Ρόδος · Island of the Knights, Lindos and two seas
Walk the lanes of a medieval walled city that people still live in, climb to a temple of Athena above a white village, and swim in coves on both coasts.
Greetings from Rhodes
Rhodes Old Town
We woke up inside the walls of a medieval city, in a room above a courtyard paved with sea pebbles. By ten we were walking the Street of the Knights before the shops opened, and by noon we were floating in a green cove under the pines. Tonight we're on a roof in Lindos with the temple of Athena lit up above us.
Hour by hour
From the Knights' city at breakfast to a roof in Lindos at night, by way of a cove under the pines.
Walk up the Street of the Knights before the shops open. The inns of the Knights line the cobbles, each with the coat of arms of its country, up to the Palace of the Grand Master at the top.
Walk the dry moat that runs around the Old Town, a quiet, green path between the medieval walls, then have coffee in a courtyard inside the walls.
Drive 30 minutes down the east coast to Anthony Quinn Bay, a small cove of green water between rocks and pine trees. Bring a mask: the snorkelling is the best on this coast.
Eat by the sea on the way south: grilled fish, pitaroudia and a cold glass of white wine from the island.
Reach Lindos as the day-trippers leave. Walk its lanes and look into the pebble-mosaic courtyards of the old captains' houses.
Take a roof table facing the rock and stay for dinner as the acropolis lights up above the village.
Where to stay
Rhodes Old Town
Kókkini Porta Rossa · Adults-only boutique hotel · €€€
Lindos
Melenos Lindos · Boutique hotel · €€€€
Embonas
Rustic House · Village house · €€
Only on Rhodes
What makes Rhodes different from the other islands of the Dodecanese.
The Old Town of Rhodes is one of the best-kept medieval towns in Europe. About 4 km of walls built by the Knights of St John surround its palace, inns, mosques and homes, and some 6,000 people still live inside them.
On the rock above Lindos, the Doric temple of Athena Lindia stands inside walls built by the Knights, more than 100 m above the sea.
In midsummer, thousands of Jersey tiger moths gather in the shade of the Valley of the Butterflies, a narrow wooded gorge with a stream and wooden bridges.
At Prasonisi, on the southern tip, a sandbar joins Rhodes to an islet. The Aegean is on one side, often windy and wavy, and the Mediterranean on the other, usually calm.
“The Colossus of the Sun at Rhodes, seventy cubits high.”
Towns & villages
A walled medieval city still lived in, on the island's northern tip
The capital at the northern tip of the island. Inside 4 km of walls is the Old Town of the Knights of St John, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where people still live, with its lanes, mosques and courtyards. Outside the walls is Mandraki harbour and the Italian-era new town.
A white village below an acropolis above the sea
A village of white houses packed into a hollow below a rock, with an ancient acropolis and a Knights' castle on top. Its lanes are paved with pebble mosaics, and the round lagoon of St Paul's Bay lies just under the cliff.
Things to do
Culture
A path runs along the dry moat between the medieval walls, green and quiet, with gates leading back into the town.
Rhodes Old Town
Beach
A small cove of clear green water between rocks and pines, named after the actor who filmed The Guns of Navarone here. Go early: it is small.
Near Faliraki, east coast
Nature
A shady path climbs a wooded gorge over wooden bridges to a small monastery. Thousands of moths rest there from June to September. Keep quiet so you don't disturb them.
Petaloudes, west of the airport
Good to know
Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese and one of the sunniest islands in Greece. At its northern tip is the walled Old Town of the Knights of St John, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where people still live, with castles, mosques and courtyards inside its walls. Down the east coast are sandy bays and the white village of Lindos under its acropolis. The west and the south are quieter: vineyards, pine-covered mountains, Knights' castles on lone rocks, and Prasonisi, where the Aegean meets the Mediterranean. The ferry to Marmaris in Turkey takes about an hour.
When to go
May, June, September and October are ideal: warm sea and fewer people. July and August are hot and busy; on the windy west coast the sea can be rough, while the east coast is calmer.
Getting around
Hire a car to see the west coast, the mountains and the south. KTEL buses run from Rhodes Town down both coasts. Inside the Old Town and Lindos you walk.
How long
A week covers the Old Town, Lindos, the east coast beaches and a drive through the mountains. Add a day trip to Symi by boat from Mandraki.
Getting there
Direct flights from most of Europe, Athens all year, and ferries from Piraeus, the Dodecanese and Turkey.
Flights & ferries
Three ancient cities, a great sea power with a bronze colossus, the Knights of St John, the Ottomans and the Italians, before Rhodes joined Greece in 1948.
Walk through the story