Corfu Travel Blog: An Insider’s View of Corfu Greece

Benitses old clubs

If you’re looking for Corfu’s nightlife overall → click here to read the full Corfu Nightlife Guide.

Today, nothing reminds us of the full-of-life and intense nights during past decades, when there were more than 100 bars as well as a dozen nightclubs staying open until early in the morning.

The waves of mass tourism that characterized the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s are a distant memory. Witnesses of past decades are the remnants of abandoned discos next to supermarkets and restaurants.

Once upon a time, Benitses Clubs, only what is left…

If you are wondering what this is below? It was the entrance of the Paradise Club, I mean, what is left now, there isn’t any better angle to take a good shot, as the place is surrounded by uncontrolled vegetation.

Benitses when it’s getting Dark

Today, in Benitses, it takes effort to discover and record the few bars, if any, that offer dancing music and stay open until late.

If you insist on searching the internet to find more bars, you will simply be disappointed because all have been closed or turned into restaurants.

So Benitses simply follows the habits of tourists; it is a low-profile tourist destination and is offered for couples and quieter customers.

While there are still a few bars around, although counted on fingers, they are not what attracts visitors to the village anymore.

Of course, if travelers want to spend a pleasant evening, there are many options in neighboring places, especially in the city of Corfu, and for the most unrestrained of them in Kavos.

Benitses, after going through a difficult transition period, was there from the mid-90s and for more than a decade, with a big drop in tourist income, managed to redefine its goal.

Finally, it transformed into a tourist center based on culture and the traditional way of life. This was done with the help of the beauty of the landscape and the very good restaurants in the area.

So, Benitses today is aimed mainly at families or couples and offers visitors only quiet, intimate bars, taverns, and lounges.

Also, many locals stopped their activity with tourism and got involved with more traditional occupations, such as fishing, which has been revived.

This feeds fresh fish to the market stalls along the main road and especially the restaurants that offer fresh seafood in Benitses.

Former Bars in Benitses

These are all we know about the clubs in Benitses. We may be missing some, as shops and bars are changing names and owners very frequently, and we heard that some new bars are opening.

NOTE: The bars-shops above are not clickable! They are just there for informational reasons.

The local community events have always been based on tradition, and decades ago were as spontaneous and natural as the other everyday events of life.

The feast of Saint Marina was a spontaneous celebration centered around her church, which is the oldest in the area.

Children waited impatiently for the toys that were laid out on benches around the church.
We also remember watching the children leaping over the fire on the feast of St. John on June 22, and also the traditional winter holidays around Christmas.

Time has brought inevitable changes; of course, now everything has become more organized, lasts longer, and is perhaps more commercialized.

The Cultural Association

It was founded in 1982 by some young people to promote and preserve traditional customs, and raise awareness of the importance of these, especially for young people. Today it doesn’t exist.

Blessing of water and other processions

The service for the Blessing of water is organized with solemnity on the feast of the Epiphany, as is the procession of the Epitaphios on Good Friday.
On Easter Monday and on the following Sunday, there are processions, following a service in the small chapel of Agios Nikolaos in Tsaki, southern Benitses, and ending in the main square.
Both processions are accompanied by the band of the Municipality of Achilleion.

Resurrection on Easter

The Resurrection on Easter Saturday is now followed by a mass firework display.
This is a new development.
The display starts at midnight and is as spectacular as the famous one in Esplanade Square’s bandstand in Corfu Town.

The fires of St. John

On 22nd June, the day of St. John, the Women’s Cultural club of Benitses has undertaken the responsibility to organize the celebration of his feast day with Lampatines (jumping over fires).

The Lampatines are the fires of St. John, as we call them in the Ionian isles.

Anniversary of the Union with Greece – The Achilleian race

In recent years, the union of Corfu with Greece in 1864 has been officially celebrated here on May 21st, when there is a parade of the schools accompanied by the band of the City in the presence of officials.

One or two days later, depending on climatic conditions, an annual Achilleian race has been established, a semi-marathon race in which anyone can participate regardless of age.

Update October 20th, 2019: In recent years Achilleian race is no longer happening.

