Zakynthos walking tour & city guide

Zakynthos Town

The town was almost completely destroyed by the 1953 earthquake and rebuilt on its old plan, with arcaded streets and pastel facades that recall its Venetian past. Solomos Square, on the waterfront, is named after the poet Dionysios Solomos, who was born on the island and wrote the Greek national anthem; the square is lined with grand rebuilt buildings, including the museum of Byzantine art.

At the southern end of the harbour, the church of Agios Dionysios, dedicated to the island's patron saint, has a tall bell tower that is one of the town's landmarks. Behind the waterfront, the arcaded shopping streets and the small St Mark's Square are the places to wander in the evening.

A walking route

Start at Solomos Square, walk along the harbour promenade to Agios Dionysios and then turn back through the arcaded streets behind the seafront to St Mark's Square. From there, an uphill walk or a short drive leads to the village of Bochali, where terraces look down over the whole town and harbour, and further up to the ruins of the Venetian castle in a pine wood.

Beaches, caves and turtles

Navagio Beach, with a rusting shipwreck on white sand between high cliffs, is best seen from the viewpoint above or by boat from the north of the island. Boats also visit the Blue Caves at Cape Skinari, where the water glows bright blue. In the south, Laganas Bay is part of a national marine park that protects nesting loggerhead turtles, so some beaches have rules about night-time access and umbrellas.

Visiting tips

Zakynthos has an airport with many summer flights and ferries from Kyllini on the Peloponnese coast. The west coast is steep and wild, while the south and east have long sandy beaches and resorts. May, June and September are warm but calmer than the August peak.