Corfu Reading Society

Corfu Town


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 library of the Corfu Reading Society. Founded in 1836, the oldest cultural institution in modern Greece holds 30,000 volumes in several languages, mostly devoted to the Ionian Islands.

It also displays paintings, prints and maps, and hosts concerts and lectures.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Corfu Town attractions

1. Corfu Museum of Asian Art

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Home to stunning artefacts ranging from prehistoric bronzes to works in onyx and ivory, this excellent museum occupies the central portions of the Palace…

2. Palace of St Michael & St George

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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…

3. Municipal Art Gallery I

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Make the effort to find this gallery – it's entered from the exterior on the eastern side of the Palace of St Michael and St George. You’ll be rewarded…

4. Municipal Art Gallery II

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At the eastern (seaward) end of the front terrace of the Palace of St Michael and St George, the Municipal Art Gallery II holds some fabulous exhibitions…

5. Antivouniotissa Museum

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Home to an outstanding collection of Byzantine and post-Byzantine icons and artefacts, the exquisite, timber-roofed Church of Our Lady of Antivouniotissa…

6. Church of Agios Spyridon

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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…

7. Liston

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8. Banknote Museum

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