In traditional Benitses, fishing boats, laden with brightly colored nets and floats, lie with their bows towards the little harbor quays.
Across the main road from the harbor is the village square with its mix of Venetian buildings and two-storeyed houses, busy little cafés and tavernas. A short distance north from the square, a narrow alleyway (signposted 'Roman Baths') leads between seafront houses, to a lemon grove and the small but impressive ruins of the bathhouse of a Roman villa.
The old village also extends inland along a narrow lane (signposted) to the right of a super-market. Amid the citrus trees and bougainvillea is a fine old church with a well-head in its courtyard. The remark-able Corfu Shell Museum (daily 10-8) at the northern entrance to Benitses is worth a visit. It is one of the biggest and best-curetted collections of shells from world-wide locations that you are likely to see. Resort Benitses lies south of the old village, beyond the tiny roadside Church of Agios Dimitrios with its single bell-tower and tiled roof.
The resort is the hub of a busy social whirl during the summer, especially for young North Europeans seeking Mediterranean sun and fast food and fast music. The resort's reputation for all-night fun and games has mellowed in recent years, although the clubs and bars are still lively. The beach is a grudgingly narrow shingle strip with the busy main road alongside. All types of water-sport are available. The scheduled completion of the area in 2006 should once again reinvent and reinvigorate Benitses.
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