Pilgrims and day-trippers alike throng this Old Town landmark. As well as magnificent frescoes, the small 16th-century basilica holds the remains of Corfu’s patron saint, Spyridon, a 4th-century Cypriot shepherd. His body, brought here from Constantinople in 1453, lies in an elaborate silver casket, and is paraded through the town on festival days.

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Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Butrint
9.88 MILES
Early in the morning, before the tourist crowds arrive and when the rocks are still tinged in the yellow dawn light, you might just imagine that the…
Palaio Frourio
0.25 MILES
The rocky headland that juts east from Corfu Town is topped by the Venetian-built 14th-century Palaio Frourio. Before that, already enclosed within…
Palace of St Michael & St George
0.12 MILES
Beyond the northern end of the Spianada, the smart Regency-style Palace of St Michael and St George was built by the British from 1819 onwards, to house…
Liston
0.09 MILES
Corfu Town owes the elegant, photogenic Liston, the arcade that lines the northern half of the Spianada, to neither the Venetians nor the British but to…
Blue Eye Spring
25.12 MILES
The Blue Eye Spring is a magical place: a hypnotic pool of deep blue water surrounded by electric-blue edges like the iris of an eye. It's further…
Vidos Island
1.07 MILES
Hourly boats from the Old Port make the 10-minute crossing to tiny, thickly wooded Vidos Island (€4 return), immediately offshore. The island is the final…
Nearby Corfu Town attractions
1. Banknote Museum
0.04 MILES
Somewhat specialist, but oddly fascinating, the Banknote Museum occupies the upper floors of what was in 1840 the first-ever all-Greek bank. It traces the…
2. Corfu Living History
0.06 MILES
This town house has been remodelled to illustrate the daily lives of a fictitious merchant family from the mid-19th century. Enthusiastic guides make the…
3. Corfu Philharmonic Society
0.06 MILES
Via battered old instruments, photos and scores, this entertaining little museum tells the story of Greece’s first-ever marching band, which performed at…
4. Liston
0.09 MILES
Corfu Town owes the elegant, photogenic Liston, the arcade that lines the northern half of the Spianada, to neither the Venetians nor the British but to…
5. Greek Orthodox Cathedral
0.11 MILES
Corfu Town’s Greek Orthodox cathedral, or Mitropolis, stands atop a flight of steps leading from the Old Port. Festooned with huge chandeliers, its wide…
6. Palace of St Michael & St George
0.12 MILES
Beyond the northern end of the Spianada, the smart Regency-style Palace of St Michael and St George was built by the British from 1819 onwards, to house…
7. Corfu Reading Society
0.12 MILES
Although there’s no obvious sign on this grand cream-and-white villa, anyone is welcome to climb its external staircase and settle down with a book in the…
8. Corfu Museum of Asian Art
0.13 MILES
Home to stunning artefacts ranging from prehistoric bronzes to works in onyx and ivory, this excellent museum occupies the central portions of the Palace…