Pontikonisi (Mouse Island), Corfu

Pontikonisi — Mouse Island in Greek — is a tiny wooded islet located approximately 500 metres off the Kanoni Peninsula in the southern suburbs of Corfu Town in the Ionian Islands of Greece. The islet is one of the most frequently reproduced images of Corfu: a dense cluster of cypress trees above pale limestone outcrops, capped by the white-walled Byzantine chapel of Pantokrator (12th century), floating on water of deep turquoise blue. The composition has been photographed from the Kanoni terrace since photography became widespread in the region and remains the defining visual symbol of the island.

According to mythology, Pontikonisi is the petrified ship of Odysseus, transformed to stone by the god Poseidon as punishment for the Phaeacians who ferried Odysseus home. The myth reflects the island's association with Homer and the broader Ionian cultural landscape.

A second landmark forms part of the same composition: the tiny chapel of Vlacherna on a small reef barely above water level, connected to the Kanoni shoreline by a narrow causeway. Vlacherna chapel is accessible on foot via the causeway and is an active place of worship. From Vlacherna, small wooden rowboats carry visitors across the 200-metre channel to Pontikonisi itself, where the Byzantine chapel can be visited and the perimeter of the islet walked in around 15 minutes.

The Kanoni terrace above the peninsula is one of the most popular viewpoints on Corfu and provides the classic elevated view taking in both Vlacherna and Pontikonisi simultaneously. The airport runway runs parallel to the lagoon immediately to the south, and low-landing aircraft pass directly overhead the peninsula before touchdown — a coincidence of geography that makes the Kanoni terrace a notable plane-spotting location alongside conventional sightseeing.