Venetian Castle of Zakynthos

The Venetian Castle stands on a pine-covered hill above Zakynthos Town, reached by a road that winds up from the Bochali neighbourhood. Built by the Venetians in the 15th century on the site of Byzantine fortifications, it was continuously garrisoned until the late 19th century and passed through Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian, French, and British hands. The walls are largely intact and the views from the battlements are the best on the island — south over Zakynthos Town and Laganas Bay, north toward Tsilivi and the Ionian Sea.

Inside the walls, the grounds are pleasantly overgrown with pine trees and the remains of Byzantine churches. The lion of St Mark carved over the entrance gate is the most prominent surviving Venetian symbol. Allow an hour, bring water, and visit in the morning before the heat builds. It is about 20 minutes by road from Tsilivi.

things to do sight
A story
The 1953 earthquake that destroyed most of Zakynthos Town left the hilltop castle largely intact — its medieval walls survived what flattened the buildings below. When the town was rebuilt in the years after, the castle became a park and ruin garden above a city that had almost entirely lost its pre-earthquake architecture.