I almost forgot I had been to Zakynthos ....
Actually I had always wanted to visit Zakynthos (also known as Zante in English usage), one of the bigger Ionian Islands, but other plans kept popping up and it was not until 2011 that I finally had the chance to visit this island in conjunction with my trip to Corfu. By the way it took me quite a while to finally manage to pronounce the name Zakynthos correctly.
The reason I almost forgot all about my trip to this Ionian Island is, I visited it immediately after my trip to Corfu. Imagine: after spending one beautiful week on the colourful island of Corfu in spring, my mind is full of the scenic images of Corfu and the neighbouring Paxos. As a result, Zakynthos becomes by comparison to those two islands far too plain and rustic to stimulate my memories. Poor Zakynthos.
To be fair to Zakynthos, the island has a lot to offer in terms of its natural landscapes and strikingly beautiful beaches and waters; it is not the island's fault that it does not have an old town centre capable of holding up on its own to Corfu. Apparently the main town of Zakynthos, Zakynthos Town, used to have a beautiful city centre and a vibrant cafe scene, but a devastating 7.2 earthquake which struck the island of Zakynthos and Kefalonia in August 1953 destroyed most of the towns and villages on Zakynthos. It is said that after the earthquake, only three buildings remained intact in Zakynthos Town; the rest of the town was flattened and had to be rebuilt from the scratch.
Bearing this tragic event in mind and look back to Zakynthos now, I have to say the town is not so unattractive after all. Although lacking in flaire, at least the town has been more or less properly rebuilt and is very tidy-looking.
As most of the hotels on the island are located in other parts of Zakynthos, many of them about an hour's drive from the centre of Zakynthos Town, it is necessary to use local public transportation or rent a car if the visitors intend to visit Zakynthos Town. But local buses between the smaller villages and the main town is a bit thin on the ground; some of the coastal villages where most hotels are located have only 3-4 buses per day to Zakynthos Town. To make up for this shortfall, many local travel agencies in tourist resorts have come up with the solution of a 'night shopping tour' to Zakynthos Town on different days of the week to enable tourists to visit Zakynthos Town in the evenings. Specially arranged buses will depart at specific time from the resorts to Zakynthos Town, and return to the resorts at the time specified by bus drivers. Usually such shopping buses stop at the car park near Zakynthos Town's harbour, next to the Town Hall Square. Given the lack of public bus transports in the night, this is the only way for tourists to visit Zakynthos Town after 5pm without having to rent a car.
The town centre of Zakynthos Town is fairly compact, with many cafes but to my surprise, prices of latte here are more expensive than on Corfu. It takes perhaps an hour or so to take a walk around the main streets of the town. In general groceries and essential items are cheaper in shops and supermarkets in Zakynthos Town, so if you stay in a rental apartment with self-catering facilities in other resorts of the island, it is advisable to stock up on non-perishable items such as pasta, pasta sauces, tea bags, canned beverages etc. in case you are on an evening shopping tour to Zakynthos Town.
Although the views of this harbour town does not look too enticing at the very first sight, as soon as the night falls, the noctural views of the harbour, with the Italian-style campanile and purple-pinkish sky in the background and the flickering lights of the waterfront houses in the foreground, do have a very serene and romantic feel. The taverns and cafes along the harbour road also spring into life as the evening comes and the heat of the day begin to receed. With a gentle breeze coming in from the sea, it is the ideal time to have some souvlaki and red wines at a seaside tavern and wait to enjoy the beautiful views of Zakynthos harbour in the night.
The buildings next to the campanile is the Cathedral of Agios Dionysios, the biggest cathedral on the island and according to locals one of the only three buildings in Zakynthos Town to have survive the 1953 Earthquake.
While sitting at one of the seafront cafes waiting to take photos of the harbour in the evening twilight, I met an old lady and her daughter, both from northern England, who are so much in love with Zakynthos that they choose to spend two weeks every year on this island. They spoke fondly of their very first visit to Zakynthos, more than 10 years ago, and how they have enjoyed their visits each year to their favourite Greek island.
Actually I had always wanted to visit Zakynthos (also known as Zante in English usage), one of the bigger Ionian Islands, but other plans kept popping up and it was not until 2011 that I finally had the chance to visit this island in conjunction with my trip to Corfu. By the way it took me quite a while to finally manage to pronounce the name Zakynthos correctly.
