THE CORINTH CANAL is 3,2 miles long, 25 metres wide and the limestone from which it is cut rises to 76 metres above sea level at the highest point. The canal joins the Saronic Gulf with the Gulf of Corinth and saves the journey around the Peloponnese. Going through it is a breathtaking experience. The ancients used to drag ships across the isthmus on a paved road, parts of which can still be seen today.

GALAXIDI is a narrow tranquil inlet hidden between rocky islets and stony hills. Hemmed in by a pine-studded peninsula and the town, hunched on a rocky mound, the harbour is one of the most pleasing in the Gulf of Corinth. In the 18th century it was a prosperous port. A small museum displays curios including some fine figureheads from its heyday as a thriving shipping town. Sophisticated restaurants ashore.

TRIZONIA island has changed little over the years. The land around the bay is green and lush - mostly vines and olives. Whether to eat or simply have an ouzo, it is well worth while to go ashore.

 NAFPAKTOS is a minute mediaeval harbour bordered by old lane trees. Under the shadow of the Venetian castle, it is a captivating place, well watered, with a lot of animation that goes on in the square by the harbour. The town was known in mediaeval times as Lepanto.

OXIA is a high island with a jagged ridge running down the spine at the entrance to the Gulf of Patra. Spectacular surroundings and utter isolation except for a few fishing boats.

ZAKINTHOS is the southernmost of the Heptanesoi. Like a bowl holding something precious, the mountains of Zakinthos enclose the fertile central plain. The Venetians called Zakinthos "the flower of the Levant". Until its total destruction in the 1953 earthquake the towns consisted largely of Venetian building. In the rebuilding of the island, a Venetian aura has been retained - spacious boulevards, arcaded shops and imposing public building. A museum houses some of the relics particularly some fine icons. The island offers some spectacular scenery.

SAMI (Kefalonia) is an alternative to Ag. Efimia for visiting the semi-underground Lake Melissani and the Cave of Drogarati. The town itself is mostly new, though now mellowing with the patina of a few years aging.

AGIA EFIMIA used to be the main port for the east of Kefalonia, but after the 1953 earthquake it was abandoned and Sami became the major port for the area. Close by is Lake Melissani and the Cave of Drogarati, an underground cave and lake which a boatman will row you around.

FISKARDO The picturesque 19th-century houses set amid green pine groves remain pretty much original. The village is named after Robert Guiscard a Norman adventurer who briefly ruled these parts.

MEGANISI lies immediately east of Lefkas. The strait between Meganisi and Lefkas is one of the loveliest channels in the Ionian. The island has several natural harbours and numerous enclosed bays fringed by olive an cypress with clear blue water. The southwest coast is lined with caves, the most famous being Papanicolis rumoured to be the hiding place of a Greek submarine during the second World War. There is some good fishing to be had around this part of the island.

VASILIKI was a very sleepy little agricultural and fishing village. Now it deals with the summer flock of tourists in its own homespun way without neglecting the fertile well - watered agricultural plain behind the beach. For sailboard buffs the regular strong down draughts into the bay make Vasiliki one of the top spots for the sport.

NIDRI is a busy little place in summer and a large watersports centre. The busy square by the harbour has a superb view out over the bay and across to the islands and the mountains of the mainland opposite. The Baroque villa on nearby Madhouri island belongs to the Valaoritis family descendants of Aristoteles Valaoritis (1824-79), Greece’s national poet and composer of the national hymn.

LEFKAS is an island only because of the canal which separates it from the mainland. The island takes its name from a precipitous white cliff called Leukatas, which is presumed to be Sappho’s Leap and from which Sappho of Lesvos, the famous lyric poetess of the 6th century B.C. is supposed to have flung herself. The area is the setting for Hammond Innes’ novel "Lefkas Man".

PAXI & ANTIPAXI are located seven miles south of Corfu. The islands have attractive anchorages and crystal clear waters. Gaios, the harbour of Paxi, is a popular choice for yachts in the summer. Good taverns ashore.

CORFU lies like a plump sickle off the west coast of Albania and mainland Greece. The references to Corfu from Homer to the present day praise the island as a lush green paradise spinning a soothing spell over all who visit it. The island features, its own special Corfiot architecture and culture: the eerie Medusa in the museum, the Venetian forts and galley port, the French architecture raising a second Rue de Rivoli far from Paris, cricket and cake on Sundays, Byzantine churches… yet undeniably Greek. Despite the many tourists choking the town of Corfu much of the old town remains intact and alive in the real sense of the word.

PARGA village is a delightful place built down the steep slopes to the water’s edge. The slopes behind the bay and the village are wooded, mostly pine and olive. The castle on the promontory between the two bays is of Norman origin. Well defended to seaward and landward by the monolithic rock on which it sits, this castle has always been difficult to capture. The Venetians considered it "the eye and ear of Corfu’ and consequently the Parganiotes enjoyed trade privileges with Venice.

PREVEZA is a commercial port surrounded by lush orchards and market gardens. It is a likable working town with interesting shops and workshops in the back streets. Three miles north of the town are the ruins of Nikopolis built by Octavian to commemorate his victory over Antony in the Battle of Actium. The ruins are well worth a visit: a large theatre, a villa and the city walls are well preserved and a small museum houses an interesting collection of artifacts.

LEFKAS is an island only because of the canal which separates it from the mainland. The island takes its name from a precipitous white cliff called Leukatas, which is presumed to be Sappho’s Leap and from which Sappho of Lesvos, the famous lyric poetess of the 6th century B.C. is supposed to have flung herself. The area is the setting for Hammond Innes’ novel "Lefkas Man".

SKORPIOS and the smaller twin island Skorpidhi are the private islands of the Onassis family, originally bought by the late Aristotle Onassis. Skorpios has been planted as a park and you can sail around the island but you can not land above the high water mark.

ITHAKI, according to Homer is the island home of Odysseus. Archaeologists can dispute whether or not this is so, but Homer still provides the best description of the island. On the summit of a hill called Pelikata are the ruins of a Bronze Age settlement which is generally accepted to be the palace of Odysseus. The island has numerous coves and anchorages with water that is so clear, that it is difficult to believe you’re not going to touch bottom.

KIATO although principally a town based on the busy commercial harbour, is developing into a popular tourist resort based on the good bathing beaches nearby. The surrounding land is intensively cultivated in citrus and vine.

Click here to go back to the previous page...