What colour is Corfu? The obvious answer would be, ‘green’ – this is Greece’s greenest island, its winter rains keeping it lush. But what about purple? That’s the colour of some of the island’s 36 orchid species. Consider, also, orange – for the flame-coloured kumquats that grow here and, as a liqueur, make an excellent cocktail ingredient. Then, of course, there’s the famous ‘rosy fingered dawn’ that lingers over the island in the morning, immortalised in Homer’s Odyssey.
![]()
Corfu – and many of the Ionian Islands – have a very strongly loyal population that wouldn’t want to live anywhere else
![]()
– Our partner Val Osborne-Androutsopoulou, who has lived here since 1977
Corfu has a long history of relationships with other nations – Venetian for 400 years, later falling under French and then British rule – the latter has given British travellers an affectionate connection with the island; they introduced ginger beer, and many Brits live here now, still drinking tsitsibira, the Corfu version. Corfu has close ferry links with Italy, and traditional Venetian specialties make appearances on menus. But Corfu is, of course, a very Greek destination. Here’s another Corfiot colour: blue – and the startling Ionian Sea around the island is a hue that only a Greek island can do.
Read our Corfu travel guide for more details.
