Zakynthos Town — The City That Rebuilt Itself

On August 12, 1953, an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale destroyed most of Zakynthos Town in under a minute. The same earthquake, with its aftershocks, damaged or destroyed most of the island. The loss of life, the historical buildings, the Venetian-era architecture that had accumulated over three centuries of Serene Republic rule — all of it gone in moments.

What you see today is a city built on that catastrophe by a population that refused to leave. The neoclassical facades, the arcaded streets, the rebuilt churches — all of it is reconstruction, completed over the decade following 1953 with a deliberate attempt to preserve the Venetian character that the stones could no longer provide. Whether it succeeded is a question that Zakynthians discuss with more nuance than any visitor guide can handle, but the result is a working city of 11,000 people with genuine character, excellent cultural institutions, and an evening life that has nothing to do with tourism.

The Layout

Zakynthos Town faces east across the bay toward the Peloponnese mainland. The harbour and waterfront promenade (Lombardou Street) form the backbone of the town. Behind it, a grid of streets — some arcaded, most shaded — rises gently toward the Venetian castle hill. The main square, Plateia Solomou (named after the national poet, who was born here), sits at the harbour’s north end and anchors civic life.

Everything in Zakynthos Town is walkable from everywhere else. This is a significant mercy.

The Venetian Castle (Bochali)

Above the town, reached by a road that winds up through the Bochali neighbourhood, the Venetian castle sits at 117 metres above sea level with 360-degree views of the island, the harbour, and the Peloponnese across the water. The castle itself is substantial ruins — walls, a gateway arch, some interior structures — surrounded by a park of pine trees that shade it pleasantly in summer.

The view from the castle is worth the drive or the 20-minute walk up. The harbour below, the mountain interior behind, and the eastern coastline stretching south — it’s the best geographical overview of the island you can get from dry land. Go in the late afternoon; the light is warmer and the car park is less chaotic than midday.

Agios Dionysios Cathedral

The patron saint of Zakynthos — Dionysios Sigouros, canonised in 1703 — is housed in this large Byzantine-style cathedral at the southern end of the harbour. The silver sarcophagus containing his relics is the focus of two major annual festivals: August 24th and December 17th, when the saint is processed through the streets and the entire island turns out.

On ordinary days, the cathedral is open to visitors and is worth entering for the painted interior ceiling, the marble floor, and the somewhat vertiginous experience of the bell tower, which you can climb for a small fee. The Byzantine Museum across the main square has more historical context on the island’s religious art than any other institution on Zakynthos.

The Museum

The Byzantine Museum on Plateia Solomou houses the most significant collection of post-Byzantine Ionian religious art in Greece — icons, frescoes, ecclesiastical silverwork, and illuminated manuscripts rescued from churches destroyed in 1953. The collection is world-class in the context of Ionian cultural history, and almost unknown outside Greece. The entrance fee is minimal. Spend at least an hour.

Evening Life

The waterfront walk at sunset. The cafés on Solomou Square. The volta. The restaurants on the streets behind the harbour. The young people on the steps of the church. The old people at the kafeneion playing backgammon.

Zakynthos Town has an evening culture that runs entirely on local time and couldn’t care less what hour tourists think dinner should happen. Dinner starts at 21:00. The promenade runs from 19:00 to 21:00. The kafeneia stay open until the conversation runs out. Adjust your watch.