, waffles, delicious home-made snacks or ice cream any time of the day. All relatively inexpensive.
If you turn left at Fresh and walk ahead, you’ll see Da Roberto e Fei: a cracking hand-cooked pizza joint at a pretty low price.
Just before that you’ll pass Bella Ellada, which we think has some of the best Moussaka on the island.
Further up where the road begins to slope uphill is The O2 Bar – it’s got a pool table and round-the-clock old-school rock music.
If you turn right at Fresh, you can walk down the road to see Tzoumerka Grill House on your right – you can’t find a cheaper or more juicy Pitta Gyros. If you don’t fancy a beer there, you can take your meat to eat next door at The Tudor Inn, where they stock double the amount of Black Bush Whisky after I drank it all one summer.
Opposite both The Tudor Inn and Tzoumerka is Filippas: your one-stop for authentic mezze. We recommend the souvlaki.
Round the corner and up the road a bit is La’Kantas – a little pricier but worth it if you want to treat yourself to a really nice dinner.
Kontokali is the other direction completely – the neighbouring village south of Gouvia. Allow yourself about twenty minutes to walk there. It’s where the Marina is and lots of little coffee shops you can spy on the yachts from.
The Telesilla Hotel is run by another family friend – tell Makis you know us and he’ll give you the best table (hint: they’re all the best table). The lamb is to die for, but not a single thing on the menu isn’t mouth-wateringly delicious.
If you’re heading north, about ten minutes away in a cab or fifteen minutes by bus from Gouvia or Kontokali is the village of Dassia – go to Alexandros Taverna for the best fish (he’ll fillet it for you). Further up is the village of Ipsos, where the road goes right next to the sea with a sliver of beach for you to enjoy. Stathis Snack Bar will fill your gyros urges.
Buses and cabs from any of the villages above will take you southbound about half an hour to Corfu Town, of course.
Corfu Town has loads of history and is a hodge-podge of Venetian, French and Greek architecture. Shop around, haggle, eat at a place called Pane E Souvlaki for some fresh, cheap food and have a wander. There’s a big St Spyridon Church which is worth a visit, if only to see the Actual Mummified Body of St Spyridon. Yep. Go to the roof of the Cavalieri Hotel for a drink to see the city lit up at night. You can see the entire town. And, a bottle of prosecco is 25 euro (or 5 euro a glass).
Arrived in Corfu really early?
Already partied with us on Saturday and Sunday and want to experience more of what Corfu has to offer?
Don’t actually want to come to our wedding but fancy going to Corfu?
Good job we know the place, then, isn’t it?
If you’ve got a car, then you can explore the island a bit more. On the West coast it’s windier but the beaches are sandy. Remember it’ll be October, so it might be a bit too chilly to go in the sea.
Paleokastritsa is the West’s big tourist spot.
Up the hill in Paleokastritsa is a monastery – free to enter, but you’ll be given the most dowdy shawl if you heathens are showing legs or shoulders. The monastery’s little church, olive press and lots of cats are definitely worth a visit. As is the view from the outside.
On the way to Paleokastritsa you might see signs for ‘Krini‘. If you follow those signs you climb up a lot of thin roads which great roadside views, and also dip down where you can park to walk up to the Angelokastro Castle. It’s cool. If you do this, you probably don’t need to do the next bit. But if you can’t find it, the better view is probably the ominous sounding ‘Kaiser’s Throne’.
A short drive south to Pelekas is where Kaiser’s Throne is – the best panoramic view of the island. Everyone says you should watch the sun set there. But it’s good any time of day.
On the East of the island, you’re close to Kanoni, which is where the Durrell family lived. The ‘White House’ is basically an expensive restaurant and gift shop, but you can snap photos away to your heart’s content.
Our favourite little place in the north east is Kassiopi – a beautiful old harbour. Parking’s a bit tricky, but you can normally find somewhere on the opposite side of the harbour to abandon your car – otherwise before the shops, before you get to the seafront, there’s a car park and you can just walk down.
Kanoni/Pontikonisi (‘Mouse Island’) is a small jetty, monastery and island of rocks basically at the end of the airport runway. Crawling with kittens, it’s fun to watch the planes take off and you can get on another boat to go to this tiny little island, too.
Don’t go any further south than Benitses, unless you desperately want to go clubbing in Kavos. Benitses used to be a quaint fishing village, then it was basically like Kavos in the 80s, then it’s turned back into a nice little town. A taverna in one of the back-streets called Paxinos is lovely. Looks like it’s in someone’s front room.
Further afield, you can book a boat trip to Paxos for one of the days (make sure it includes Paxos and antiPaxos) – Ionian Cruises are good if you want to book online, but there’s a place in Gouvia called Captain Spiros who sells trips.
My favourite beach is Avlaki. Mainly because it’s totally quiet and there’s a great breeze. Plus, Cavo Barbaro (one of two tavernas on the beach) is superb. I say totally quiet, but there is a man with a van selling fresh fruit who shouts ‘VERY BIG MELONS’ through a megaphone sometimes. Don’t take it personally.
Nisaki is popular with rich English people and priced accordingly, Agni is also nice and quiet, northern towns Sidari and Acharavi are quite popular with ex-pats and is sort of the main hub of activity outside Corfu Town and the South – and Arillas is the key place to visit on the North West if for some reason you find yourself in the furthest possible spot away from Gouvia.