By some considered the jewel of Corfu, Paleokastritsa no doubt offers the most stunning views of the hilly verdant North Western coastline combined with transparently clear blue waters, which can be appreciated even more when driving up the mountainside to Lakones traditional village.
The old little castle, as the name suggests, is attributed with some uncertainty to either the hill-top monastery once surrounded by byzantine castle-like walls, or is somehow related to the Angelocastro Fortress, situated a little further north on a rocky cliff overlooking and protecting the bay. Though in ruins today, Angelokastro had once formed a defensive triangle with the castles of Gardiki and Kassiopi, defending the island of Corfu on all sides. (It can be seen from Paleokastritsa Monastery.)
Anyone visiting Paleokastritsa must visit the 13th century Greek Orthodox Monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary. To reach it, you drive all the way through the village to the very end, finally driving up a hill. The views are spectacular. The architecture is typical Venetian-Ionian and the cellar archways make you travel back in time. There is a one-room museum exhibiting gold and silver gilded objects from the Greek Orthodox Church, as well as a few hundred-year-old manuscripts.
In Paleokastritsa, apart from the two main beaches near the Central Parking Area, you find a multitude of little coves, perfect for lounging and swimming, which you can access on foot, or more easily by boat. A boat ride is ideal to enjoy the beauty of this landscape and to visit the Blue Caves, and there is a choice of boat taxis, boat trips or boat hire. There is also scuba diving.