Zakynthos's main town is often skipped over by visitors. The island attracts a beach-loving crowd, for whom the café-drenched squares, churches, museums, and convenience of the capital is little more than background to its main role as a port and transit hub. It's a shame, though perhaps also a blessing. It allows the city to operate at its own pace, not one dictated by the moods and drinking habits of visitors.
Few would argue Zakynthos Town was beautiful, but it does have charm. Like most of the southern Ionian islands, it was shaken to pieces in the 1953 earthquakes. The rebuild created an airy, laidback center with backstreets revealing splashes of pretty pastel houses wreathed in character and pink bougainvillea. From above, the island's old fortified castle still glares down on its successor. Today it's little more than a likeable forest park scratched with ruins, but the views reveal sharp, lush ridges slashing away from town. It's a surprisingly dramatic setting.
There aren't any notable beaches within the city limits. To the south stretch thin, sandy shores down to Argassi and on to the lush beaches of the Vasilikos Peninsula, where day trips are a must. The narrow, pebbly shores leading north-east to Akrotiri are quiet but rather narrow. The closest major beaches lies six kilometers north of the city, where the coast curls up to the wide-open sands of Tsilivi. The more grown-up crowds tend to gravitate here, but little else of interest exists in this glorified tourist village dominated by increasingly luxurious resorts.
