About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece, Greece History, Greece Hotels, Greece

Greek Island Listing

Greece Daily Tours

Daily tours in any part of Greece, can be arranged for both individuals and groups who are looking for a fully escorted tour to suit your exact preferences. You can decide about your own itinerary with a private tour guide.

details

Greece Mainland Tours

The Greek mainland is very often overlooked by tourists. The travel agents outside of Greece get little information about anything except the most popular Greek islands, and a couple of the well-known sites like Olympia.

details

Athens Tours

Here is our guide with information about sightseeing in Athens.Please find below links about tours and sightseeing in Athens. These are the most popular sights in Athens strongly recommended to visit: The Plaka, Athens Acropolis, Monastiraki Flea Market, Athens Museums.

details

Corinth Tours

Corinth (Greek Island) is an ancient city about 48 miles west of Athens on the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnese to the mainland of Greece.

details

Mykonos Tours

Mykonos island is part of the Cyclades islands group in the Aegean Sea. Mykonos is, with Santorini and Crete, the most famous and popular Greek islands and attracts thousands of visitors every year.

details

Santorini Tours

The island of Santorini Greece or Thira is located in the Cyclades islands, in the middle of the Greek Islands of the Aegean Sea. Santorini is, along with Mykonos and Crete, the most famous holiday destinations in Greece.

details

Popular search

Useful Links
Online Ephesus Travel
Online Ephesus Guide
Ephesus Tour Guide
Online Turkey Cruise
Greece Tours Guide
Kusadasi Online Booking
Kusadasi Golf Guide
Global Tours Info
Biblical Tour Guide

About Greece - Zakynthos

GREEK CITIES AND GREEK ISLANDS
ABOUT ZAKINTHOS / ZAKYNTHOS

Zakynthos is 8 nautical miles south of Cephalonia and 10 nautical miles from Kyllini in the Peloponnese. About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

It has an area of 402 square kilometers, a coastline of 123 kilometers and a population of 30.000.

You can reach the island by plane from Athens, Corfu and Argostoli of Cephalonia. You can also go by bus or train to Kyllini and then take the ferryboat to the island. Local boats connect Zakynthos to Cephalonia during summer.

The first inhabitants of the island are thought to have been Achaeans who came from Peloponnese in the 16th century BC. During historical times the island belonged at first to Athens and then to Sparta and later passed on to the Macedonians. The Romans occupied it at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. This was followed by the long Byzantine period. After the fall of Constantinople, Zakynthos fell under the domination of the Orsinis until 1485, when it was seized by the Venetians and remained under them for over 300 years. The Venetians imposed their own laws and divided the islanders into three categories: the nobles who were registered in the Libro d Oro, the citizens, and the common people. The terrible oppression of the common people by the nobles led to their revolt in 1630, which in the end was bathed in blood.

In 1797, the French Republicans drove out the Venetians, swept aside the nobles and gave the mayors the authority to rule under the supervision of the French Governor. It was then that the common people, celebrating their liberation from the Venetians, and their allies burned the famous Libro doro.
The presence of the French on the island was a brief one. In 1798, the island came under Russo-Turkish domination until the Republic of the Ionian Islands was founded in 1800.

In 1807, Zakynthos was seized by the French aristocrats and in 1809 by the British, who placed the capital of the Ionian state at Zaky About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

nthos. During the British occupation, a great deal of assistance was afforded Greece, which had been in revolt since 1821, despite the opposition of the British.
Zakynthos became a part of Greece with the other Ionian islands in 1864.

Today, Zakynthos is a large touristic center due to its beautiful capital together with its excellent beaches and its unique flora and fauna.

General
Zakynthos Greece or Zante is the southernmost of the six core Ionian Islands, and also the third largest of them, after Kefalonia and Corfu.

It is the eleventh island in size in Greece, with an area of 406 square kilometres, and also the second in population with approximately 35.000 inhabitants.
The island is situated 17 nautical miles west of Peloponnesus and 13 nautical miles south of Kefalonia.

The island was called by the Venetians Fioro di Levante, which means Flower of the Orient, because the island is characterized by a rich and dense vegetation, with pine covered mountains and many fertile plains.
This vegetation is due to the mild Mediterranean climate of the island, composed by many rainfalls during winter and sunshine during summer.
The poet Dionysios Solomos, creator of the Greek national hymn, wrote once about the island: "Zakynthos could make one forget the Elysian Fields".
About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

Zakynthos is a fertile island with an important agricultural production. The main cultivations are olives, vineyards and citrus. Apart from the agriculture, the main source of wealth of the islanders is the increasing tourism.
The island has become famous all over the world for its natural environment, which is the place the endangered sort of sea turtle Caretta-Caretta has chosen for its reproduction.
The sea turtle is today protected by the international agreements and the Greek legislation.
The island is also known for the long beautiful sandy beaches of Vassilikos, Laganas, Tsilivi and Alykes.

