Few families have captured Corfu as vividly as the Durrells. For Gerald, the island became a giant outdoor classroom of birds, insects, olive groves and hidden wetlands, while Lawrence found inspiration in its sea, light and villages.
We have ranked 10 places that still bring you close to their Corfu, from #10 to #1. And the final two are particularly special — one was a favourite family escape, while the other remains the most iconic real-life Durrell location on the island.
3Perama and the Strawberry-Pink Villa
Now we reach one of the locations most closely associated with the beginning of Gerald Durrell’s Corfu adventure.
The first family home described in My Family and Other Animals is the wonderfully named Strawberry-Pink Villa in the Perama area.
For young Gerald, the house and its surroundings became an enormous playground filled with insects, lizards, birds, olive trees and countless creatures waiting to be discovered.
This was the beginning of the relationship with Corfu’s wildlife that would influence the rest of his life.
Modern Perama is obviously very different from the landscape Gerald knew. Roads, houses, hotels and the airport have transformed the area.
But the geography remains fascinating.
From the surrounding hills you can still look towards Kanoni, Pontikonisi and Halikiopoulou Lagoon and understand how closely the Durrell family lived to the natural landscape.
The villa itself is private property, so visitors should not enter the grounds without permission.
For me, the real reason to come here is not simply to locate a house. It is to look at the surrounding landscape and imagine Gerald beginning his extraordinary exploration of Corfu.
