What is Zante Town like by day?
It is a small capital rebuilt after a disaster: the earthquake of 1953 left the town almost completely destroyed, and it rose again in the style of the Ionian islands. Visit Greece, the official site of the Greek National Tourism Organisation, recalls the name the Venetians gave it, Fioro di Levante, the Flower of the East.
Its two ticketed sights sit close together, on the central square and on the hill of Bochali behind it. Both close at 15:30 every day they open, so plan the town as a morning and keep the afternoon for the beach.
In between, Visit Greece suggests walking under the broad arches of the Rouga and of Strata Marina.
What is on Solomos Square?
The main square holds the statue of Dionysios Solomos, Greece's national poet, and the Museum of Zakynthos, an imposing neoclassical building at number 3.
Opened in 1960, the museum keeps what came through the 1953 earthquakes and the fires that followed them. Its core is Post-Byzantine painting from the 15th to the 19th century: icons of the Cretan School by Angelos, Michael Damaskinos and Georgios Klontzas, and works of the Ionian School by Nikolaos Doxaras, Nikolaos Koutouzis and Nikolaos Kantounis.
Look out too for the carved wooden iconostases, wall paintings lifted from churches, and a model of the town before the earthquake with photographs from that time. It is the quickest way to picture the streets outside as they looked before 1953.
When are the Museum of Zakynthos and Bochali castle open?
Both open at 08:30 and close at 15:30, with last entry 20 min before closing, but in winter they open on different days.
| Season or ticket | Museum of Zakynthos | Castle of Zakynthos (Bochali) |
|---|---|---|
| Summer, 1 April to 31 October | Monday and Wednesday to Sunday, 08:30–15:30 | Monday and Wednesday to Sunday, 08:30–15:30 |
| Winter, 1 November to 31 March | Wednesday to Saturday, 08:30–15:30 | Monday and Friday to Sunday, 08:30–15:30 |
| Full ticket | €10 | €5 |
| Reduced ticket | €5 | €3 |
| Closed all day | 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday, 25 December and 26 December | 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday, 25 December and 26 December |
Are there days with free entry, and what if the times don't match?
Yes: entry to both is free on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September and 28 October. The castle, which opens on Sundays in winter, is also free on the first and third Sunday of each month from November to March.
These times come from Hellenic Heritage, the Ministry of Culture's portal that manages both sites and sells their tickets. Visit Greece's page differs on two winter details, the museum closing at 13:30 and the castle also opening on Wednesdays, so in winter go early and check the Hellenic Heritage page the day before.
How do you get up to Bochali?
On foot or by car: Hellenic Heritage puts the castle 38 min on foot or 7 min by car from Solomos Square, and Visit Greece says an uphill path climbs to it from the town.
Bochali is the small village on the pine-covered hill 2 km from the modern town, with the castle walls along its top.
Taxis go up too; how the official Greek taxi meter works is explained in our guide from the airport to Laganas.
What is inside the castle, and can you see the sunset from Bochali?
The Venetians rebuilt the fortress at the end of the 15th century, and by 1646 its walls enclosed what was then the island's capital. Of the six churches excavated inside, the most important is the 12th-century Byzantine church of the Saviour, San Salvatore, and the central bastion looks out over the Zakynthos countryside.
Visit Greece recommends Bochali at sunset, with the light falling over the capital. The castle gates close at 15:30, though, so the sunset belongs to the village and the hill outside the walls, and the ramparts to the morning.
After dark, Argasi is the closer of the island's two night-out areas, 4 km from the town, and Club Barrage stands on the road between them.
Where are Saint Mark's Square and the church of Agios Dionysios?
Saint Mark's Square is about 190 m from Solomos Square, and the Museum of Solomos and Eminent Zakynthians stands on it. We have not found official opening hours for that museum, so we don't give any.
The monastery church of Agios Dionysios, the island's patron saint, is about 1 km south of Solomos Square as the crow flies, close to the sea. His feast comes twice a year, in August and in December, with processions through the town.
How can you see the town in one morning on foot?
Agios Dionysios
Start at the patron saint's church, about 1 km south of Solomos Square.
Solomos Square and the museum
The Museum of Zakynthos opens at 08:30; in winter, only from Wednesday to Saturday.
Saint Mark's Square
About 190 m further on, with the Museum of Solomos and Eminent Zakynthians.
Up to Bochali
38 min on foot from Solomos Square; last entry 20 min before the 15:30 closing.
How far is Zante Town from Laganas and Argasi?
By road, the centre of Zante Town is 4 km from Argasi and 9 km from Laganas, and the castle on Bochali is 7 km and 11 km away respectively. The distances were calculated on OpenStreetMap data and rounded to the kilometre.
The rest of the island's sights, with their distances, are in what to see in Zante. For the evening, here is how the Laganas strip runs hour by hour, or go straight to the strip's map and clubs.
