Each of the following sights on the outskirts of the city is easily seen in a morning or afternoon, and best visited from the town rather than outlying resorts.

Around the bay from the Rotunda and Archeological Museum, tucked behind Mon Repos beach, the Mon Repos estate (8am-7pm; free) contains the most accessible archeological remains on the island. Thick woodland conceals two Doric temples, dedicated to Hera and Artemis. The Neoclassical Mon Repos villa, built by British High Commissioner Frederic Adam in 1824 and handed over to Greece in 1864, is the birthplace of Britain's Prince Philip and was finally opened fully to the public in summer 2001 (daily 9am-3pm).

The most famous excursion from Kérkyra Town is to the islets of Vlahérna and Pondikoníssi, 2km south of town below the hill of Kanóni, named after the single cannon trained out to sea atop it. A dedicated bus (#2) leaves San Rocco square every half-hour, or it's a pleasant walk of under an hour. Reached by a short causeway, the tiny white convent of Vlahérna is one of the most photographed images on Corfu. Pondikoníssi ("Mouse Island") can be reached by a short boat trip from the dock at Vlahérna. Tufted with greenery and a small chapel, Vlahérna is identified in legend with a ship from Odysseus's fleet, petrified by Poseidon in revenge for the blinding of his son Polyphemus, the Homeric echoes somewhat marred by the thronging masses and low-flying aircraft from the nearby runway. A quieter destination is Vídhos, the wooded island visible from the Old Port, reached from there by an hourly shuttle kaïki.

Four kilometres further to the south, past the resort sprawl of Pérama, is a rather more bizarre attraction: the Achillion (daily 9am-3pm), a palace built in a (fortunately) unique blend of Teutonic and Neoclassical styles in 1890 by Elizabeth, Empress of Austria. Henry Miller considered it "the worst piece of gimcrackery" that he'd ever laid eyes on and thought it "would make an excellent museum for surrealistic art". The house is predictably grandiose, but the gardens are pleasant to walk around and afford splendid views in all directions.