Zakynthos

Solomos Square, rescued Byzantine icons and the Alexandrou Roma arcades

Zakynthos town fills a day well. Start at Solomos Square and the Byzantine Museum's icons rescued from the 1953 earthquake, see the Solomos museum on Saint Mark's Square, browse the arcades of Alexandrou Roma, visit the church of Agios Dionysios at midday, and come back to the harbour front for the evening.

Morning is the time for the harbour front. Begin at Solomos Square, where the Byzantine Museum keeps icons and church art rescued from the 1953 earthquake, then cut through to Saint Mark's Square and the museum dedicated to Dionysios Solomos, the poet behind the national anthem. Browse the arcades of Alexandrou Roma Street on the way south.

Around midday, follow the quay to the church of Agios Dionysios and step inside to see the saint's silver reliquary; the interior is cool when the waterfront is baking. Lunch can wait until the heat breaks, as it does for most islanders.

Late afternoon, head up to Bochali by taxi or on foot. The Venetian castle walls stand among pine trees, and the cafes on the hill look down over the town, the harbour and, on a clear evening, the Peloponnese. Come back down for dinner in the lanes behind the waterfront, listen out for kantades in the tavernas, and buy a slab of mandolato before you leave.

Sartsa, ladotyri and mandolato nougat on Zakynthos

Venetian rule shaped Zakynthos food. Order sartsa, beef slow-cooked in tomato sauce, and skordostoubi, garlicky aubergines, with ladotyri, the hard sheep's cheese matured in olive oil. Buy mandolato almond nougat around Solomos Square as a present, and ask for verdea, the island's own white wine.

Venetian rule lasted longer here than almost anywhere in Greece, and it shows on the plate. Look for sartsa, beef stewed slowly in a tomato sauce, and skordostoubi, aubergines cooked down with plenty of garlic. The island's own cheese is ladotyri, a hard sheep's cheese matured in olive oil; it turns up grated over pasta and sliced on meze plates.

Sweet things are part of any visit. Mandolato, a white nougat packed with almonds, is sold in boxes and bars in shops around Solomos Square and along the arcades, and makes the standard present to take home. Ask for a glass of verdea, the local white wine, which has a sharper, slightly oxidised taste that not everyone loves.

For dinner, the tavernas in the lanes behind the waterfront and up on Bochali are more local than the resort grills in Laganas. Some still have kantades singers on summer nights.

Nesting turtles at Laganas, Navagio and the Blue Caves

Laganas Bay south of town is a national marine park where loggerhead turtles nest each summer, so beaches such as Gerakas close at dusk and boats keep to speed limits. In the north, Navagio's shipwreck cove is seen from the sea or the clifftop viewpoint, since the beach is closed, and the Blue Caves lie near Cape Skinari.

Beaches such as Gerakas on the Vasilikos peninsula close at dusk, and boats in the bay keep to speed limits; on the water, keep your distance from any turtle you see. Marathonisi, the small island in the bay, is a popular boat stop with a sandy cove.

For the classic sights, drive or sail north. The Blue Caves are near Cape Skinari at the northern tip, and the boats that visit them run best on a calm morning. A hire car lets you combine the clifftop view with mountain villages such as Volimes on the same day.

Save an evening for Keri in the south-west, where the lighthouse stands above sheer limestone cliffs and the sun drops straight into the open sea.