Neighbourhood Corfu, Greece
Cats in Corfu Old Town
A Venetian town on an Ionian island, tall houses on narrow lanes with washing strung between them, and cats on the steps of all of it. Thousands across the island, and a sanctuary twenty minutes out that takes the ones the town cannot.
Where to find cats in Corfu Old Town: The old town of Corfu, Kerkyra, between the Old Fortress and the New, on the east coast of the island. When: Early morning in the lanes, evening on the Liston. May, June, September, October. The cats are here all year; the food is not. Why here: The most Italian town in Greece, built by Venice over four centuries, and the cats came with the ships.
The short version
- Where
- The old town of Corfu, Kerkyra, between the Old Fortress and the New, on the east coast of the island
- When
- Early morning in the lanes, evening on the Liston. May, June, September, October. The cats are here all year; the food is not
- How long
- A morning for the old town. A day if you go out to the sanctuary at Kastellani
- What it costs
- The old town is free. The fortresses have tickets. The sanctuary asks for a donation
- Why here
- The most Italian town in Greece, built by Venice over four centuries, and the cats came with the ships
What to bring
- Dry food from a supermarket in townThe colonies are fed by residents and charities. Top up at an existing spot; do not start a new one on the Liston.
- Money for the sanctuaryCorfu Angel Cats at Kastellani has around a hundred residents and runs on donations. Winter is when it needs them.
- Shoes for marble and stepsThe Campiello, the oldest quarter, is all stairs and polished stone. It is the best part and the steepest.
- The cruise scheduleCorfu is a cruise port. Two ships in and the Liston is a crowd. Do the lanes early on those days.
Why there are cats everywhere
Venice held Corfu for four hundred years, and left the town its buildings, its olive trees and its cats.
Corfu was Venetian from 1386 to 1797, longer than anywhere else in Greece, which is why the old town looks like nowhere else in Greece: tall Italianate houses on narrow lanes, shuttered windows, washing lines, two Venetian fortresses, and an esplanade with an arcaded street, the Liston, that the French built to look like the rue de Rivoli. It is a UNESCO site and it is lived in, which is the point.
The cats are the town’s. There are thousands of strays across the island, more than the island can feed, and in the old town they are on the steps of the Campiello, the oldest and highest quarter, in the courtyards of the churches, and under the tables of the tavernas at the Liston end of the evening. They are fed by residents, by the restaurants, and by visitors, which is enough in July and not enough in January.
That gap is what the charities are for. Corfu Angel Cats, twenty minutes out of town at Kastellani, runs a sanctuary of around a hundred cats and a trap-neuter-return programme across the island. The Ark does the same for dogs and cats. Happy Faces rehomes from the south. Between them they are why the town’s cats are mostly neutered and mostly well, and they are all short of money in the months when the island is empty.
Walk the Campiello early, before the town is up: the lanes are cool, the light comes down between the houses, and every landing has a cat on it that has been there since Venice.
The walk
From the esplanade along the Liston, up into the Campiello, down through the church squares to the old port, and out along the water to the Old Fortress. A morning, most of it on stairs.
- From Corfu airportBus or taxi to the town20 minThree kilometres. The blue bus stops by the Spianada.
- From The portWalk or bus along the waterfront20 minWhere the Igoumenitsa and Italy ferries land, and the cruise ships. The old town is the walk east.
- From Corfu townGreen bus or taxi to Kastellani for the sanctuary25 minCorfu Angel Cats takes visitors by arrangement. Write first.
The Spianada and the Liston
The big green esplanade between the town and the Old Fortress, with cricket on it, and the arcaded Liston along one side. Cafe cats under the arcade tables from breakfast. Start here and head into the lanes behind.
Under the arcades. The cafe cats are on shift.Hajotthu, CC BY-SA 3.0 The Campiello
The oldest quarter, uphill behind the Liston: tall houses, stepped lanes, washing overhead, and cats on every flight. Go slowly, look up and down, and get lost; it is small and the sea is always downhill.
The Campiello. Venice, with cats.Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0 The old port
Down through the lanes to the old harbour on the north side, where the small boats and the Paxos ferry are. Cats on the quay in the morning, and the New Fortress above.
Near the port, in July. Fed, for now.GinoOnassis, CC0 The Old Fortress
Back along the water to the Venetian fortress on its rock at the end of the esplanade. Ticket at the gate. Cats in the grass on the ramparts, and the whole town behind you.
Town cat, in the last of the morning shade.GinoOnassis, CC0
Same numbers as the list. Worth keeping open on your phone.
The cats you will meet
Ionian cats, which means a little longer in the coat than the Cyclades, tabby and ginger and white, and thousands of them across an island that can only feed them in summer. In town they are neutered, sociable and photographed; out of town they are the charities’ problem and the charities’ work.
Campiello cats
On the stairs of the old quarter, in the shade.
The town cats. Fed by the houses whose steps they sit on.
Liston cats
Under the cafe tables, well fed.
Evening shift. They know the menu and the tourists.
Sanctuary cats
The hundred at Kastellani.
The old, the ill and the unwanted, by arrangement.
Everybody says The island looks after its cats.
Actually The town does, in summer. The island has thousands more than it can feed, and the charities that neuter and feed them are volunteers on donations. Give to them, not to the cats at the taverna, who are fine.
How not to be the annoying one
- Dry food at an existing spot, not on the Liston. The cafe cats are fed by the cafes.
- The Campiello is people’s front steps. Sit on a public one.
- Give to Corfu Angel Cats or The Ark. That is where the winter comes from.
- Do not take a kitten to the ferry. The charities rehome, with papers.
- On a cruise day, do the lanes before nine.