Many of them have turned recently in lively beach resorts with many hotels, restaurants, cafes and bars. Some others are considered as protected areas for the reproduction of the Caretta-Caretta and have kept their natural beauty.

Many picturesque beaches can be found on the east coast of the island, whereas the rocky west side offers a great number of impressive sea caves such as the famous Blue Caves.

The History
Zakynthos was inhabited from the Neolithic Times as prove some archaeological excavations.
The famous poetic writer, Homer, first mentioned the island in his plays, the Iliad and the Odyssey, saying that the first inhabitants of Zakynthos were About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

the son of the King Dardanos of Troy called Zakynthos and his men and that they came on the island around 1500-1600 BC. Then the island was conquered by the King Arkeisios of Kefalonia. The famous Ulysses (Odysseus in Greek) from Ithaca was the next King to conquest the island. Later a treaty was signed that made Zakynthos independent and a democracy, the first in the Hellenic area, was established which lasted more than 650 years.

Museums
The Post-Byzantine art Museum of Zakynthos
The museum is situated in Zakynthos town, in the southern end of Solomos Square. It was built after the earthquake of 1953 and houses various ecclesiastic collections.

The museum collection includes carved masterpieces of Post-Byzantine icons-screens from the temples of Agios Dimitrios of Kollas and the Pantokrator, icons-screens that was rescued from the earthquake, works in wood and wood carving from the 16th century, preserved and reconstructed frescoes and wall paintings from the 12th until the 18th century, works of art from Ionian and Cretan painters of the 16th century, vessels.

The Museum is open daily except of Monday from 8am to 2.30pm.
Museum of Dionysios Solomos and Eminent Zakynthians
The museum is situated near the St Markos Square. The museum is dedicated to Dionysios Solomos, the father of Modern Greek Literature and author of the Greek National Hymn.
The museum of Zakynthos Greece houses an important number of manuscripts and personal objects of the writer. His mausoleum can About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

also be found there.

The museum also houses a great collection of portraits of eminent Zakythians, clothes, furniture, blazons of nobles, a collection of icons, an archaeological collection and many black and white photographs.

Museum of Grigorios Xenopoulos.
The museum is situated near the Church of Agios Dionysios, in Zakynthos town. It is devoted to the life and work of the novelist and play writer Grigorios Xenopoulos (1867-1951).

The museum houses manuscripts and publications of his work, personal objects and some furniture from that period.

Vertzagio Folk Museum
The museum is situated in the village of Pigadakia, 2 km from Alykes. The museum exhibits a reconstitution of a traditional house with its dinning About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

room, kitchen and bedroom using the authentic furniture and decoration of this period with the every day utensils.

The museum has also an old grind machine that was used to press grapes and olives.

Zakynthos (Zante Island) is almost triangular in shape, with two green mountainous promontories extending into the sea to form the huge bay of Laganas.

There are more pine-covered mountains and hills in the north, but the centre is gentle and lush, richly planted with currant vines, olive trees, almonds and seasonal vegetables. There are dozens of beaches to choose from, sandy and sheltered with invitingly sparkling water. Flowers of every kind fill every available space, filling the air with the scent that so enraptured visitors of old.

The Beaches
The superb beaches of Zakynthos are famous in Greece for their unspoiled beauty and their mirror-like emerald waters. The most famous About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

beach of the island is the wonderful Navagio Beach (Shipwreck) which has fine white volcanic sand, turquoise waters and the remains of a ship which are emerging from its perfect sand.

There is also the Laganas beach also famous as it is a birthplace of the endangered specie of sea turtle Caretta - Caretta and therefore consists a part of the National Marine Park.

Watersports, endless sandy beaches, natural beaches within rocky formations, everything is available in a landscape as rich with many variations as this in Zakynthos island.

The beach of Navagio is the most famous of Zakynthos beaches and one of the most famous of all the Greek beaches. It is the trademark of the island and has been photographed millions of times.

