The island of Corfu is mostly known as a holiday destination for its beaches and its green environment, which is quite unlike most other Greek islands. Its history is also unique among its sister islands, in that it has never been part of the Ottoman Empire (although the Turks have besieged the island many times). It was instead ruled by the Venetians, who have left many architectural traces, and then, succesively, by the Russians, the French, and the British, before it became part of Greece. The capital of the island, of the same name, has been a fortified place for many centuries, and has withstood the invasion attempts of many would-be conquerors (although it was the first of the Greek cities to submit to Roman rule). The city's architecture today is mainly of Venetian origin. The Venetians used the city to guard their Mediterranean trade routes against the Turks and thus constructed big fortifications there (both the Old and the New Fortress are worth a visit - I preferred the huge New Fortress over the smaller and more touristy Old Fortress, though). The historic part is well-preserved, and any visit to Corfu should include a trip to the capital, even though there was a lot of destruction in WWII and a lot of the architecture is from the British period (and thus not particularly remarkable).