Corfu Shopping Tips
These Corfu shopping tips include advice on buying souvenirs like ceramics, jewelry, gold, silver, wood carvings, and food and drink, with tips on haggling.
Colourful Ceramics Make Good Souvenirs
Corfu has quite a good range of shopping options. Although it is primarily a mass-market tourism destination, it also attracts a number of cruise ships whose passengers have money to spend. The best variety and quality is to be found in Corfu Town, and if you're based outside the capital you should certainly include a visit there if you want to find some good souvenirs.
Ceramics
There are some excellent ceramic items available all over the island. Some are mass-produced but there are also good work from local artists. You should shop around as not all shops stock the same goods.
Food and Drink
Extra virgin olive oil can be found everywhere, some in elaborate bottles suitable for buying as gifts, but make sure it is olive oil from Corfu as a lot is imported from mainland Greece. If you simply want to buy in quantity to use yourself, consider getting a large tin of it.
Honey is also good, although not necessarily a cheap buy. You’ll see hives all around the island, and some of the mountain honey is really delicious, flavoured by wild herbs and flowers.
Kumquat Liqueur Bottles on Corfu
Liqueur made from the island’s kumquats is an unusual and very special gift. Watch for the different strengths available, as it’s usually a case of the stronger it is, the better and richer it tastes. Some restaurants will give you a complimentary glass of the liqueur at the end of a meal, but these are usually the weaker and cheaper varieties. If these don’t impress you, do try to sample the stronger versions. Many shops will let you try a taste.
Other specialities to look out for include local olives, herbs, spices, nuts, and cheese.
Some Cool Corfu Souvenirs
Paleokastritsa Luggage Tag
Corfu Cypresses Capri Leggings
Gold, Silver, and Jewellery
You’ll find silversmiths all over Greece. There is a long tradition of the craft in Epirus, and in particular in the city of Ioannina, across from Corfu on the mainland. Some of the work makes its way to the island, so do ask about it.
Some Greek jewellery is rather too flamboyant for many people, but there are young designers today creating more subtle work with a wide choice of rings, ear-rings, and necklaces.
Museum replicas are usually very well-made, and make good personal souvenirs.
Icons
There are few more typical Greek gifts than icons, a centuries-old Greek tradition. Most are machine-made, but you will still find a few artists producing these by hand. You can find the best choice when visiting the island’s monasteries.
Leather Goods
Leather is a good buy almost everywhere in Greece, and Corfu is no exception. Look for sandals, shoes, bags, and belts in the Old Town in Corfu Town.
Weaving
Good quality hand weaving and embroidery can be found throughout the island, as it is quite a cottage industry here. You are just as likely to find top class items in some quiet village as in Corfu Town – and at a much cheaper price. Kassiopi is a centre for lace and crochet work.
Wood Carvings
With so many olive trees on Corfu, it is only natural that the islanders should want to make use of the wood too. There are now many wood carving workshops, almost one in every town, where you can buy items like walking sticks, light pulls, beautiful bowls, and kitchen utensils.
General Corfu Shopping Tips
- Haggling is an option in some places, but nothing like it is in Greece’s neighbour to the east, Turkey. Corfu is far more like its western European counterparts, where the price shown is the price you pay, and discounts are only to be had if buying several items.
- Greece has a high sales tax, and it may be possible for non-EU residents to reclaim this by shopping in stores displaying ‘Tax-Free for Tourists’ stickers.
- Not all local crafts are actually made locally. There is a flourishing market in Asia producing local souvenirs for countries all over the world, so look closely before buying. If you see a colourful plate with Corfu written on it, you might turn it over and find ‘Made in China’!
Where to Stay on Corfu
Other Corfu pages
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in north-west and central Corfu including luxury mansions, inexpensive rooms, and resort hotels.
The history of Corfu and cricket goes back to 1823 when the island was under British rule, which left them with a legacy of loving both cricket and ginger beer.
Corfu’s special cuisine includes dishes like sofrito and pastitsade and the chance to try ginger beer and kumquats.
Mount Pantokrator is the highest mountain on Corfu and it’s easy to drive to the top for spectacular views of Albania, Corfu, and even sometimes to Italy.
Corfu’s marine life includes dolphins, loggerhead turtles, and rare Mediterranean monk seals.
This drive to Palaiokastritsa starts at Corfu airport and takes you across the Ropa Plan and through hill villages before returning to Corfu Town.
