Corfu on a Monday?

[Travelling2Some]

We will be in Corfu on a Monday in October. Had planned to explore the town, popping into various small museums and churches. However, according to the Rick Steve's guide pretty much all of those are closed on Mondays. Is the town still interesting enough for a first time visitor with so many sights closed? Do the shops close for several hours in the afternoon as well? We'll be in port from 8 AM until 3:30 PM. None of the out of town attractions (Achellion, Mouse Island, etc.) are of interest to me but we do enjoy scenery and exploring on our own (rather not have a third party like a taxi driver with us). Should we stick with town or rent some kind of transport (ATV/scooter) and go off on our own? Unfortunately the things that do interest me are quite far away so time and poor road signage will be an issue too. What do you think? I'd especially appreciate hearing from those who have been there on a Monday.

[newgrange]

We were in Corfu on a Monday last October and had a lovely trip (booked in advance) to Ambelonas for lunch. It was a rainy day so we didn't bother with the shops.

[Travelling2Some]

We were in Corfu on a Monday last October and had a lovely trip (booked in advance) to Ambelonas for lunch. It was a rainy day so we didn't bother with the shops.

 

Thanks for the suggestion but it wouldn't suit us as we live in an area that offers lots of "weekend at the vineyards" and farm to table dining establishments. We would either want to explore the island or wander the old town and I'm not sure we have enough hours to do both so I'm trying to make a choice between those two options.

 

I guess what I really need to know is if there is enough to see and do in the Old Town with many of the small museums and churches closed that day and the possibility of the shops closing up for a few hours at mid-day too.

[Got2Cruise]

We were there on a Monday. I wanted to go over to Paleo for the beach and Monastery but it didn't work out. I wish we did.

[Travelling2Some]

We were there on a Monday. I wanted to go over to Paleo for the beach and Monastery but it didn't work out. I wish we did.

 

So did you go into town? Did the shops close for a couple of hours mid-day or do they stay open if ships are in town? Did you find enough to do? I'm leaning towards Paleokastritsa too mostly because it's a Monday but also thinking that I may have seen enough charming towns since we're spending time in Northern Italy before the cruise.

[Got2Cruise]

So did you go into town? Did the shops close for a couple of hours mid-day or do they stay open if ships are in town? Did you find enough to do? I'm leaning towards Paleokastritsa too mostly because it's a Monday but also thinking that I may have seen enough charming towns since we're spending time in Northern Italy before the cruise.

 

 

No. I didn't go into town. We wanted to do some swimming so we went on a boat tour which also included some swimming. We had just done Dubrovnik the day before and walked a few other forts already. Plus we also started in Venice, we weren't in the mood for more walking around town. Lol.

[Chloe1500]

So did you go into town? Did the shops close for a couple of hours mid-day or do they stay open if ships are in town? Did you find enough to do? I'm leaning towards Paleokastritsa too mostly because it's a Monday but also thinking that I may have seen enough charming towns since we're spending time in Northern Italy before the cruise.

 

We visited Paleokastritsa in mid-October and it was mostly deserted, too cool to swim or sun on the beach. The weather was changing and the resort season was over. We also visited the monastery, which sits atop a cliff with a beautiful view, but I wouldn't call it a must-see. We did spend time shopping in Corfu's old town and shops were open all afternoon the day we visited.

[Travelling2Some]

Thanks Chole and Got2Cruise. We're mainly interested in the scenery not the swimming so deserted beaches are fine. Seems like almost everything in Corfu is "very nice" but nothing is a "must see". Makes it hard to decide how to spend our port time, lol. On the other hand it does seem that whatever we end up doing will be make for a nice day. Thanks again for taking the time to answer.

[Gourmet Gal]

We are planning to just rent a car in Corfu as we have no interest in the ship tours or beaches. Car rentals are very reasonable. We'll do some touring and end the day in town.

[Bobal]

You would be much better asking this on the Corfu section of Trip Advisor where there will be people with much more knowledge than the limited knowledge you may pick up here

[texancruzer]

I disagree……. there are some exceptionally beautiful areas to Corfu and in my opinion a "must see" is the countryside. Corfu is called the Emerald Isle of Greece as it is very green unlike the other Greek islands since it is located much further north and gets a lot more rain. There are over 1 million olive trees, hills, stunning beach coves as well as some charming villages, monasteries and vistas. We did a tour starting early in the morning and then still had some free time in Corfu town. We enjoyed walking around and did a bit of shopping but did not visit any museums or churches. I can truly get "burnt out" on museums and churches and choose mine carefully. So we tend to try and combine both "get outta town" and "walk around town" when we can. Will it give you an immersion of both…..no but it does give you a taste of both country life and city life……. just my two cents :D