Festival of Agia Marina

July 17 is the celebration of the festival of Agia Marina, the patron Saint of Benitses.

The church of Agia Marina was built on the banks of the river that once passed through the village, where now is the road that goes through the old village.
The river was used by the boats that carried flour to the mills, which were sited near the present aqueduct.
The church remained in the same place after the river was diverted elsewhere.
The feast of Saint Marina lasts for two days (July 16 & 17), with plans in the future to lengthen it further.
The Itinerant stallholders arrive early in order to get the best positions.

Dances and songs go on until early morning hours, and for those two days, Benitses is packed with visitors from other parts of the island as well as from further away.

In celebration of Sardines

During the first ten days of August, the festival of the celebration of sardines was organized.

To celebrate this small fish sounds far-fetched, but if we remember that Benitses once was a fishing village, the largest in Corfu, and that the people in the past lived by fishing, they had every right to create a celebration for the most popular fish, the sardine.

On the day of the feast, large quantities of sardines were cooked and offered free to all visitors, who could also enjoy dancing to the music of the various traditional bands and partying till late.

Update October 20th, 2019: In recent years and for various reasons, the custom has weakened, and the holiday is not happening.

The First Tourists of the 60s in Benitses

When we try to bring memories from Corfu of the 60s, 70s, and ’80s, the first place that comes to mind is Benitses.

In the early 60s, the first visitors began arriving in Benitses.

Many were wealthy and famous and were looking for beautiful traditional places such as Benitses.

Stage and screen designer Roger Furse and his actor and playwright friend Emlyn Williams had both bought land and built villas overlooking the sea, as had the publisher Hamish Hamilton.

Benitses was visited by famous actors and singers of the era, such as Peter Ustinov, Rex Harrison, Vivien Leigh, and Laurence Olivier.

Paul McCartney, Ava Gardner, Warren Beatty, Paul Newman, Doris Day, Gregory Peck, and Audrey Hepburn were among others who fell under the spell of the peaceful village.

Celebrities in Benitses of the 60s – With photos

Most of them saw it as an escape from civilization and the paparazzi of the era; they would spend their time on the beaches and in the two or three traditional taverns that existed at the time.

Vivien Leigh planned to buy a home nearby, and during the last years of her life, she visited her friends here in summer and winter.

George Harrison of the Beatles spent several days in Benitses water skiing.

Another regular visitor was John Lennon, who stayed in Agios Ioannis, three kilometers south of Benitses, in a room behind the restaurant of the Pachis family.

Inspired by the landscapes of Benitses in their songs, the Moody Blues used to play their wooden guitars on the Kaiser’s bridge.

The music producer of the Bee Gees, Saturday Night Fever, Jesus Christ Superstar, and other notable productions, Robert Stigwood, made his appearance usually with his large yacht and used to organize big parties before leaving.

We can’t forget Cat Stevens, who, when out with a group of young friends, borrowed the guitar of the young Kostas Zochios. A few months later, he sent a new guitar as a gift to Kostas, this guitar is still treasured.

Although we have quite a rich collection of old photos, unfortunately, there is none with these people, but as we are sure that somewhere there are some, we will continue looking.

All of these may seem strange to today’s youngsters, but it is part of our history and perhaps interesting for other people who are a bit older.

It was the time that Benitses began to build their reputation, which during the 70s, brought a big wave of organized tourism, especially young women who came to Corfu not only for the sea and sun. The golden era of the “Greek kamaki”, a term known by older generations.

It was a beautiful era, a time that today’s sixty-plus-year-olds remember with nostalgia.

Spiros on the Beach

Just saying it brings back memories

Saying Spiros on the beach means a small seaside restaurant which, in a very short time, became the ultimate legend of Corfu nightlife during the 1970s and early 80s.

All the following photos belong and were made public on Facebook by Chris Hayward, who was the  DJ at Spiros on the Beach during the 80s

The glorious decade of the 70s

Spiros on the beach was nothing remarkable, a small building a few square meters large, with an outdoor dancing area merging seamlessly with the beach.

This space was covered with the simplest material possible, with mats around the side and forming a roof.

