Things to see and do Corfu

How to describe such an authentic place?

Firstly, its history: that of Dr. Kavvadia, an orthopedic surgeon, who cultivated this place like a small secret garden, cherishing his olive trees of a local species called "Lianelia" with the certainty that they would develop curative virtues in response to his good treatments. A force of thought turned into a miracle of nature, as the olive oil produced today in this olive grove, in addition to being excellent, possesses antioxidant properties.

Then there's the hard work of the doctor's grandson, Apostolos, a good-natured and passionate fellow who has taken over. The grandfather was a forerunner in his time, unknowingly using permaculture and sustainable agriculture. The grandson has had his farm certified organic, and continues the family tradition by taking great care of these hundred-year-old trees.

So it's hardly surprising that Dr. Kavvadia's and his grandson's olive oil has won numerous awards and accolades. This dedication to a job well done is reflected in the labels, which are handwritten and numbered over 4,000 times per production run! It's a fascinating process with a unique result, and the humble owner is happy to show you around the farm.

The tour is well worth the detour! In an hour and a half, you'll learn all about the process of extracting oil from olives, permaculture and compost, in a bucolic and enchanting setting.

The visit ends with a tasting of the two types of oil produced here, and organic vegetables from the garden in the form of mezze.

A nice way to reward all the efforts made by Apostolos and his family is to drop by the store and take away with you some of this golden liquid, conscientiously produced under the sun of the Ionian Islands, with a love of terroir and tradition that commands respect.

In our opinion, it's a Corfu must!

Even today, Kanoni is still the "postcard" and one of the most famous sights of Corfu. It is hard to resist. The proof is that it is still the most photographed site. About twenty minutes from the port and the old town, this islet, attached to the land by a long dike, shelters a cute little whitewashed church. If the place owes its name to a cannon abandoned by Napoleon's troops, history will remember that this is also where the capital of the island stood during Antiquity. However, with the exception of two excavation sites, archaeologists have never really conducted any research on the spot. The British occupants, on the other hand, turned the small point to the north-east of the peninsula upside down and built the Villa Mon Repos (which can be visited and houses a small museum, please stop by). This residence surrounded by a huge park was the birthplace in 1921 of Prince Philip of Edinburgh, husband of the Queen of England, before being assigned to the Greek royal family, then ceded to the state. It now houses a museum. The park (open from 8am to 7pm, free entrance) allows access to the islets of Vlacherna and Pondikonissi.

The popular tradition associates this island with the boat of the Phaeacians, which after having brought Ulysses back to Ithaca, would have been petrified by Poseidon. Look closely: according to Homer, this small piece of land would be nothing other than the boat that brought Odysseus back to Ithaca with his beloved Penelope... This island seems to have inspired the Swiss painter Boecklin for his work The Island of the Dead. Once there, visit the small church (13th century) surrounded by cypress trees. On the wall, plaques recall the passage of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria and her son Rodolphe.

But it is better to be warned, this landscape must be earned. The only (small) shadow to this idyllic picture: you will probably not be the only one on the spot... So to avoid the tourist buses, inevitable in Corfu in season, we advise you to go there early, very early. The ideal, if you have rented a car, is to go there in the morning at sunrise and to take a little height. You will not regret it. At this precise moment, the spectacle is magnificent, with the first rays of sunlight illuminating the two neighboring islets of Corfu: the Monastery of Vlacherna in the foreground, on the first islet, connected to the port only by a dike, Pondikonissi, the rock on which Odysseus would have failed, and finally the church of Pantokrator on the left.