Rhodes and the Dodecanese
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1. Acropolis of Lindos
RuinsA 15-minute climb (please don't ride a donkey), from the village center up to the Acropolis of Lindos leads past a gauntlet of Lindian women who spread out their lace and embroidery like fresh laundry over the rocks. The final approach ascends a steep flight of stairs, past a marvelous 2nd-century BC relief of the prow of a Lindian ship, carved into the rock. The entrance takes you through the medieval castle built by the Knights of St. John, then to the Byzantine Chapel of St. John on the next level. The Romans, too, left their mark on the acropolis, with a temple dedicated to Diocletian. On the upper terraces, begun by classical Greeks around 300 BC, are the remains of elaborate porticoes and stoas, commanding an immense sweep of sea and making a powerful statement on behalf of Athena and the Lydians (who dedicated the monuments on the Acropolis to her). The lofty white columns of the temple and stoa on the summit must have presented a magnificent picture. The main portico of the stoa had 42 Doric columns, at the center of which an opening led to the staircase up to the Propylaia (or sanctuary). The Temple of Athena Lindia at the very top is surprisingly modest, given the drama of the approach. As was common in the 4th century BC, both the front and the rear are flanked by four Doric columns. Numerous inscribed statue bases were found all over the summit, attesting in many cases to the work of Lindian sculptors, who were clearly second to none.
Lindos, Rhodes, 85107, Greece22440-31258Sight Details
Rate Includes: €12, Closed Tues. Nov.–Mar. -
2. Eleousa Ghost Village
Drive west of Epta Piges and you'll come to the ghost village of Eleousa (formerly Campochiaro), one of many follies built under Italian rule (1912–43). The central island was useful to the Italians for its resources and agricultural potential, so villages such as the one here were created in the 1930s to accommodate workers shipped in from Northern Italy. Roads were built to link it to the capital and other pre-fab towns, and an official residence was created for the island's governor. Like everything the Italians did on Rhodes, it was a show of power designed to promote their Fascist ideology to locals. It didn't last. Under a new governor, the village became a military outpost and a prison for Greek insurrectionists. When Italy surrendered in 1943 during World War II, it lost control of the islands and the last Italian families here disappeared. In later years the town was renamed Eleousa and its abandoned buildings used as a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients, but even this fell out of use by the 1970s. Today, its eerie vision of Italian "greatness" provides a remarkable glimpse into a strange past.
Eleousa, Rhodes, Greece -
3. Monolithos
RuinsThe medieval fortress of Monolithos—so named for the jutting, 750-foot monolith on which it is constructed—was built by the Knights of St. John in 1480 and rises above a fairy-tale landscape of deep-green forests and sharp cliffs plunging into the sea. Inside the stronghold (accessible only by a steep path and series of stone steps) there is a chapel, and the ramparts provide magnificent views of Rhodes's emerald inland and the island of Halki. The small pebble beach of Fourni beneath the castle is a delightful place for a swim.
Monolithos, Rhodes, 85105, Greece -
4. Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes
Old TownThis grand building, with its fairy-tale towers, crenellated ramparts, and more than 150 rooms, crowns the top of the Street of Knights and is the place to begin any tour of Rhodes. Unscathed during the Turkish siege of 1522, the palace was partly destroyed in 1856 by an explosion of ammunition stored nearby in the cellars of the Church of St. John. The present structure—a Mussolini-era Italian reconstruction of the 1930s—is said to have remained fairly close to the original in its exterior, but inside was rebuilt with all the restraint of your typical Fascist dictatorship. The building was, after all, reimagined as a holiday abode for King Vittorio Emmanuele III of Italy, and later Il Duce himself (Mussolini), whose name is still engraved at the entrance. Today the palace's collection of antiques and antiquities includes Hellenistic and Roman mosaic floors from Italian excavations in Kos, and in the permanent exhibition downstairs are extensive displays, maps, and plans showing the layout of the city that will help you get oriented before wandering through the labyrinthine Old Town.