Information for travellers to Greece on Corfu festivals and events including Easter, the Feast of St Spiridhon, Carnival and Name Days.
Corfu’s wildlife includes rare and colourful birds, snakes, lizards, fireflies, and insects, with plenty of places to watch the wildlife like lakes and lagoons.
Greece Travel Secrets’ pick of where to stay in southern Corfu including hotels in Moraïtika, Paramonas, Messonghi, Agios Georgios, and near Benitses.
Kassiopi is a popular tourist resort on the northeast coast of Corfu with a sandy beach, Byzantine fortress, old church, and lots of places to stay and to eat.
The Corfu Climate page describes the hours of sun, the rain, the winds, to help you plan the best time to visit this Ionian island.
Donna Dailey of Greece Travel Secrets visits Albania by boat from Corfu Town, staying overnight and seeing archaeological sites with Sipa Tours.
Greece Travel Secrets has its list of favourite places where you can eat in north-west Corfu, including in Paleokastritsa, Pelekas, and Ayios Stefanos.
Southern Corfu has busy beach resorts like Benitses, historical buildings like the Achilleion Palace and Gardiki Castle, and wildlife at the Korision Lagoon.
This Lawrence Durrell walk takes you from Kaminaki Beach in northern Corfu to the White House in Kalami where the writer Lawrence Durrell lived for four year.
Northern Corfu is the most diverse part of the island, with Corfu's highest point, Mt Pantokrator, and beach resorts like Sidari and Palaiokastritsa.
This Southern Corfu drive starts and ends in Moraïtika, taking in hill villages, secluded beaches, lovely views, and a visit to Gardiki Castle.
Northern Corfu’s beaches and villages include busy resorts and secluded beaches, with several hill and mountain villages well worth visiting.
Kalami in north-west Corfu is a hidden gem which many people know about because writer Lawrence Durrell once lived here in The White House.
Corfu Town’s Old Fortress is the town’s most striking landmark, standing east of the Old Town on top of a rocky promontory.
Paleokastritsa is on the west coast of Corfu and is one of the most popular holiday spots. This page gives information on beaches, boat trips, weather and map.
From Nero to Nicolas Cage, the invasion of Corfu goes back to Roman times and through to Hollywood today!
The best beaches on Corfu, chosen by Greece Travel Secrets, include Paleokastritsa, Mirtiotissa, Sidari and Cape Asprokavos.
Corfu writers and artists inspired by the island include both residents and visitors, like Gerald and Lawrence Durrell, Edward Lear, and Henry Miller.
Greece Travel Secrets picks where to stay in northern Corfu with budget and luxury hotels in Sidari, Daphnila Bay, Kontokali, Ipsos, Barbati and more.
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
- Click on the HTML link code below.
- Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment,
your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
-
The Elias weather system was affecting several parts of the country on Tuesday, with heavy rain, thunderstorms, hail and lightning.
Read More
-
British low-cost carrier EasyJet and tour operator easyJet holidays have announced the launch of flights and holidays to Skiathos from London Gatwick, Bristol and Manchester for next summer.
Read More
-
The highway to Athens from the Eleonas Toll Station was opened to traffic by opening a lane on the opposite side of the road following its closure due to mudslides.
Read More
-
On my first visit to the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece, I don’t remember what exactly prompted me to jump in a rental car and start exploring. I do remember the route: it was a narrow road…
Read More
-
Greece Travel Secrets picks its best restaurants on Mykonos, choosing those gourmet restaurants known for their fine dining, and some with tasting menus.
Read More
-
There are plenty of things to do on Mykonos, one of the most popular Greek islands, such as nightlife, beaches, churches and visiting the ancient site of Delos.
Read More
-
Mykonos in the Cyclades islands in Greece has cheap and luxury hotel accommodation, car rental, ferries from Athens, Santorini, Crete and other Greek islands.
Read More
-
With its distinctive fruity aromas, tsikoudia is more than just a drink - it is a symbol of conviviality, hospitality, and the rich heritage of Crete.
Read More
-
A museum dedicated to the legendary Greek opera singer Maria Callas, located in the heart of Athens, will open its doors to the public later this year.
Read More
-
In celebration of this year's European Heritage Days, the Acropolis Museum in Athens will offer free entry and host a special guided tour for children.
Read More