Corfu is where the Greek world met Venice, and the old town shows it in every lane. For more than four centuries, from the late fourteenth century to the end of the eighteenth, the island belonged to the Venetian Republic, which fortified it against the Ottomans, so the town has two great fortresses, tall narrow houses with washing lines, and a maze of alleys called kantounia, which are cooler and more intimate than any grand boulevard. UNESCO listed the old town in 2007. The French arrived briefly under Napoleon and left the Liston, an arcade modelled on Paris's Rue de Rivoli, and the British, who ruled the islands from 1815 to 1864, left cricket, which is still played on the Spianada, the broad green esplanade by the sea, and ginger beer, called tsitsibira.
The town is a living place, not a museum, with a daily market, small churches where the bells ring on the hour and a lively evening scene around the Liston. Regional food is distinctive, with pastitsada, a spiced beef and pasta dish, sofrito, veal in a garlic and vinegar sauce, and kumquat liqueur from the island's orchards. Mix a little of each into your day.
Corfu town has about twenty-seven thousand people, so fuel, parking and services are easy. The old town itself is a maze that you walk, and the busy road along the harbour is crowded in summer. Ferries run from Igoumenitsa on the mainland and from Italian ports, and day boats cross to Saranda in Albania, making a link with the other half of this ride.
The island is far better ridden outside July and August, when the roads are crowded with rental scooters. The north has a high, wooded spine with the mountain of Pantokrator rising to over nine hundred metres, with narrow, twisty roads, olive groves and abandoned villages like Old Perithia, and the coves of the west are reached by steep lanes. Surfaces are patchy, with loose gravel on corners and sudden potholes. Spring brings wildflowers, and autumn sea warm enough for a swim, and the island is green because it rains in winter.