Corfu (Greece)

...its books in all of Corfu for the dates we wanted to travel. This was Villa Apanemia, in Kassiopi, and so Apanemia it was. I'd never even heard of Kassiopi before… but having visited it once, am sure to return…

HISTORY: Kassiopi has had a long and extravagant history, predating Roman times, when the emperor Tiberius had a villa there. At one stage, Kassiopi grew into quite a powerful city, reaching its zenith in the 10th AD. Little ...
...a Roman fortress, constructed when Corfu was an outpost of Nero's empire. Kassiopi was virtually destroyed during the Turkish conquests and completely abandoned after the invasion of 1537. The Venetians began to resettle the area again from 1590 onwards, and in 1604 the Epirus priests established a church, of the Blessed Virgin Kassopitras, at the site of its destroyed predecessor, which itself had been erected upon the ruins of a Roman temple in ... more

KASSIOPI, CORFU

I spent two weeks in Kassiopi, a little fishing village on the Ionian island of Corfu, in September of this year. And quite frankly, it is such a stunningly gorgeous place that I almost have reservations about promoting it in any way whatsoever …alas, my altruism got the better of me, so here goes!

WHY KASSIOPI? Having decided on a holiday in Greece, my husband and I considered renting a villa on Corfu, together with our 2 year-old son & my in-laws. Characteristically enough, we ended up leaving things to the very last minute, but when it came to booking it really was a case of last come, best served! The company we used, Meon, had one last, lonely Villa left languishing on its books in all of Corfu for the dates we wanted to travel. This was Villa Apanemia, in Kassiopi, and so Apanemia it was. I'd never even heard of Kassiopi before… but having visited it once, am sure to return…

HISTORY: Kassiopi has had a long and extravagant history, predating Roman times, when the emperor Tiberius had a villa there. At one stage, Kassiopi grew into quite a powerful city, reaching its zenith in the 10th AD. Little physical evidence remains of this former glory, other than the ruins of an old Byzantine fort on the hill above the town, a massive edifice which was in turn built upon the ruins of a Roman fortress, constructed when Corfu was an outpost of Nero's empire. Kassiopi was virtually destroyed during the Turkish conquests and completely abandoned after the invasion of 1537. The Venetians began to resettle the area again from 1590 onwards, and in 1604 the Epirus priests established a church, of the Blessed Virgin Kassopitras, at the site of its destroyed predecessor, which itself had been erected upon the ruins of a Roman temple in honour of Zeus… In short, from Roman times until the Second World War, making due allowances for miscellaneous battles and incursions, Kassiopi remained a popular holiday destination for the European elite. This changed with the explosion of mass tourism to Greece in the 1960's, from which Corfu generally, and Kassiopi more particularly, were by no means exempt. In the 1980's, Kassiopi developed a reputation as a rowdy haunt for 18-30 package tourists, but they've largely moved on now, to other resorts along the coast, leaving a charming and picturesque little fishing village in their wake.

ARRIVAL: Flights into Corfu land on a rather spectacular runway that extends out over the sea. The views are absolutely stunning, and provide a wonderfully evocative introduction to the island. The airport itself, however, is small and notoriously chaotic, with long waits for luggage being commonplace, particularly on 'changeover' day. There is a small selection of (overpriced) shops and cafes, and all the usual car hire companies are represented. Customs, as it is generally understood elsewhere in the EU, is practically non-existent here. To illustrate the point, I went through the arrivals gate with my son and mother-in-law, passing through 'customs', but encountered no opposition whatsoever, upon strolling back in the opposite direction some 30 minutes later to find my husband & check on the progress of our long-awaited luggage…
Leaving the airport, the drive along the coastline to Kassiopi takes you through the centre of Corfu town and past the beautiful old Venetian fort. The road continues up along the coast, through the rather tacky seaside resorts of Gouvia and Ipsos. Ipsos is effectively one long commercial strip facing a wide and rather overcrowded beach. There's an array of bars with names like 'Alcoholics Anonymous' and 'Shooters', Irish-themed pubs, such as 'Dirty Nellies', restaurants boasting a full English for 3 Euros with East Enders on Satellite thrown in, and shops selling all manner of beach tat, from blow-up crocodiles to fake Gucci sunglasses and X-rated T-shirts. Ipsos is followed by Barbarti, a very steep resort with some lovely beaches, and largely frequented by German tourists. Then there's Nissaki, which is overshadowed by the enormous 'Nissaki Beach' resort, and Agios Stephanos, a charming little village set around a small and sheltered harbour, but not on the main road itself. From Ipsos onwards it's actually a very scenic drive, but one which proves hair-raising at times, mainly due to sharp turns, steep cliffs, and the large volume of alarmingly huge and speeding coaches approaching in the opposite direction. Let's just say the roadsides aren't dotted with little In Memoriam shrines for nothing. The roads are well signposted, however, and Kassiopi is easy enough to find.
Once there, it's worth knowing that the village has something of a one-way system, which necessitates starting again from scratch if you're unlucky enough to miss a turn-off…we spent almost an hour locating our villa, despite having been supplied with (fairly) explicit directions by Meon… I say 'fairly' explicit, because the directions included such gems as, "Turn left at the white post"… erm… "White post?" Which one? By which point it was all too late of course, but I digress!

