Mon Repos

On the road to Kanoni, opposite the ruins of the ancient Corinthian city of Hersoupoli, lies the Mon Repos municipal park. The park houses a small palace-villa built during the British occupation; Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born in an annex to the palace. The park also contains the remains of ancient Greek temples and the 17th-century St. Euphemia Convent, still in use.

Mon Repos Palace was built by the British Governor Frederick Adams in 1830. The building, erected on a 258,000 square meter plot of land in a magnificent forest, was used as a summer residence. After the Ionian Islands joined the Hellenic Republic in 1864, the palace was given to the Greek royal family of George I, who named the palace "Mon Repos," meaning "My Rest."

In 1861, the palace hosted Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Ci-Ci). In 1964, after the overthrow of the royal family, the palace passed to the ownership of the island's municipality, which began a protracted legal battle with the exiled King of Greece, Constantine Ginzburg.

Only in 1991 did the Corfu Municipality win the case, and the Mon Repos Palace became its sole property, opening it as an archaeological museum. Near the museum are archaeological excavations, including the ancient Kardaki Temple from the 7th century BC, believed to have been built in honor of the ancient Greek god Apollo, as well as a site dedicated to the goddess Hera and a Doric cathedral from the 6th century BC.

The ground floor houses exhibits from the period of British rule, while the second floor houses a collection of archaeological artifacts found in the center of the ancient city.