Top Reasons to Go to the Ionian Islands

Corfu Town, Corfu: Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, this sophisticated little gem of a city glows with a profusion of picturesque reminders of its Venetian, French, and British past.

Pontikonisi, Corfu: As they savor the famous panorama of Corfu's Pontikonisi, from the patio of the viewpoint in suburban Kanoni, how many of today's visitors know that tiny "Mouse island" was thought by the ancients to be Odysseus's ship turned to stone by Poseidon?

Mount Ainos, Kefalonia: Few realize this forested mountain lies within the only national park on a Greek island, created in 1962 to protect the island's endemic black firs. Watch out for wild horses as you wander trails up to the 1,628-meter summit, the highest peak in the island chain.

Beaches: The Ionion islands are famed for their shores. Myrtos (Kefalonia) and Shipwreck Cove (Zakynthos) are among Greece's most dazzling.