Zakynthos · self-guided walk

Strani Hill, Bochali and the Castle

The uphill classic: the pine hill where the national anthem was written, the balcony village of Bochali, and the Venetian fortress above the town.

4 stops · 3.2 km · about 75 min

Distance and time are our curators' estimates for the whole walk, stops included.

The stops

The short version of each stop. In aiGuide, open Zakynthos, choose “Strani Hill, Bochali and the Castle” and tap Begin walking tour; then lock your phone, and each story starts as you reach the stop.

1. 1Plateia Solomou

   Rebuilt after the 1953 Ionian earthquake

   

   You are standing in the front room of Zakynthos Town — a wide marble square open to the harbour, ringed by the Byzantine Museum, the cultural centre, and the Venetian-era church of St Nicholas of the Mole. The statue in the middle is Dionysios Solomos, the poet who gave Greece its national anthem.

   • Named for Dionysios Solomos, author of the Hymn to Liberty
   • Laid out anew after the 12 August 1953 earthquake

   Open in OpenStreetMap

2. 2Lofos Strani

   Greek War of Independence, 1823

   On this hill in May 1823, a 25-year-old aristocrat listened to cannon fire rolling across the sea from besieged Missolonghi — and wrote the 158 stanzas that became the Greek national anthem. The bust among the pines marks the spot.

   • Solomos wrote the Hymn to Liberty here in May 1823
   • He was moved by cannon fire from besieged Missolonghi

   Open in OpenStreetMap

3. 3Bochali

   Historic hillside settlement below the Venetian castle

   

   Bochali is where the town goes to look at itself. A kilometre uphill from the centre, its little square hangs over the rooftops and harbour — coffee by day, serenades by night, with the Venetian castle gate two bends further up the road.

   • Terrace views over Zakynthos Town and harbour
   • Church of Zoodochos Pigi holds a venerated icon

   Open in OpenStreetMapWikidata record

4. 4Kastro Zakynthou

   Venetian fortress, 16th-18th centuries, on an ancient site

   Climb through the gate under the winged Lion of St Mark and you enter what was, for centuries, the real Zakynthos — the walled city where the whole population sheltered. Today the fortress is a pine forest scattered with ruins and the best sea views in town.

   • Built over the site of the ancient acropolis
   • The Lion of St Mark still crowns the gate

   Open in OpenStreetMap

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