Who’s around this time of year? Is it all locals? Greek domestic visitors? Are there any travelers at all?
Corfu is really interesting, because it doesn’t have this sort of off-season, on-season vibe as much as the Cycladic Islands do. What I mean by that is the island doesn’t shut down when it isn’t summertime. We have a university, and we have a music school on the island, and because it is very cosmopolitan, and because it’s so big, we tend to retain our residents. People don’t tend to move to Athens or to Saloniki as much as they might in more remote Cycladic islands.
So, of course, there are a few travelers, but it’s not as many as you’ll find in July and August. And I think it’s usually people who love to hike and people who like to be in nature, so it’s a different kind of traveler.
What’s notable about the locals? Do they have any of their own unique traditions or a reputation amongst Greeks for anything in particular?
What’s notable about the locals in Corfu is that, supposedly, we’re the craziest in all of Greece? Other Greeks tend to say that Cretans and the Corfiots are the crazies of the nation. But I do think we are quite distinct in Corfu, because we have this incredible heritage that comes from Italy, and we love to align ourselves with the Italians. The Venetians came and colonized 500 years ago, and many vestiges of our Venetian past are still visible, not just in the architecture and in our food.
