Lawrence Durrell Walk

This Lawrence Durrell walk takes you from Kaminaki Beach in northern Corfu to the White House in Kalami where the writer Lawrence Durrell lived for four year.

One of the most famous spots on Corfu is the White House in Kalámi where the writer Lawrence Durrell once lived. This walk approaches it along a coastal path above a handful of idyllic coves: good in springtime for the wildflowers and in summer because there’s plenty of shade.

Start of the Lawrence Durrell Walk

Begin at Kamináki Beach, north of Nissáki: look for the Shell station and a few hundred metres beyond is the small turning on the right to Kamináki. Parking there is so you may want to park on the roadside and walk down.

At Kamináki, turn left along the beach and at the far end take the cement track leading up from the Boat House between sage and prickly pear plants. Soon the cement becomes a dirt path which follows along above the shore. In a few minutes you reach Nissáki Beach.

Atlantica Nissaki Beach Hotel

Head along the beach to the Atlantica Nissáki Beach Hotel. Walk through the grounds with the swimming pool on your right. Pass the rear entrance to the hotel and at the end of the buildings the dirt track continues. The music of the hotel bar gives way to the peace of an olive grove and the lapping waves.

If you like the look of the hotel, check their room rates here.

Prospero’s Cell

As you approach the next cove, look for the little chapel of Ágios Arséniou set into the rocks beside the sea. Durrell loved to bathe here. In Prospero’s Cell, he describes his wife diving down to retrieve cherries he had thrown into the clear waters of the cove.

A couple of minutes beyond, the path forks. Take the wider path up to the left and up the stone steps. At the top of the steps, veer left up to a wider track. Turn right and go up with a wall on your left. You are now looking down over the tops of the cypress trees.

A little further on is a crossroads. The path back and to the left returns to the main road, while to the right it leads down to some new villas being built. Take the path straight on and up the steps. Keep on this narrow path, which takes you round the villas, but note that with construction work the path may be moved slightly.

Nikolas Beach Taverna

The steps lead back down to a concrete path that goes to the left, rejoining the old path towards Agni. Soon you see a sign for the Nikolas Beach Taverna. The path takes you across their dining area and almost into their kitchen! (The owners also have accommodation in both Kalami and Agni – check their website.)

At the end of Agni beach the path continues uphill. After a few hundred metres a small track down to the right brings you to an undeveloped cove with large flat rocks for sunbathing at one end. The main path reaches a T-junction: turn right to the beach. Turn left on the beach and immediately left with a stone wall on your left. Then the path turns right between some fenced gardens.

Kalami

Beyond the gardens turn left and walk uphill to reach a cement road which zig-zags up and over the headland and down towards Kalámi. Ahead you see the famous White House, where Lawrence Durrell lived from 1935 to 1939.

Where to Stay in Kalami

Lawrence Durrell and the White House

Lawrence Durrell’s connection with the White House at Kalami is one of the most enduring literary associations on the Greek island of Corfu. In 1935, the young writer moved to the island with his family, seeking a warmer climate and a simpler way of life. He rented the White House, a striking Venetian-era building overlooking the turquoise waters of Kalami Bay on Corfu’s northeast coast.

Durrell lived in the house from 1935 until 1940, a period he later described with great affection in his celebrated memoir Prospero’s Cell. During these years, the White House became a gathering place for artists, writers and visitors drawn to the beauty and tranquillity of the island. Durrell wrote extensively while living there, finding inspiration in the surrounding olive groves, fishing boats and dramatic coastal scenery.

The idyllic lifestyle came to an abrupt end with the outbreak of the Second World War, forcing Durrell and his family to leave Corfu. Nevertheless, his writings immortalised both Kalami and the White House, introducing generations of readers to the island’s unique charm.

Today, the White House remains one of Corfu’s most famous literary landmarks. Restored and operating as a restaurant, it attracts visitors from around the world who come to experience the setting that inspired some of Durrell’s finest work and helped establish Corfu’s reputation as a destination of literary pilgrimage.