This year’s Athens College Junior High School Excursion took place in Corfu, the mythical island of the Phaeacians, from April 25 to 29, 2026.

The students’ itinerary included visits, guided tours, and participation in educational programs at sites of great historical, artistic, architectural, cultural, environmental, and socio-economic interest. Highlights included the archaeological site of Dodona; the Old Town of Corfu (the Old Fortress, the churches of St. George and St. Spyridon, the Cathedral, the Duomo, and its medieval neighborhoods); and iconic museums such as the Banknote Museum of the Ionian Bank, Casa Parlante, and the “Nikolaos Mantzaros” Museum of the Corfu Philharmonic Society. The program also featured visits to the Corfu Reading Society, the gardens of Mon Repos, and the house where Greece's national poet Dionysios Solomos lived during the final years of his life. Our students explored the richness of local products, such as kumquats and olive oil, in places where tradition meets modern technology. They also experienced the unparalleled natural beauty of the Corfiot countryside by visiting the Achilleion, Palaiokastritsa, and Issos Beach, with the cedar forest of the Korission Lagoon as a backdrop.

The highlight of the Excursion was a visit to the tomb of Ioannis Kapodistrias at the Platytera Monastery, as well as to the Kapodistrias family’s country residence, now a museum. This visit paid tribute to the 250th anniversary of the birth of the great statesman and first Governor of the modern Greek state.

True to the spirit of giving that characterizes the long-standing tradition of the Excursion, our School collaborated with Lefkimmi Junior High School in Southern Corfu. Our students donated over 90 literary books, personally selected for the school library, along with two computers to enhance the technical equipment of the school’s multimedia room.