One of the quiet joys of staying in Corfu Old Town: every museum that matters on the island is within a fifteen-minute walk of the apartment door. A car is neither necessary nor useful for what follows — in fact it’s an obstacle. This is how guests staying at Oikia 4 meet Corfu’s museums: on foot, at the pace of the town itself.
Walk Out the Door and Turn Left
The Old Town holds five world-class museums within a distance most cities would call a single neighbourhood. That density is historical: the UNESCO-listed streets around the apartment grew up around the Venetian palaces, British garrisons and Greek civic institutions that bequeathed the collections. You’re not visiting museums in a tourist district. You’re walking through the district that made the museums.
Archaeological Museum — 10 minutes South
Walk south along Kapodistriou Street towards Vraila. Ten minutes, flat. Inside: the Gorgon Pediment from the 6th-century-BC Temple of Artemis — one of the largest and earliest pediments in Greek art. The Lion of Menekrates. Pottery and bronzes from ancient Corcyra, the Greek colony that played kingmaker in the war between Athens and Corinth. Renovated premises, excellent English signage. €6.
Museum of Asian Art — 5 minutes North
Walk north along the Liston and you’re at the Palace of St. Michael and St. George in five minutes. Greece’s only museum of Asian art. Over 15,000 objects: Chinese porcelain across dynasties, Japanese samurai armour, Tibetan thangkas, Indian bronzes, Edo woodblock prints. The British-built neoclassical palace is worth the visit in itself. Stop at the garden cafe afterwards. €6.
Antivouniotissa Museum — 3 minutes Away
Practically next door. A 15th-century single-aisle basilica on Arseniou Street with an extraordinary carved wooden ceiling and 90-plus Byzantine icons from the Cretan and Ionian Schools. Works by Emmanouil Tzanes and the circle of Michael Damaskinos — the tradition El Greco emerged from. Small, atmospheric, quiet. €4.
Serbian Museum — 7 minutes to Mourayia
Walk down into the Mourayia quarter and you’ll find the Serbian Museum in a restored waterfront building. Free entry. The collection tells the remarkable story of the 150,000 Serbian soldiers who took refuge on Corfu in 1916 during the Great Retreat — the origin of the “Blue Tomb” (the waters near Vido Island, where the dead were buried at sea). Forty minutes, deeply moving.
Solomos Museum — 4 minutes Away
A short walk from the apartment on Arseniou Street. The house where Dionysios Solomos, Greece’s national poet, lived and died. Manuscripts of the Hymn to Liberty, which became the Greek national anthem after Nikolaos Mantzaros (a Corfiot composer) set it to music. Small, specialist, literary. €3.
Worth Walking To, But Not Strictly Museums
Casa Parlante — 2 Minutes
Practically next door to the Liston. An interactive 19th-century Corfiot townhouse with animatronic figures, period sound, full sensory recreation of Victorian life. Works beautifully for families with children. Thirty minutes inside.
Banknote Museum (Ionian Bank) — 3 Minutes
Free, air-conditioned, and surprisingly interesting on a hot afternoon. The history of Greek currency through coins, banknotes and the Ionian Bank’s outsize role in Greek finance. Pop in for 30 minutes between other stops.
Achillion Palace — Needs a Car
Ten kilometres south. Empress Sisi’s former summer residence, later Kaiser Wilhelm II’s. Worth a half-day. Hire a car (details below) or take a taxi out. Covered in our separate Achillion guide.
Walking Order From the Apartment
Morning sweep: Start south at 8:30 AM — Archaeological Museum first. Walk back north through town to Antivouniotissa, Solomos, Serbian Museum. Lunch break in the kantounia. Museum of Asian Art last, finish with coffee in the palace garden cafe. Total walking: about 3 km over a full day.
Monday rule: Most state museums close. Plan a beach or day trip instead.
Cruise ship timing: Groups arrive around 10 AM and hit the Archaeological Museum hard. Be there at opening for a nearly empty gallery with the Gorgon Pediment.
Combined ticket: Sometimes available in high season. Ask at the first ticket office.
Lunch: Skip the Liston. Step one street back into the old town and prices halve, quality doubles. See our traditional restaurants guide.
Before You Arrive
Flying in and want to museum-hop before check-in? Lock and Walk is a four-minute walk from the apartment — drop your bags, head straight to the Archaeological Museum, collect them later.
★ For the Achillion Day — Herbie Cars
The only day you’ll need a car. Herbie Cars (our partner) delivers to the apartment. Free delivery, honest prices, an easy half-day out to Sisi’s palace and back.
Book a car →★ Splitting Your Stay With the Beach?
Our partner Corfu Beach and Town runs beach-side and town houses across the island — a good option for the second half of a holiday combining Old Town museums with beach days.
Browse houses →For the broader island travel picture, CorfuRide maintains the definitive reference guide. And if you’re reading this pre-trip, our Corfu Old Town guide walks you through the streets the museums sit on.