THE ESPLANADE

Between the tightly packed buildings of the old town and the Old Fortress, the Esplanade (Spianada) is a vast green space and claims to be the second largest square in Europe. Corfu’s main public gathering space, it is overlooked by the arcaded Liston, built by the French in the 19th-century, and home to a row of pricey cafés that are ideal for people-watching. Locals play cricket (a game passed down to them by the British) on the carefully tended lawns of the Esplanade, and there is also a bandstand where brass bands occasionally play