The reason I almost forgot all about my trip to this Ionian Island is, I visited it immediately after my trip to Corfu. Imagine: after spending one beautiful week on the colourful island of Corfu in spring, my mind is full of the scenic images of Corfu and the neighbouring Paxos. As a result, Zakynthos becomes by comparison to those two islands far too plain and rustic to stimulate my memories. Poor Zakynthos.
To be fair to Zakynthos, the island has a lot to offer in terms of its natural landscapes and strikingly beautiful beaches and waters; it is not the island's fault that it does not have an old town centre capable of holding up on its own to Corfu. Apparently the main town of Zakynthos, Zakynthos Town, used to have a beautiful city centre and a vibrant cafe scene, but a devastating 7.2 earthquake which struck the island of Zakynthos and Kefalonia in August 1953 destroyed most of the towns and villages on Zakynthos. It is said that after the earthquake, only three buildings remained intact in Zakynthos Town; the rest of the town was flattened and had to be rebuilt from the scratch.
Bearing this tragic event in mind and look back to Zakynthos now, I have to say the town is not so unattractive after all. Although lacking in flaire, at least the town has been more or less properly rebuilt and is very tidy-looking.
As most of the hotels on the island are located in other parts of Zakynthos, many of them about an hour's drive from the centre of Zakynthos Town, it is necessary to use local public transportation or rent a car if the visitors intend to visit Zakynthos Town. But local buses between the smaller villages and the main town is a bit thin on the ground; some of the coastal villages where most hotels are located have only 3-4 buses per day to Zakynthos Town. To make up for this shortfall, many local travel agencies in tourist resorts have come up with the solution of a 'night shopping tour' to Zakynthos Town on different days of the week to enable tourists to visit Zakynthos Town in the evenings. Specially arranged buses will depart at specific time from the resorts to Zakynthos Town, and return to the resorts at the time specified by bus drivers. Usually such shopping buses stop at the car park near Zakynthos Town's harbour, next to the Town Hall Square. Given the lack of public bus transports in the night, this is the only way for tourists to visit Zakynthos Town after 5pm without having to rent a car.
The town centre of Zakynthos Town is fairly compact, with many cafes but to my surprise, prices of latte here are more expensive than on Corfu. It takes perhaps an hour or so to take a walk around the main streets of the town. In general groceries and essential items are cheaper in shops and supermarkets in Zakynthos Town, so if you stay in a rental apartment with self-catering facilities in other resorts of the island, it is advisable to stock up on non-perishable items such as pasta, pasta sauces, tea bags, canned beverages etc. in case you are on an evening shopping tour to Zakynthos Town.
Although the views of this harbour town does not look too enticing at the very first sight, as soon as the night falls, the noctural views of the harbour, with the Italian-style campanile and purple-pinkish sky in the background and the flickering lights of the waterfront houses in the foreground, do have a very serene and romantic feel. The taverns and cafes along the harbour road also spring into life as the evening comes and the heat of the day begin to receed. With a gentle breeze coming in from the sea, it is the ideal time to have some souvlaki and red wines at a seaside tavern and wait to enjoy the beautiful views of Zakynthos harbour in the night.
The buildings next to the campanile is the Cathedral of Agios Dionysios, the biggest cathedral on the island and according to locals one of the only three buildings in Zakynthos Town to have survive the 1953 Earthquake.
While sitting at one of the seafront cafes waiting to take photos of the harbour in the evening twilight, I met an old lady and her daughter, both from northern England, who are so much in love with Zakynthos that they choose to spend two weeks every year on this island. They spoke fondly of their very first visit to Zakynthos, more than 10 years ago, and how they have enjoyed their visits each year to their favourite Greek island.
The views of Zakynthos harbour in the night is very attractive, it reminds me of some lesser known harbour towns on the Adriatic coast of Italy. This resembance is hardly surprising, as the Ionian Islands have traditionally been included in the Venetian-Italian sphere of influence, both politically and culturally, and the island of Zakynthos had been under Venetian rule for more than 300 years during the Middle Ages after all.
Copyrights@2012. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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