Achilleion

Corfu, Greece

Achilleion is a palace built in Gastouri on the Island of Corfu for the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi. Elisabeth was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria following the Mayerling incident in 1889, and a year later she had this summer palace built as a refuge.

Achilleion is located about ten kilometres south of the city of Corfu and provides a panoramic view of the city to the north, and across the whole southern part of the island to the Ionian Sea.

The architectural style was designed to suggest an ancient palace of mythical Phaeacia. The motif centers on the hero Achilles of Greek mythology, from which the name is derived. Corfu was Elisabeth's favourite vacation destination and she wanted a palace to gratify her admiration for Greece, its language and its culture.

The property currently operates as a museum under the management of Hellenic Tourism Development Company, within the Greek National Tourism Organization.

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1889
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Greece

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Paul Klenk (39 days ago)
In a state of disrepair, and no access at this time to the interior. Interesting, but not a destination to go out of your way for. I hope they plan on doing more work to this. The sculptures and gardens were nice.
Terry Lippens (2 months ago)
drove to the castle with great enthusiasm in the hope of having a nice and beautiful afternoon. the route there was an adventure itself because of the steep road. 5 euros for a ticket seemed a fair deal to us. When we arrived, the castle appeared to be closed to visitors (no tourist guide had mentioned this) due to "renovations" that have apparently been going on for quite some time and do not seem to be progressing. The castle is in a very bad state on the outside, except for a small part that has already been renovated. We have no idea of ​​the inside, since it is closed. A disappointment for us, but we held on to the idea of ​​visiting the "beautiful gardens". Professionally, I am involved in green management in my hometown, so I thought it would be nice to visit the garden. This was again a huge disappointment, most of the garden is also closed to the public and the part that could be visited was nothing special. a few (pruned) palm trees, a few olive trees, some grass and some statues. Hugely disappointing! Even though it is "only" 5 euros, and you have a nice view from the balcony in the garden, after about 20 minutes you have seen it all and you are back at the gate, the ride there took longer than our visit itself.
Stevan Ulama (2 months ago)
Very nice palace but it's not in good shape. It's under renovation now only inside, as much as I could see, but I think it's long overdue to be renovated, unfortunately. Beautiful garden and views, it's a pity we couldn't see inside. Nice history of the place (except that it was also a casino in the past, it's appalling that a historical palace was used like that..)
Gavin Bayne (2 months ago)
The palace is currently closed for refurbishment however the gardens remain open. And they are stunning! A wide variety of pretty flowers flanks by tall trees and of course a smattering of olive trees. All intertwined with traditional greek statues and ponds. And what makes it stunning? Take a look at the views!!!
Dobrina Koleva (3 months ago)
Unfortunately, the palace is under renovation. The near 3 years said that it will hardly end. Only the gardens are free to enter. It is well worth seeing and has a beautiful view of the bay. You can go there with blue bus 10 from corfu town.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Manarola

Manarola is a small town, a frazione of the comune of Riomaggiore. It is the second-smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns frequented by tourists, with a population of 353.

Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338. The local dialect is Manarolese, which is marginally different from the dialects in the nearby area. The name 'Manarola' is probably a dialectical evolution of the Latin, 'magna rota'. In the Manarolese dialect this was changed to 'magna roea' which means 'large wheel', in reference to the mill wheel in the town.

Manarola's primary industries have traditionally been fishing and wine-making. The local wine, called Sciacchetrà, is especially renowned; references from Roman writings mention the high quality of the wine produced in the region.