Even today, the Epirus coast is largely neglected by visitors, while Corfu can hardly keep afloat under their combined weight.

Shaped like a miniature Italy, Corfu curves toward the Epirus coast of mainland Greece, offering bountiful harbors which help make the island a bustling yachter's destination.

The ancient inhabitants built a palace at Palaiokastritsa, and the natural beauty of the area still charms even beauty-sogged Corfiots as well as visitors from abroad with multiple coves, forested until the beach begins. Other popular locations are Kanoni, Palaiopolis, and Ypsos, each with their own beauty and ardent fans. Sidari, with boat connections to several of the smaller Ionian islands, is less jammed with tourists.

In spirit, Corfu is like a foreign-educated daughter of Greece, comfortable with different languages and customs, still Greek at heart but, sometimes, that Greekness is concealed. Named for Kerkyra, a nymph who attracted the attentions of Zeus, the island evaded the harsh Turkish occupation which oppressed most of the rest of her family, but instead languished -some would say "was seduced" under the softer oppression of the Venetians, the French, the Russians and, finally, the British.

But the seduction worked both ways -first the Venetians, then the French and, briefly, the Russians, and finally the Brits fell in love with their captive island. The Old City of Corfu is dominated by Italian influences tamed by a few British ones. The streets are lined with Venetian-style buildings, but the French-influenced Liston off the Esplanade leads to a popular cricket ground. September still sees numerous Corfiot-Brit cricket matches.

Just outside the old city, the park of Mon Répos was created by the English Lord High Commissioner Sir Frederick Adam, a bit of strictly British gardening containing a classical palace which was later taken as the property of the Greek royal family during the days of the monarchy. A badly-preserved Temple of Artemis and other remains are now being recovered from the property.

But to many modern visitors, Corfu's past is irrelevant. The result is what matters, and that result is an almost-perfect vacation island. When the Cycladic Isles are virtually closed due to the winter storms and wild winds, Corfu is warmer and her waters, by comparison, almost placid.

Visitors accustomed to European hotel standards have no problem finding deluxe accommodations alongside charming pensions. But there's a price tag - Corfu prices are higher than most of the other Greek islands...and not everyone appreciates the beauty of high-rise hotels crammed along the coast, primarily in the North. Go a little farther south and the coastline turns wild again, always able to match a visitor's mood for civilization or for ancient dales where it seems like Zeus just left after fruitlessly searching one more time for the nymph Kerkyra. Visitors searching for the nymph Vacationa will be luckier - they always find her on Corfu.

Go on to Page Two: Planning your Travel to Corfu

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