Not far away from Corfu Town, lies the Kanoni Peninsula, where once the city of ancient Kerkyra, a powerful city-state of ancient Greece was built. The vegetation is so lush that there are no words to express the feeling of tranquility that Corfiot nature generously offers to the visitor. This is the landscape that led early European travelers to believe that they have found here the celebrated Gardens of Alcinous, the King of the Phaeacians, who offered his hospitality to Odysseus according to Homer.

Following the steps of the ancient mariners, English painters, and 19th-century archaeologists we are discovering the secrets of the Kanoni Peninsula. We explore an early Christian Basilica, the Doric temple of Kardaki, Corfu’s best-preserved ancient monument, a Venetian church, and a path that leads to a secret beach. We admire the neoclassical architecture of the Palace of Mon Repos, which was commissioned by Sir Frederick Adam in the 1820s to serve as a summer residence for the Lord High Commissioners of the Ionian Islands. Mon Repos is also the place where the late Prince Philip of Edinburgh was born in 1921. Just before sunset, we take a short ride to Panagia Vlaherna’s chapel, where we embark for Pontikonissi or the Mouse Island.