city: Greece

Small Group Corfu Tour with Achilleion Palace and Paleokastritsa

Corfu is jam-packed with palaces, monasteries and picturesque villages. On this small group tour, you'll head into the rolling hills and along its rugged coastline to discover the Achillion Palace and Paleokastritsa. You'll also get to taste the fruits of the countryside. Spiros, one of our local guides, says, ‘It's a tour that mixes scenery with spirituality and nostalgia. And the visits to the kumquat distillery and olive oil museum offer a real glimpse of rural traditions.'As you journey your way through Corfu, you'll visit some of its top attractions. There's Achillion Palace, built by Empress of Sisi of Austria a year after a family tragedy. It was in its classical-inspired gardens and interiors that she hoped to find comfort and solace. It also boasts panoramic vistas over Corfu town, the coastline and even mainland Greece. And the views are also top-notch at the seaside village of Paleokastritsa. You'll have free time to visit the Orthodox monastery – admission is free – or the coves. A boat trip can also be arranged here.Plus, you'll get to sample some of the rich flavours of rural Corfu. There's a visit to a family-owned kumquat distillery. Here, you'll learn everything there is to know about this citrus fruit and the sweet and fragrant liqueur made from it. There's also a visit to a local olive oil museum. ‘Seeing historic pressing equipment in state-of-the-art modern facilities really drives home the timelessness of olive oil production,' says Spiros.