SETTING: Kassiopi is located on the northeast coast of Corfu, roughly 45km north of the island's capital, the rather unimaginatively named Corfu Town. Kassiopi is set on a beautiful natural harbour, with fishing boats moored along a couple of small piers, and some fabulous restaurants lining the sea front. The Albanian coast is just 2 miles away, and on a clear day the poignantly bleak, concrete tower blocks of the Albanian town of Saranda, with snow-capped mountains beyond, can be seen from across the channel. Like much of Corfu, the area surrounding Kassiopi is covered in trees and olive groves, and consequently very green. The coastline is exquisitely beautiful, with aquamarine water lapping against white rocks, and there are a number of coves and beaches nearby, some pebbled and others sandy.

THE VILLA: Meon's brochure had suggested Villa Apanemia to be a salmon-pink bungalow with three bedrooms and a swimming pool, surrounded by olive groves and situated on the hills above the town. This was all very accurate, but didn't do justice to the location, which is brilliant. It has great views, is very close to the water (which is at the bottom of the driveway, literally about 2 mins walk), the beach proper (5 mins walk), and the centre of town & restaurants etc (10 mins walk). Despite this proximity to all the local amenities, it's still a secluded spot, and not at all overlooked. The driveway is very steep, however. The location would be absolutely ideal if you intend to hire a boat, as we did, because you can virtually moor it on your doorstep. The pool is a good size & is cleaned every day. Unfortunately, our little boy developed a taste for plucking olives from the surrounding trees and tossing them into the pool, much to the chagrin of the poor woman who returned every morning to retrieve them. Meon's brochure says the villa sleeps 2-6/7. There were only 4 adults in our party, and one toddler, and I have to say that whilst it was just the right size for us; it might prove a little cramped if there were more than 5 people.

Anyway, there's a large range of accommodation available in Kassiopi, and apartments seem to be especially popular. Several companies also offer villas in Kassiopi and the surrounding areas, including Meon and Thompsons.

FOOD/RESTAURANTS: Coming from Melbourne, a city with a large ethnic Greek population, I've always loved Greek food and have never understood why it has failed to achieve the same prominence abroad as Italian or even Spanish food. The food on Corfu is exceptionally good, especially the seafood, which is invariably fresh and simply prepared. We ate out twice a day most days over two weeks at various restaurants, and didn't have a single bad meal. Perhaps my only criticism would be that there is little variation in the menus, which seem to be almost identical from one place to the next. Staples include the inevitable Greek salad with feta cheese, freshly-prepared dips such as tzatziki and melitzanosalata, spanokopites (little pastries with spinach and feta cheese), and grilled meats. Staggeringly, most dishes are served with a side order of chips.
There are four or five supermarkets in Kassiopi, the best one probably being the one on the harbour, which has an excellent variety of local specialities, olive oils, honey and so on. The co-op near the town square sells very good fresh fruit and vegetables. We bought meat for barbequing from Nikos supermarket, near the 'Michelangelo' village just outside the town. Nikos sells homemade dips and freshly prepared souvlaki, ready-skewered for barbequing, and is happy to deliver groceries free of charge. Although Greek bread can tend to be of fairly indifferent quality, there is an extremely good bakery in Kassiopi, opposite Boleros restaurant, which also sells an array of spectacular cakes and pastries.

KASSIOPI: There are so many good restaurants in the village that it is difficult to single any out, but I would definitely recommend Petrinos, which is down a little side street, and serves typical local food in a very congenial atmosphere. Their meze is sublime. Three Brothers, on the harbour, is also extremely good, as is Little Italy, which does phenomenally good pizzas. Eating Italian food in Greece isn't as odd as it may sound, given Corfu's history and the 400-year Venetian rule.