Ippoton, Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85100, Greece22413-65270Sight Details
Rate Includes: €8; combined museum ticket €10, Closed Tue. Nov.--Mar., May–Oct., daily 8–7:40 -
5. Street of Knights
Old TownThis historic cobblestone lane, known in Greek as Ippoton, runs east from the Palace of the Grand Master to the harbor, and was once part of a longer path that wound its way to the Acropolis. During its medieval heyday it became a residential quarter. It is bordered on both sides by the seven Inns of the Tongues, auberges where visiting Knights of the Order of St. John were domiciled according to their spoken language. These were heavily renovated during the 1930s, under Italian occupation, and today mostly hold consulates and government institutions. They are nevertheless wonderfully atmospheric to wander. The most elaborate example is the Inn of France, whose ornately carved facade bears heraldic patterns, fleur de lis, and an inscription that dates the building to 1492 and its commission by Emery d'Ambroise.
Ippoton, Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85100, Greece -
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6. Thermes Kallitheas
Hot SpringAs you travel south along the east coast, a strange sight meets you: an assemblage of buildings that look as if they have been transplanted from Morocco. In fact, this spectacular mosaic-tile bath complex was built in 1929 by the Italians. As far back as the early 2nd century BC, area mineral springs were prized; the great physician Hippocrates of Kos extolled these springs for alleviating liver, kidney, and rheumatic ailments. Though the baths are no longer in use, the ornate rotunda has been restored (art exhibitions are often on view), as have peristyles and pergolas, and you can wander through the beautifully landscaped grounds—note the pebble mosaics, an ancient folk tradition come alive again, with mosaics of fish, deer, and other images—and have a drink or snack in the attractive café. A pretty beach rings a nearby cove.
Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85100, Greece22410-65691Sight Details
Rate Includes: €3, Closed Nov.–Mar. -
7. Walls of Rhodes
One of the great medieval monuments in the Mediterranean, the walls of Rhodes are wonderfully restored and illustrate the engineering capabilities as well as the financial and human resources available to the Knights of St. John. For 200 years the knights strengthened the walls by thickening them, up to 40 feet in places, and curving them so as to deflect cannonballs. The moat between the inner and outer walls never contained water; it was a device to prevent invaders from constructing siege towers. You can get a sense of the enclosed city's massive scale by walking for free inside the moat; entrances can be found at the gates of St. Athanasius and Ambroise. Part of the walkway that runs the 4 km (2½ miles) along the top of the walls is accessible through the Palace of the Grand Master ticket office; free tours are run daily between noon and 3 pm.
Rhodes Town, Rhodes, GreeceSight Details
Rate Includes: €2 for walkway, Closed Sat. and Sun., and Nov.--Apr. -
8. Archaeological Museum of Rhodes
The Hospital of the Knights (now the island's archaeological museum) was completed in 1489 and surrounds a Byzantine courtyard, off which are the refectory and wards where the wealthy institution once administered to the knights and townspeople. These wonderful surroundings are enhanced with findings from Rhodes's three ancient cities (Ialysos, Kameiros, and Lindos) and the nearby islands, including a magnificent collection of ceramic amphoras and oenochoe (wine jugs), which inevitably fell into the possession of the islands' wealthy merchants. Successive rooms elegantly show the evolution of Attic pottery, from early geometric deigns to the red-on-black figures of the 5th century BC. Among its collection are also two well-known representations of Aphrodite: the Aphrodite of Rhodes, who, while bathing, pushes aside her hair as if she's listening; and a standing figure, known as Aphrodite Thalassia, or "of the sea," as she was discovered in the water off the northern city beach. There are also two 6th-century BC kouros (statues of idealized male youth) that were found in the nearby ancient city of Kameiros, and, in a beautiful 5th-century BC funerary stela, a young woman named Crito, hair cut short in mourning, gives a farewell embrace to her mother, Timarista, who is already moving outside the frame, as she leaves the world.
Megalou Alexandrou Square, Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85100, Greece22413-65200Sight Details
Rate Includes: €6; combined museum ticket €10, Closed Tues. Nov.–Mar., Apr.–Oct., Daily 8–7:30 -
9. Church of the Panagia
A graceful building with a beautiful bell tower probably antedates the Knights of St. John, though the bell tower bears the arms of Grand Master d'Aubusson with the dates 1484–90. Frescoes in the elaborate interior were painted in 1779 by Gregory of Symi, and the black-and-white hohlaki pebble floor is typical of the area. Visitors are required to dress appropriately, which means no shorts.
