When referring to the village of Makrades, one guide book describes it as “a curious tradition of
roadside stalls whose energetic owners could probably sell refrigerators to Eskimos.” A bit harsh in
my opinion, but, I have indeed been waved down by owners of the many shops selling homemade
wine and handmade products. When confronted with a sample of wine and a big smile, it’s hard to
resist the charms of the people from this village. Park your car and walk into the old part of the village to see how the locals live, You will be awarded with a fine place to eat and the local Kafenion in a tiny square with a large tree for shade.
It is a very unusual village by Greek standards and in some ways quite European in its layout. It has
the rare mixture of the old village with a high street of shops. I presume that the reason for this was
the desire of the local population to take advantage of the emerging tourist trade created from the
visitors to the Angelokastro Castle.
The village is best reached from the resort of Paleokastritsa. Turn left up the winding road to
Lakones and drive a few kilometres further on to reach the village. After a couple of kilometres, a
wide main street greets you with tourist shops either side selling every Corfu gift you can think of.
The odd taverna and kafeneion is sprinkled in between to keep you fed and watered as you buy all
the presents for the family back home.
But that is not all Makrades has to offer. Take the road behind the street on the bend and you will
see the old village, with narrow streets only wide enough for a donkey to pass through. The church
of Saint Paraskevi is here and the feast day for the 240 residents falls on 26th July. Saint Paraskevi
was a Christian martyr from the 2nd century who was born in Rome in around 140AD to Greek
parents. The word Paraskevi means Friday in Greek and that is the day that she was born. All this information was kindly supplied from the books written by Steve Ford and the money raised from sales of these goes to Corfu Charities. Please use the link below to download your own copy and find more information on all the villages listed and more from Steve
roadside stalls whose energetic owners could probably sell refrigerators to Eskimos.” A bit harsh in
my opinion, but, I have indeed been waved down by owners of the many shops selling homemade
wine and handmade products. When confronted with a sample of wine and a big smile, it’s hard to
resist the charms of the people from this village. Park your car and walk into the old part of the village to see how the locals live, You will be awarded with a fine place to eat and the local Kafenion in a tiny square with a large tree for shade.
It is a very unusual village by Greek standards and in some ways quite European in its layout. It has
the rare mixture of the old village with a high street of shops. I presume that the reason for this was
the desire of the local population to take advantage of the emerging tourist trade created from the
visitors to the Angelokastro Castle.
The village is best reached from the resort of Paleokastritsa. Turn left up the winding road to
Lakones and drive a few kilometres further on to reach the village. After a couple of kilometres, a
wide main street greets you with tourist shops either side selling every Corfu gift you can think of.
The odd taverna and kafeneion is sprinkled in between to keep you fed and watered as you buy all
the presents for the family back home.
But that is not all Makrades has to offer. Take the road behind the street on the bend and you will
see the old village, with narrow streets only wide enough for a donkey to pass through. The church
of Saint Paraskevi is here and the feast day for the 240 residents falls on 26th July. Saint Paraskevi
was a Christian martyr from the 2nd century who was born in Rome in around 140AD to Greek
parents. The word Paraskevi means Friday in Greek and that is the day that she was born. All this information was kindly supplied from the books written by Steve Ford and the money raised from sales of these goes to Corfu Charities. Please use the link below to download your own copy and find more information on all the villages listed and more from Steve
Websitehttps://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=steve+ford+corfu+villages&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Emailcorfuvillageseu@gmail.com
Location:Epar.Od. Troumpetas-Lakonias, Makrades 490 83, Greece