Planos

城市概覽

Zakynthos, due to mild winter rainfall, is an extremely lush island. The Venetians, who conquered it, referred to it as Il fiore del Levante, the flower of the Levant. March-May is a particularly rewarding time to visit; the island has relatively few tourists, the Easter parade takes place, and the island blooms spectacularly with a myriad of colorful flowers and lush green hills. Zakynthos, like its neighbour Kefalonia, was heavily affected by the massive earthquake of 1953 and subsequently a lot of its stunning Venetian architecture was sadly destroyed. Ruins still lay in some parts of the island due to this. The main town was completely rebuilt and still has an uncanny resemblance to Venice's San Marco Square. It is well worth taking a look at. The beautiful white cliffs that plunge into azure seas towards Keri have to be seen to be believed; the water is wonderfully clear and it is worth hiring a boat to see such sights.

History Archaeological excavations have proved that Zakynthos was inhabited from the Neolithic Age. The island is first mentioned by the Greek poet and writer Homer. In his masterpieces, the Iliad and the Odyssey, he stated that the first inhabitants of Zakynthos were the son of King Dardanos, Zakynthos (which the island has been named after), of Troy and his men who settled around 1500-1600 BCE. Over the years the island was conquered by King Arkeisios of Kefalonia, and after him Ulysses from Ithaca. Later on Zakynthos became the first independent democracy in the Hellenic area, as a treaty was signed and it lasted over 650 years. In the summer of 1953, Zakynthos was hit by two severe earthquakes, resulting in the total destruction of the islands infrastructure and most of its state archives. The most powerful of those quakes registered 7.3 on the Richter scale occurred on 12 August and was felt throughout almost the entire country. In Zakynthos Town only three buildings were left standing: the St. Dionysios Cathedral, the National Bank buil

如何抵達

By plane Zakynthos is served by one airport (ZTH), towards the south end of the island near to the resort of Laganas and Kalamaki. It receives both international and domestic flights. Almost all international flights are chartered flights from other European cities during the holiday season (May-October). Domestic flights are available between Zakynthos airport and Athens, served by the national airline Olympic Airlines. There are usually two flights a day to Athens. The journey time to Athens is approximately 1 hour. EasyJet flies to Zante from nearly all UK airports and flights are usually Thursday to Sunday (2010). There are also flights by WizzAir to Budapest every Tuesday. The airport is closed during the night. Queues are very long, so arrive early. Free Wi-Fi. A lot of electric sockets. No public buses go to the airport from the city. Taxis can be ordered, which cost €10-15. The airport can be reached from the city centre by foot in approximately 1½ hours. Quite easy to find the way, but beware of the dogs on the way (especially close to KTEL bus station).

By ship Zakynthos has ferry links to Kyllini on the Greek mainland from Zakynthos Town. €8.20 per person and €38 per car. Ferries to Kefalonia can be boarded at Aghios Nikolas, on the northeast tip of the island.

當地交通

By public transport There are buses that go between the most crowded areas of the island. Ask around and there will be no pain in finding the bus stops. However, bus services on the island are rather infrequent and sometimes unreliable. Taxis, however, are not too expensive.

By car The best way to get around is by rental car. There are literally dozens of rental agencies on the island besides the big ones. Preferably get a 4WD car, as some attractions are off the main roads. Beware of the condition of some of the roads. The smaller roads may well have pot holes and even the "better" roads are extremely slippery. Also beware of other drivers. If you assume everyone else on the road is out to get you and drive accordingly it's probably the best way of dealing with it. Due to the island being fairly small and only a few major towns it's quite hard to get lost as most roads either go eventually to Zakynthos town or to Volimes in the north and you can work it out from there. Road signs are sporadic and some are bi-lingual with English and Greek, some are Greek alone. Also watch out for scooters, especially in the main tourist areas.

By motorbike/scooters Rental agencies abound. However, scooters may be somewhat painful to ride around the island, because it is very hilly, so get something with a little bit more power.

By bicycle Cycling is a pleasant way of navigating the southern and central parts of the island, if somewhat impractical in the rougher, hillier terrain of the north. Bike hire is available in all but the smallest of resorts, costing around €4-8 per day, with discounts available for multi-day hire periods. A basket and a lock will usually be included but hire shops are very unlikely to rent helmets, so bring your own if required. Bike Ride Zakynthos offers tours of the island if you don't fancy doing it alone.

By private boat Visit the famous shipwreck "Navagio", the blue Caves, the Keri Caves, Marathonisi island, the Mizithres Rocks and many

必看景點

1 Blue Caves (East of Cape Skinari, in the northern part of the island). A series of geological formations have created the caves. Natural arches have been carved out by erosion, but these caves are most famous for the colour of the water in its deepest hollows, a deep azure color which is most striking in the morning when the light is at its brightest, hence the name Blue Caves. Kianoun Cave is the biggest of the caves. In order to reach there you can hire a boat or go on a tour. There are Blue Caves at 3 locations around the island: 1. At Cape Skinari on the northern tip of the island. These are the most spectacular. There are several boats offering trips from Agios Nikolaos Port, also from Makris Gialos Alikes and Alykanas. You can hire a "self-drive" motorboat for the day from several operators in Alykanas to visit the blue caves and then spend a leisurely afternoon exploring the northeast coast on your way back. These caves are also on the itinerary of the large round-the-island cruise ships operating out of Zakynthos town. 2. Keri - also pretty good. 3. Porto Vromi - Not as spectacular, you will visit these as part of the tours to the shipwreck. Cape Skinari (The very northern edge of Zakynthos). Here you can get a panorama view of the sea, having both the calm waters of the east and the windy of the west within view. Here there are also some ruins from the great earthquake of 1953. 2 Dionysios Solomos Museum (Zaknthos town). If you are interested in Greek modern history, visit the in, dedicated to the national poet of the Greeks, who wrote the nation's national anthem.

4 Shipwreck on Navagio Beach. Built as a smuggler ship, it lost its engines in 1981 and was w