Corfu, the olive island: a grand traverse from south to north

Arrival at Kerkyra airport. Transfer to your hotel in the historic centre of the capital. Depending on your arrival time, enjoy a first stroll through the Venetian lanes, a coffee on the Liston, or a moment of relaxation on the beach. In the evening, the old-town tavernas welcome you for a first dinner of Ionian flavours.

Morning transfer to the village of Ano Pavliana, on the west coast. The path crosses the wooded ridge and tips you into a rural, secret Corfu. From the interior villages, untouched by tourism, to the olive forests of the Messongi plain, this first walking day reveals an authentic face of the island. The path passes through the village of Komianata before descending to Benitses, on the east coast, where your accommodation awaits facing the sea.

Transfer to Agii Deka. The day crosses landscapes with Tuscan overtones: tall cypresses, stone villages clinging to hillsides, paths bordered by wild flowers. From the summit of Agii Deka, the highest point of the south of the island, the panorama embraces the whole of Corfu, from the turquoise coasts to Mount Pantokrator in the north. Descent to the village of Pelekas, which overlooks a golden sandy beach, an enchanting setting to end the day.

From Pelekas, the path descends to Myrtiotissa beach and its monastery, a haven of serenity facing the Mediterranean. The crossing of the Ropa plain, then the climb towards the village of Gianades, takes you to the heart of the immense Kourkouli olive forest. Beneath the monumental canopy, light traces arabesques on the ground. Arrival at the perched village of Liapades, your base for two nights, in a green setting above the sea.

Setting off on foot from Liapades for one of the trip's finest days. The panorama over Palaiokastritsa is enchanting: emerald coves, white cliffs, waters of a deep blue. The path crosses the villages of Lakones and Krini, where terraces open onto a grand spectacle, then descends along an old mule path to the bay of Agios Georgios. Offshore, the Diapontia Islands are silhouetted on the horizon. The ruins of Aggelokastro, a former Byzantine fortress, add a touch of heritage to an already sumptuous day.

Transfer to the village of Spartylas. This day is the journey's crowning moment. The path climbs towards Mount Pantokrator, roof of Corfu, from where the view stretches to infinity: the entire island at your feet, the Albanian coast beyond the strait, the great blue as far as the eye can see. The descent passes through olive groves before reaching Kalami bay, where Lawrence Durrell wrote some of his finest pages. A coastal path between Kaminaki and Kalami offers a final seaside stroll. Public bus to Kerkyra for your last night (at your own expense).

A full day devoted to the capital of Corfu, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Overlooked by its Venetian fortresses, Kerkyra unfolds its bustling lanes, its Byzantine churches, its palaces with facades weathered by time. The church of Saint Spyridon, the Byzantine art museum, the Mon Repos park and its subtropical gardens, the Liston with its Italianate arcades: each step reveals a new treasure. Take time for lunch at an old-harbour taverna, a final ouzo on a terrace facing the sea. This is Corfu in all its cultural splendour.