Zakynthos or Zante (from Venetian) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. The island’s nickname is “To Fioro tou Levante” (Italian: Il fiore di Levante, English: The flower of the East) given by the Venetians.
Zakynthos lies in the eastern part of the Ionian sea, around 20km (12mi) west of the Greek (Peloponnese) mainland. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Zakynthos is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region. Zakynthos is about 40km (25mi) long and 20km (12mi) wide, and it covers an area of 410km2 (158mi2) and its coastline is roughly 123km (76mi) in length. Its coastline is approximately 123km (76mi) long. According to the 2020 census, the island has a population of 39,621. The highest point is Vrachionas, at 758m.
Zakynthos is a tourist destination, with an international airport served by many charter flights from Europe.
The western half of the island is a mountainous plateau and the southwest coast consists mostly of steep cliffs. The eastern half is a densely populated fertile plain with long sandy beaches, interrupted with several isolated hills, notably Bochali which overlooks the city and the peninsula of Vasilikos in the northeast.
The capital, which has the same name as the prefecture, is the town of Zakynthos. It lies on the eastern part of the northern coast. Apart from the official name, it is also called Chora (i.e. the Town, a common denomination in Greece when the name of the island itself is the same as the name of the principal town). The port of Zakynthos has a ferry connection to the port of Kyllini on the mainland. Another ferry connects the village of Agios Nikolaos to Kefalonia.
Minor uninhabited islands around Zakynthos included in the municipality and regional unit are: Marathonisi, Pelouzo, Cameo in the Laganas bay; Agios Nikolaos, near the eponymous harbor on the northern tip; and Agios Ioannis near Porto Vromi on the western coast.