Corfu Fortress and Old Town Wander

Back on the bus at sunrise again! This time we went to the last stop in Corfu Town. It wasn’t right in the middle of town, so we still had a 10-minute walk down to Spianada Square (Πλατεία Σπιανάδα) and the Old Fortress area.

We had debated on the bus whether we were prepared to spend €10 each to visit the Old Fortress. I wasn’t listening, as usual, and thought there was a fee for each thing—fortress, church, museum, etc. But once we saw the huge rocky hill with the old walls and buildings on top, it looked worth the money. Then I found out it covered entry to everything. Awesome! Apparently, until this year it was only €5 each, so they’ve certainly hiked the price.

We walked in across the stone bridge and through the main tunnel gate. The structure from outside is impressive and gets even better once inside. We checked out the mosaics in the little museum first and then started climbing. It was just after 8 a.m., and it had literally just opened—we had the whole place to ourselves. By the end of our 1.5 hours, we saw perhaps 10 other people. I’m assuming it gets busy with tour groups later in the day.

As we climbed the steps, we saw the English Army Barracks, the Clock Tower, and the Venetian Prisons. We then went through a tunnel to access the furthest point of the fortress and climbed up to the highest point, which I thought was a lighthouse. But it was called the Land Tower. Amazing views in all directions from up there. The area at the far end of the peninsula was fenced off, so not accessible. It appeared to be the oldest part. It’s called the Sea Tower, I believe.

You can read more about the detailed history of the fortress here. Old Fortress Corfu

We went back down, right to sea level, where locals access the Corfu Sailing Club. The water looked so inviting here, but we didn’t have our togs with us. We met a local woman who was there to go sailing. She said the area that was fenced off used to be accessible, but they don’t have enough staff to open it up. Maybe with the increase in the entry fee, that will become an option again soon?

We continued our walk around to the opposite side to find the Church of St George—a beautiful building with impressive columns and a great view out to the nearby marina. There are some very expensive boats parked out there. Lastly, we walked past the old English Cookhouse.

We then made our way back to where we came in. A great one and a half hours in there! Next, we headed to Old Town Corfu, which is a maze of little streets and pretty squares with expensive coffee. We stopped in one spot to find a geocache. There were two more out at the Fortress but I completely forgot to look for them until after we had exited. 🤦

We had the option to high-tail it back into the main town area for the 10:45 a.m. bus or hang around until 12 p.m. We decided to high-tail it. We had just enough time to find a small store for two bottles of water and a nearby pastry. I thought it was cheese until the woman asked if I wanted icing sugar and cinnamon on it. It was vanilla custard in the centre of layers of pastry. I enjoyed half of it with a coffee back at the apartment.

I also had a swim to cool off before enjoying the coffee. Sarah went straight for the cup of tea and air-conditioning option.

We had a late lunch of eggs on toast. Yum.

The afternoon disappeared with reading and doing a few things on the laptop. Then I watched the F1 race from Budapest. A pre-dinner 500ml can of lager beer that we shared was very nice. The fact it cost €0.99 made it taste even nicer. 😉

Dinner was chicken schnitzel, ricotta and spinach tortellini, and a very nice lettuce salad—the nicest shop-bought lettuce we’ve had in two months!

Sarah enjoyed an after-dinner swim, but I sat that one out.