SURROUNDING AREA: There are two very pleasant tavernas facing the beach at Avlaki, a little town about 5 mins south of Kassiopi. Agios Stephanos has some very charming restaurants, mostly set right on the harbour. Eucalyptus, to the one side, is in a fabulous location and is extremely popular… although we enjoyed our meal enormously, we did see a rat scuttle across the ceiling and then plummet down onto the patio before scurrying off. Perhaps the most astonishing thing about this was that a rat could manage to survive at all on an island so over-run with feral cats! There is a very well-known taverna at Agni Bay, the Agni taverna, which although very good was a little too precious and sophisticated for a restaurant set right on the beach. We probably had our best meal at the taverna in Kalami, when we moored our boat there. It is in a marvellous setting, overlooking the water, and had a comprehensive and imaginative list of specials, which included the most delectable little fritters made from grated courgettes and feta cheese.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS:

CULTURAL: The 'abandoned' village at Old Perithea, located in the hills above Kassiopi, is well worth a visit. The drive up is particularly lovely, passing through several quaint and completely un-modernised little villages, with elderly men and women seated at small tables by the roadside, and fabulous views down to the coastline below. Perithea dates back to Roman times, and was originally the capital of the Municipality of Kassopeon. It was once extremely prosperous. Its elevated position was due partly to a fear of pirate attacks, but also to the avoidance of mosquitoes in the fever belt close to the sea. At the turn of the 20th century, these pretexts became irrelevant and the village was gradually abandoned. Today, Old Perithea is a sort of living museum with only a couple of families remaining there, occupied with beekeeping and shepherding. During the summer, the Taverna Perithea opens in the village square. It serves fantastic, freshly prepared local delicacies, such as a rabbit stew, and all the meat is sourced from the village itself. There is an engaging but eerie sense about the largely empty village, and whilst most of the abandoned buildings are now in ruins, recently granted EU heritage subsidies look set to return Old Perithea to its former glory. Apparently a Chinese restaurant is in the pipeline.

The 'Byzantine' monastery at Mount Pantokrator is situated on Corfu's highest peak, providing exceptional views in all directions. The original church was built in 1347, but was largely destroyed during a Turkish invasion some five hundred years later. The current monastery was erected at the turn of the 17th Century. It's probably worth visiting for the views alone, but bear in mind that only a few relics of the Byzantine era remain intact, the 'monastery' itself is mostly unseen, and the summit of Pantokrator is pretty comprehensively marred by the presence of an enormous & unsightly telecommunications tower, which presumably serves every television, radio and mobile phone within a 200 km radius. Furthermore, the drive up to the summit is not for the faint hearted, with sheer drops in abundance and treacherous car parking at the summit on almost 45-degree angles.

SEA/BEACH: There are several gorgeous little bays, coves, and beaches on either side of Kassiopi. Many of these are most readily accessible by boat. Acharavi, a little further along the coast, has a very long, sandy beach and several nice tavernas. Continuing along the coast, you will come to Roda and Sidari, which I really can't recommend. The main drag at Sidari reminded me of Thailand, but not in a good way. It is definitely even worse than Ipsos. The pebbled beach at Avlaki, in the opposite direction from Kassiopi, is very pretty and quite secluded. Unfortunately, most of these beaches are generally covered with the ubiquitous sun-beds and umbrellas, however. There is also a man at Avlaki called Dimitri who takes tourists on horse rides up into the mountains, then down to the beach. We did this one morning & it was really enjoyable.

GETTING AROUND: If staying in Kassiopi, I would recommend hiring a car, although it isn't strictly necessary. Once there, you can easily walk everywhere around the town & there are plenty of tour operators offering coach/boat day trips to various places around the island.
Having said that, with a car (or boat) you definitely have more options, and can travel to all the lovely bays etc nearby (ie Agios Stephanos, Agni, Kalami etc which are all beautiful!)
We hired our car from the airport, which was obviously convenient. I think the car only cost approx £200 for 2 weeks, so well worth it.

The best possible way to explore the surrounding coastine is by boat; these can be easily procured either from Filipos at Kassiopi, Dimitris at Avlaki or Kostas at Agios Stephanos... you can idle along the coastline, mooring here and there, pausing for lunch at an isolated, bayside taverna, or diving off the boat in a secluded cove... and doing this was definitely the highlight of our holiday.

In conclusion, I cannot possibly recommend this beautiful village or this wonderful island highly enough. Thanks for reading!

http://www.agni.gr/ - A very useful guide!

http://www.meonvillas.co.uk/
http://www.firstchoice.co.uk/ 

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