For Corfiots, the heart and focus of life in their town is the Liston and Spianada. Liston is a series of cafeterias next to each other, with arched domes that flood with crowds during summers and weekends. The local talents will stroll up and down the Liston to be admired, envied, or scrutinised by the rest. The Liston was built by the French to resemble rue de Rivoli in Paris, but the name was given by the British, as during their rule only nobility could sit there (List On--you had to be on the nobles list to have a seat there). The fact of the matter is that with 5 Euros for the cost of a cappuccino coffee today, Liston is still a very dear place to enjoy your coffee, yet still very trendy for the Corfiots.

Behind the Liston is the park of Spianada, which serves as the cricket ground of Corfu. This is another relic from the British Administration, and Corfu cricket team is the champion cricket team of Greece (albeit without any competition!), as the sport is virtually unknown in the rest of the country. Cricket matches between Corfiots and visiting teams are held from time to time and are quite spectacular.

On the northern part of Spianada is the Palace of Saints Michael and George, built between 1819 and 1824. In the past, it has been used by the Greek royal family, but since the monarchy was abolished, it serves now as a quite impressive museum of Asian art. On the eastern part of the Spianada Park is the Old Fort of Corfu (Palaio Frouri), built originally by the Byzantine emperors, destroyed later by Goth invaders, and rebuilt around 1550 by the Venetians with extensive fortifications and a moat.