Zakynthos: the shipwreck beach of the island of flowers

The Navagio Bay, reachable only by sea, holds the wreck of a smuggler ship stranded in 1980, now among Greece's most photographed images.

A few minutes by boat away, the Blue Caves of Zakynthos, limestone formations carved by the sea, reflect an intense turquoise color when the sun is highest.

Continuing inland, you visit the Byzantine Museum of Zakynthos City, which preserves icons saved from the devastating earthquake of 1953.

As evening arrives, the waters around the Marathonissi islet host the nesting of the Caretta caretta sea turtle, protected by a national marine park.

The wreck of Navagio Bay, a ship called Panagiotis allegedly used for cigarette smuggling, ran aground during a storm in 1980 and has since become the island's tourism symbol.

The 1953 earthquake razed much of the Venetian architecture of Zakynthos Town, which is why the modern historic center was rebuilt in a different style from that admired by nineteenth-century travelers.