Paleokastritsa e Mosteiro da Theotokos (Moni Theotokou Palaiokastritsas)

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About Paleokastritsa e Mosteiro da Theotokos (Moni Theotokou Palaiokastritsas)

Paleokastritsa, 25 km from the city of Corfu, is the most photographed stretch of the west coast: six green-water coves between rocky promontories covered with cypresses and olive trees. At the top of the main promontory sits the monastery of the Virgin (Moni Theotokou), founded in 1225 and largely rebuilt in the 18th century, still inhabited by monks.

The courtyard is small, with whitewashed arches, bougainvillea and a well; the church has a gilded iconostasis and icons from the 17th and 18th centuries. A two-room museum houses Byzantine and post-Byzantine icons, liturgical books and, in one room, the skeleton of a whale found on the coast in the 19th century, which the monks have displayed ever since. From the terrace you can see the coves, the cliffs and, to the north, the rock of Angelokastro.

Local tradition links the bay to the Odyssey: it is said that Odysseus, shipwrecked, was found there by Nausicaa, daughter of the king of the Phaeacians. A rock in the sea is pointed out as the petrified ship.

In the bay, fishing boats run short trips to the sea caves and to beaches only reachable by water, and there are kayak and pedal boat rentals. The main beach, Agios Spyridon, has coarse sand and shingle, with tavernas around. The monastery usually opens from April to October, with a midday break; check before you go.