Kassiopi

This mass-market resort, at the end of the corniche route threading through the more rarified havens of “Kensington on Sea”, is one of the few north-coast spots that has kept its charm. It has been a resort of sorts since Roman imperial times – Tiberius had a villa here, and Nero paid a musical visit with his lyre in AD 66 – and it’s easy to see why, with a deeply indented fishing port flanked by a small Byzantine-Angevin castle dating mostly from the 13th century (always open to visit). The path up to the castle starts immediately opposite medieval Kassopítra church (daily 10am–3pm), built during the 4th century on the site of the local ancient Zeus temple (its foundations two floor-layers below) and well worth a glance inside. The latest church dates from after the 1537 Ottoman sack of Corfu, with more Venetian rebuilding around 1590; to that period belongs a superb fresco of the Virgin Platytera with angels, in the apse.