Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a
zogorítiki
soufflé with four cheeses. Most main dishes
€10-13.
ÁYIOS STÉFANOS
Ì
Fagopotion
T
26630 82020.
With a deck right on
the quay, this place offers finely prepared seafood,
dishes such as rabbit
stifádho
and unusual items such as
Noon-1am: April-Oct daily; Nov-May
Fri-Sun.
The north coast
he north coast between
Kassiópi
and
Sidhári
is blessed with some of the island's best
stretches of sand and, as a direct result, is also home to a few of Corfu's most crowded
package tourism resorts, varying in degrees of development but still with plenty to offer
the independent traveller.
Kassiópi
At the far east end of the north coast is
KASSIÓPI
, a fishing village that's been
transformed into a major party resort. The Roman emperor Tiberius had a villa
here, and the village's sixteenth-century Panayía Kassópitra church is said to stand
on the site of a temple of Zeus once visited by Nero. Little of Kassiópi's past
survives, apart from an abandoned Angevin kástro on the headland - most visitors
come for the nightlife and the five
pebbly
beaches
, the largest of which is
Kalamiónas, close to the coast road.
11
Almyrós beach and around
Little-developed
Almyrós beach
, around 10km west along the marshy, overgrown
coastline from Kassiópi, is one of the longest on the island, with only a few apartment
buildings and one huge new resort dotted sporadically behind it. The
Andinióti
lagoon
,
a haven for birds and twitchers, backs Cape Ayías Ekaterínis to the east, which marks
the northern end of the Corfu Trail (see box, p.723).
Aharávi
At the western end of Almyrós beach,
AHARÁVI
is old village is tucked on the inland
side of the busy main road in a quiet crescent. The village serves as a base for those
seeking alternative routes up onto
Mount Pandokrátor
(see box, p.714). Roads to small
hamlets such as Áyios Martínos and Láfki continue onto the mountain, and even a
stroll up from the back of Aharávi will find you on the upper slopes in under an hour.
Ródha
RÓDHA
, barely 3km west of Aharávi, has tipped over into overdevelopment, and is
certainly not the place to come for a quiet time. The resort does, however, offer some
handy facilities. “Old Ródha” is a small warren of alleys between the main road and the
seafront, where you'll find the best restaurants and bars.
Sidhári
At the west end of the north coast,
SIDHÁRI
is totally dominated by British package
tourists; its small but pretty town square, with a bandstand set in a small garden, is lost
in a welter of restaurants, bars and shops. The beach is sandy but not terribly clean, and
many people tend to head just west to the curious coves, walled by wind-carved
sandstone cliffs, around the vaunted Canal d'Amour. Sidhári also has its own modest
water park (free entry), a good place to keep the kids happy.
GETTING AROUND
THE NORTH COAST
By car or motorbike
Vlasseros Travel (
T
26630 95695) is
Sidhári's biggest general tourist agency and handles car
rental. In Ródha, Myron offers good rates for motorbike
rental (
T
26630 63477).
By boat
Voyager in Ródha (
T
693 29 08 173) has boat
rental from €15/hr.
