greece images: awl images; Deux Foskolos
I
’ m sitting under a parasol by the porticos of Spianada Square. It’ s Corfu’ s answer to Paris’ s Rue de Rivoli and I’ m watching a very British game of cricket, while sipping a Greek frappé. Anywhere else, this scene might feel strange, but here, it’ s as natural as can be. Corfu is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, which also includes Kefalonia, Lefkada and Zakynthos. Stretching from the Albanian Riviera to the tip of the Peloponnese, these verdant isles have made centuries of occupation by various European powers part of their character.
A wander around Corfu’ s Old Town demonstrates its multitude of identities; within a few yards of the cricket pitch at Spianada Square, I encounter Napoleonic marble esplanades and a Regency-era mansion built to house the British High Commissioner, before coming to the Old Fortress, which was constructed by the Venetians. I cross the stone moat— now filled with pleasure craft rather than vessels of war— and see the Greek national colors, blue and white, flying from the flagpole. I mention my interest in Greek history to the ticket officer of the fortress. He emphatically explains that Corfu is the only part of Greece that never came under Ottoman rule, pointing his finger to the heavens.
Corfu didn’ t escape the reaches of the British Empire, however. It was occupied in 1815— wrested from France after the Napoleonic Wars— until 1864, when the isle was transferred to a newly formed nation-state: Greece. One of the standout landmarks from the British era is Mon Repos, a palatial villa on a cliff surveying the glittering sea below.
With 258 acres of parkland, a maze of gravel pathways! and an interior draped in pastel blues and genteel stucco, Mon Repos was a fitting summer residence for the new Greek royal family, who were gifted the palace in 1864. Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh and a member of the Greek monarchy, was born here in 1921.
As enjoyable as a morning stroll in the house and grounds is, I feel a prickle of heat on my top lip as the sun rises, as well as a pang of hunger. It’ s two miles back to Corfu Town, so I pick out an esteemed taverna about halfway to break up the walk.
Clockwise from left: The Liston, a street in Corfu Old Town; red snapper tartare with citrus, cucumber sorbet and black truffle oil at The White House; view from The White House Previous pages from left: Cape Arilla near Afionas; black quinoa salad with grilled shrimp and truffleespresso mayo at The White House summer 2025 • 55