Culture
Walk the moat of the Old Town
A path runs along the dry moat between the medieval walls, green and quiet, with gates leading back into the town.
Rhodes Old Town
Rhodes · Things to do
Things to do in Rhodes
Beaches, trails, festivals, food and wine: the experiences that make this island its own.
Experiences
Our favourite things to do
Ideas for every kind of day, from a lazy swim to a full-day hike.
Beach
Snorkel in Anthony Quinn Bay
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
Walk the Valley of the Butterflies
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
Food & wine
Wine tasting in Embona
Taste dry whites from the local Athiri grape at the wineries around the village, then stay for grilled meat in a village taverna.
Embona, under Mt Attavyros
Beach
Kitesurf or watch the wind at Prasonisi
Schools on the beach teach windsurfing and kitesurfing on the windy Aegean side. On calm days, walk across the sandbar to the islet.
Southern tip of Rhodes
Wellness
Swim at Kallithea Springs
A restored Italian spa from the 1920s, with domes and colonnades over small rocky coves. There is an entrance fee.
Kallithea, 10 km south of Rhodes Town
Hike
Climb Mt Attavyros
A path climbs from Embona to the summit at 1,215 m, about three hours up, past the ruins of a temple of Zeus. Start early and take water.
From Embona
Culture
Sunset at Monolithos Castle
Climb the steps to the castle on its lone rock and watch the sun go down over the sea and the islands.
Monolithos, south-west coast
Only on Rhodes
What makes Rhodes different
What makes Rhodes different from the other islands of the Dodecanese.
A medieval city people still live in
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.
A temple inside a castle
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.
A valley full of moths
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.
Where two seas meet
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.