Where to Stay in Corfu: Old Town, Paleokastritsa, North-East (Kassiopi) and Glyfada

Unlike Crete (which is 260 km long), Corfu's central waist is only 15 to 25 kilometres wide, meaning that if you stay in or near Corfu Town, you can reach Paleokastritsa, Glyfada, Agios Gordios and Achilleion in 20 to 35 minutes. However, each of the island's four main hotel zones offers a completely different holiday rhythm.

1. Corfu Old Town, Garitsa Bay & Kanoni (Best for Culture, Walkability & Car-Free Trips)

If your trip is 3 to 5 days and you want to experience Corfu's Venetian architecture, dine at a different atmospheric square every night, and use buses and day boats without having to drive at night, stay in Corfu Town:

• Inside the Old Town (Campiello, Spianada & Mouragia): boutique heritage hotels inside restored 18th-century Venetian mansions (such as Siora Vittoria, Bella Venezia or Cavalieri overlooking the Old Fortress), while you can swim right off the rocks at the Old Town's daytime sea-baths of Faliraki (Baths of Alekos) and Anemomylos.
• Garitsa Bay & Kanoni / Mon Repos (1 to 3 km south): five-star sea-view resort hotels with swimming pools looking straight back at the floodlit Old Fortress, linked to the Liston by a flat 15-minute seaside promenade walk.

2. Paleokastritsa & Liapades (Best for Dramatic Scenery, Snorkelling & Boat Coves)

Twenty-three kilometres north-west of Corfu Town. Wake up to pine-and-cypress cliffs dropping into six emerald coves, swim off rocky bathing platforms before the day-trippers arrive in the late morning, and take water-taxis to hidden cliff beaches like Chomi and Rovinia.

3. The North-East Coast: Kontokali, Barbati, Kalami & Kassiopi (Best for Calm, Warm Waters & Villas)

Facing the sheltered Corfu Channel: Kontokali and Gouvia (7 km north of town) offer five-star marina resorts 15 minutes from the Old Town; further north, Barbati, Nissaki, Kalami and Kassiopi offer quiet, upscale pebble bays where olive trees touch the water.

4. The West Coast: Glyfada, Pelekas & Agios Gordios (Best for Wide Golden Sand Beaches & Sunsets)

Choose Glyfada or Agios Gordios (25 mins west of town) if you want a beachfront hotel stepping directly onto a wide, stone-free golden sand beach with ocean sunsets every evening.