Loud music of the era was played, simple lighting effects were used, and in the middle was a primitive wooden dancing floor.

All these were the ingredients that formed the almost legendary Spiros on the beach, the most “in” place of the 70s, the nightclub, the disco as they called them then, which every tourist visiting the island of Corfu was bound to visit!

From 1975 until 1985 it was the undisputed king of the Corfiot nightlife, gathering more than 3000 people every night, some to drink, others to listen to music, dance, and have a good time, and some to engage in the informal “sport” which increased the Greek reputation for being great lovers, the famous harpoon!… Kamaki!

The small bar was not able to accommodate all patrons and at some point, the customers paid for the drinks with banknotes without getting any change back, there was no time, and the pressure was so great, but despite paying three or four times more than expected they still felt happy that they had managed to get a drink at Spiros on the beach.

Music Hits Of the 70s – Oldies in 20 minutes!

This mix was created in 1982 and digitized in 2008. Our purpose was to provide just a taste of the 70s by playing only a few seconds from the most popular hits of that era.

Spiros on the beach had such an impact on youth at the time that the music sounded from the loudspeakers helped shape the musical taste of youngsters of the 70s.

Its reputation had surpassed the confines of Corfu, and especially in Great Britain, it was well known. “Spiros on the beach” was a place that many older people still remember.

Today, the area looks deserted, apart from some old abandoned buildings; there is nothing there, as the owner Spiros Poulis died young at the age of 50.

This article was written to keep the memories alive. This disco was a big part of the history of tourism for our village and made a tremendous contribution to the tourist promotion of Benitses at the time.

We found a Greek night barbeque ad of Spiros on the beach, it was September of 1974!!!… Certainly written on a typewriter and then came out on photocopies, computers did not exist then either in our imagination, click it to read.

What was the nightlife like in Benitses, Corfu, in the 80s?

Benitses then was the center of Corfu nightlife, its name became synonymous with nightlife, and it helped to bring more tourists in the following decade, the 1980s.

For over twenty years, Benitses was the holiday mecca for hordes of young British tourists, who were brought by major tour operators from the UK, although some were Greek-owned.

There was a time when on a road only two kilometers long were over 100 bars, nightclubs, and dozens of shops, Benitses had 10,000 people every night.

Those who lived here saw many tourists, some staying in the village, but others coming from all over the island who came to party the night away.

Meanwhile, the locals continued their lives by fishing as usual; that’s a small video from that era.

Then the problems began and increased every year, and there was a reaction by local people who objected to the drunkenness, promiscuity, and vandalism of some of these young people.

The tourists themselves were also unhappy, even young ones often complaining that they did not like to go out at night because of the bad behavior of others.

Inevitably, there were quarrels between local and foreign men over girls. The party had stopped being fun.

In the early 90s, the local people began to react, and many tourists were also complaining to the tour operators, some demanding refunds.

Tour companies began directing young people wanting to go crazy to go somewhere else.

For years later the number of visitors continued to decline as the village tried to live down its ‘party’ image.

A large number of shops, bars, etc., could not be sustained and closed one after another.

What is left today of those Benitses Clubs?

If you are wondering what this is below? It was the entrance of the Paradise Club, I mean, what is left now, there isn’t any better angle to take a good shot, as the place is surrounded by uncontrolled vegetation.

Summer Villa of the Shipowner Pateras

In the above photo, you see the bay of Koutsomaroula as it was in 1960; then, there were only two or three houses, with the biggest one in the center.

It was the summer villa of the shipowner Pateras (Pateras is the Greek word for father), the father of the former(2011) President of the football club Panathinaikos.

Later, shortly after 1980, the villa was sold and demolished, and a nightclub called STADIUM was built there, a nightclub with a huge capacity and full of life.

Today, STADIUM operates as a nightclub and in recent years has become a popular venue for weddings, christenings, banquets, and other events.

What happened to the STADIUM Club?

Well, here’s the scoop: it’s recently changed hands, now owned by the same folks who run the luxury Angsana Hotel in Benitses.

Whispers in the wind suggest there are plans for posh villas to grace the spot, but that’s the extent of our intel for now. Exciting times are ahead, right?