This superb beach is located in the eastern part of the island, close to the Anafotiria village. It was initially called Agios Georgios but the beach owns its new name to the shipwreck (in 1983) of a boat that transported illegal cigarettes; with the years the sand has completely surrounded the ship which looks as if it was emerging of it. About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

The remains of the ships can be seen in the middle of the large white sandy beach which has amazing turquoise and crystalline waters.

Huge vertical cliffs of white rocks are surrounding the place creating a unique and wonderful image. To reach this paradise, one has to take a little boat from the small port of Porto Vromi. Those taxi-boats are leaving every hour and the trip is about 30 minutes.

Weather
Zakynthos Greece has a typical Mediterranean weather. Zakynthos weather is characterized by hot and sunny summers and mild and rainy winters. The island is known as one of the sunniest places in Greece. It is very rare to have rainy days during the summer months.
As an island and due to its fertility, Zakynthos has a high level of humidity even in summer.

Transportation
Zakynthos has a quality network of roads that covers the entire island. There is a public transportation bus service for almost all destinations.
The buses fares are very cheap and are collected in the bus.
About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

The central bus station is situated in the islands capital, Zakynthos, one parallel behind the waterfront (42 Filita Street) and prices, departure times and other information may be found there.

There are buses from Zakynthos Town to:
Argasi - Xerokastelo - Vassilikos - Porto Roma - Tsilivi - Planos - Tragaki - Kipseli - Alikanas - Alikes - Katastari - Orthonies - Anafonitria - Volimes - Exo Hora - Kambi - Agios Leon - Agios Nikolaos - Maherado - Galaro - Gyri - Keri - Agala - Lithakia - Laganas.

The Local transportation also proposes organised tours around the island with stops in the main villages and resorts.

Zakynthos Greece is a fertile island and has a variety of local agricultural products. The island is famous for its olive and wine.

Food About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

The food on the island of Zakynthos is similar to the other islands of the Ionians with small variations and some local specialties. The specialties of Zakynthos are:

- The Stuffed Chicken or Rabbit
- The Skordostoumbi Melitzana: It is a dish of aubergines in garlic sauce.
- The Beef Ragout
- The Tsilipourlo which is an Easter Saturday dish. It is made from intestines and offal of a baby goat or lamb.

As all the Greek islands, Zakynthos has also a great variety of sea products.
The island of Zakynthos produces cheese like the Ladotiri which means oil cheese and also produces a variety of sweets like the Mandolato and the Pasteli.

Shopping About Greece Zakynthos, Greece Zakynthos Guide, About Greece Zakynthos Tour, Greece Destinations Zakynthos, Greece Tours Guide, About Greece, Greece Tours, Greece Travel Agency, Ancient Greece

The shopping hub of Zakynthos town is mainly situated in Alexander Street, the third parallel from the waterfront.
Zakynthos Greece is a town of 10.000 inhabitants and all kind of shops and stores are represented.
What could interest a foreigner are the leather shops and jeweler that offer cheaper products than in Europe.
Shops are open 6 days a week and Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, the shops only open from 9am to 3pm.
Do not hesitate to go for Zakynthos shopping.


To get detailed information about Zakynthos its sightseeing, Zakynthos hotels, Zakynthos map, facilities and Zakynthos tours, please click on the link below..
Zakynthos Map

GREEK CITIES AND GREEK ISLANDS
Athens	Corfu	Kavala	Mitilini (Lesvos)	Paros	Skiros
Arachova	Heraklion	Kefalonia	Mykonos	Rethinmon	Thassos
Chalkidiki	Hydra	Kithira	Nafplio	Rhodes	Thessaloniki
Chalkis	Igoumenitsa	Komotini	Naxos	Samos	Volos
Chania	Ikaria	Lefkada	Ag. Nikolaos	Santorini	Zakinthos
Chios	Ios	Limnos	Patra	Skiathos

Popular Greece Tours

Greece Tours

We offer you daily tours in cities and ports of Greece, adventured and biblical tours in Greece and Turkey of different duration with unique programs and unbeatable prices: Athens, Corynth, Mycanae, Olympia.
details
Popular Greece Tours

Greece Daily Tours

Explore Greece culture and history during our city tours, daily trips, excursions starting from your hotel in Greece or your ship and also during our Greece cruises: Athens, Delphi, Cape Sounion, Argolis, Meteora, Aegina, Hydra.
details
Popular Greece Tours

Biblical Tours

Greece and Turkey are popular with their biblical sites: see the ruins of ancient churches, visit the sacred places mentioned in Bible: Saint Paul Monastery in Patmos, Saint John Basilica and House of Virgin Mary in Ephesus.
details