The city of Corfu is rich with memories, nobility, and an artistic aura. Yet, if someone were to pinpoint the ultimate meeting place where past and present converge, where East meets West, and where art blends seamlessly with everyday life, two locations stand out: the Liston and the Old Palace of the British Commissioners, which today houses the Museum of Asian Art, unique in its kind in Greece.
The Liston is undoubtedly the most recognizable and most photographed area in the city of Corfu. Built in the early 19th century by the French conquerors, specifically by General Mathieu de Lesseps, the Liston is a masterpiece of French urban architecture directly inspired by the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Its symmetry, arches, ornate balconies, wide corridors, and characteristic iron lanterns create an environment of aristocratic elegance.
The term “Liston” comes from the Venetian word lista, which meant the official list of nobles, the so-called Libro d’Oro, who were entitled to promenade in the square. Thus, Liston was a privilege reserved for the elite, a public space for display, socializing, and refinement. Today, Liston has opened its “doors” to everyone. Its arches, known locally in Corfu as the volta, host cafes, bistros, elegant pastry shops, and restaurants, creating a lively scene from morning until late at night. Locals drink their coffee here with views of the hidden greenery of the Spianada, while visitors immerse themselves in a feeling of history.
At the northern edge of the Spianada, just a breath away from the Liston, stands proudly the Palace of Saint George and Archangel Michael. Built between 1819 and 1824, when Corfu was part of the British Protectorate of the Ionian Islands, the palace was constructed to house the British Commissioner and function as the administrative center of the Ionian State.
The palace is one of the few buildings of purely Georgian architecture in the Eastern Mediterranean. Constructed with stones from the Sinies quarries of Corfu and marble from Malta, it combines elegance, symmetry, and austerity, impressing with its facade that resembles an ancient temple, featuring Doric columns. The palace’s main entrance is framed by a semicircular courtyard overlooking the Ionian Sea, creating an experience that combines the island’s tradition with its aristocratic history. Inside, magnificent halls, high ceilings, intricate floors, and detailed plaster decorations transport the visitor to an era of colonial power and political influence.
Since 1927, the palace has hosted one of the most unique museums in Europe, the Museum of Asian Art, the only one of its kind in Greece. The collection began with the donation of Gregorios Manos, a Greek diplomat who had collected over 10,000 art pieces from Japan, China, Tibet, India, and Southeast Asia. Today, the museum’s permanent exhibition includes rare objects of Buddhist, Taoist, and Shinto iconography, ceramics, sculptures, metalwork, and costumes spanning millennia of history and culture. Visitors are transported from the remote regions of Mongolia to the pagodas of Japan, on an incredible cultural journey bridging two worlds so different yet essentially related, the East and the West. Special exhibits, thematic temporary exhibitions, and cultural programs make the museum a living center of cultural interaction, while the very experience of touring the historic palace deepens reflection on art, politics, and history.
The Liston, the Spianada, and the Old Palace are not three separate stops in the city of Corfu. They are three chapters of the same story. The Liston represents Corfu’s cosmopolitan social life. The Spianada is its natural and cultural spirit. And the Old Palace is the imprint of its history: full of influences, nobility, and constant evolution. A visitor wandering through these sites does not simply take a stroll. They dive into a cultural map, designed over centuries by empires, architects, artists, and citizens. Every stone, every lantern, every balcony carries stories, from the Venetian era through the French and British periods to the modern face of a Corfu that continues to inspire.
