3 Best Sights in Kefalonia, Greece

Construction of Assos Castle began in 1593. At the time the island's fortified center, Agios Georgios, was deemed too central by its Venetian rulers, so this was built to provide back-up against pirate raids to the north. Sadly, very little survives today of the original structure except 2 km of outer walls, remnants of the old barracks, and two of its original gates. Earthquakes have destroyed much of it. The clamber up to the ruins is best done in the morning. It's a steep climb with a choice of two routes: a shorter stony path that wraps the northern coast of the peninsula, and a winding paved trail that faces back toward the village. The former has the better views but is less shaded, so is best done on the way up if setting off early. Set aside at least two hours for the whole endeavor. If you want to explore farther, follow the path to the peninsula's northernmost tip, passing an old prison farm that was built in the 1920s and was still in use until 1953. Part of it was renovated into a conference center in the early 2000s and, baffingly, hasn't been used since, its courtyards quickly overtaken by foliage. The exhibition hall is still scattered with leaflets for its 2005 event. Just as amazingly, a small village also used to exist within the castle walls up until the 1960s, cultivating olive trees and living off the land. The last resident was said to have left in 1968.

As the setting for the only national park on a Greek island (founded in 1962), Mount Ainos doesn't disappoint. Huge swathes of endemic Abies Cephalonica firs wrap the upper reaches of the mountain where tiny wild ponies can be spied on its south-eastern slopes. Five trails wind through the forests and around the mountain top, with a pair of easy 1½-hour hikes circling out from the Environmental Center of Ainos, where information can also be found. A pair of more tricky 4½-hour hikes can be found to Megas Soros, the highest summit, via the circular Kissos trail and from the village of Digaleto, outside the park. If you're coming to walk, do so early in the morning or pick one of the cooler seasons, such as late spring or autumn. May is the perfect month to spy another of the mountain's natural beauties, the native viola Kefallonica flowers that carpet the forest floor in a sea of purple. If you prefers views to hiking, a road stops close to the summit, where you can park and walk ten minutes to the top.

The British occupation (1809–64) of Kefalonia transformed Argostolion, rebuilding its streets and beefing up the island's infrastructure. The crowning achievement of this is the bridge built in 1813 by Charles Philip De Bosset, a Swiss engineer in the employ of the British Army. Created to connect Argostoli to the village of Drapano, it reaches out across what was the Kouvatos Lagoon, a swampy area of land once rife with mosquitoes and malaria, that separates the Fanari Peninsula from the mainland. Its original wooden structure was recreated in stone in 1842 and has been reinforced over the years due to earthquake damage, yet it remains in service today. Part way across, look out for the "Kolona" obelisk rising out of the water, a gesture of thanks to the British erected in 1813 by the Kefalonian Parliament. Its inscription, "To the glory of the British Empire," was symbolically erased when the Greeks took back control of the island in 1865 and has repeatedly changed over the years according to who controls the island. The walk makes for a bracing, and now record-breaking, stroll since this was named the world's longest (690 m) stone sea bridge in 2018.