Lindos, Rhodes, 85107, GreeceSight Details
Rate Includes: May–Oct., daily 9–2 and 5–9; Nov.–Apr., call number posted on church to have door unlocked -
10. Decorative Arts Collection
Housed in a stone-vaulted warehouse of the Knights, this small room exhibits finely made ceramics, wooden tools and utensils, and costumes and textiles from the various regions of the Dodecanese. There's little to explain what you're seeing, but the attendant can offer some information.
Square of the Hebrew Martyrs, Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85100, Greece22413-65200Sight Details
Rate Includes: €2; combined museum ticket €10, Closed Tues., Apr.–Oct., Tues.–Sun. 8:30–7; Nov.–Mar., Tues.–Sun. 8:30–3 -
11. Elli Beach
Though the beach is pebbly rather than sandy, a handy location right at the edge of Old Town makes this seaside strip immensely popular, and it's lined with chairs and umbrellas. An offshore diving platform is a huge hit with kids and what seems to be most of the teenage population of Rhodes. What you won't find here is solitude, and what semblance of peace and quiet you might find will likely be interrupted by an endless stream of hawkers selling everything from trinkets to cold drinks. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; toilets; showers; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking.
Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85100, Greece -
12. Epta Piges
A deeply shaded glen watered by seven mountain springs (epta piges in Greek) is made all the more photogenic thanks to the imported peacocks that flaunt their plumage in the woods around the pools. The waters are channeled through a 164-yard-long tunnel, which you can walk through, emerging at the edge of a cascading dam and a small man-made lake where you can swim. Here an enterprising local shepherd began serving simple fare in 1945 and his sideline turned into the busy waterside taverna and tourist site of today. Despite its many visitors, the beauty of the springs remains unspoiled.
Archangelos, Rhodes, 85102, Greece22410-56259Sight Details
Rate Includes: Daily, always open -
13. Evangelismos Church
The town's harborside cathedral is a 1920s Italian-built replica of the Knights' Church of St. John in the Old Town, which was destroyed in an accidental gunpowder explosion in the mid-1800s after the Turks began using its basement as a storage facility. The outside is drably slavish to the idea of the Gothic original, but the church interior is rather magnificent, illuminated by the Byzantine-style frescoes of the great modern Greek painter Fotis Kontoglou.
Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85100, Greece22410-77916Sight Details
Rate Includes: Daily 7–noon and 5–7:30 -
14. Faliraki Beach
Faliraki's reputation is better these days, after authorities cracked down 20 years ago on the bars that once made this the hedonistic party capital of Greece. It remains the most popular beach on Rhodes, and will be your idea of paradise or hell, depending on what you think of crowded sands backed by fun parks, supermarkets, all-inclusive resorts, and fast-food joints. Stretches of the 5 km (3 miles) of fine sand are a little less cramped than others, such as the southern end, which is officially designated as a naturist beach. Beyond its southern tip lies the beautiful Anthony Quinn Bay, named after the Mexican-American actor who loved it so much while filming The Guns of Navarone in 1960 that he bought the land. Years later the Greek government reclaimed it and the legal battle that ensued continued even after the actor's death. Its tiny shore fills up fast but the emerald waters here are the best for snorkeling on the island. Buses run between Rhodes Town and Faliraki throughout the day and late into the evening. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (free); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: nudists; partiers; swimming; walking.
Faliraki, Rhodes, 85100, Greece -
15. Fort Agios Nikolas
This circular fortress, built by the Knights of St. John in the 15th century, guards the entrance to Mandraki Harbor, near a row of picturesque but disused windmills.
Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85100, Greece -
16. Kameiros
This is one of the three ancient cities of Rhodes, along with Lindos and Ialysos. Kameiros was for a time the most powerful of them all, and the first to cut its own currency, until earthquakes in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC sapped the city's might. After that, its citizens just ebbed away. It was excavated by the Italians in 1929 and lies on three levels on a slope above the sea. Most of the city—apparently never fortified—that is visible today dates to the classical period and later, and includes an acropolis, a large reservoir, a gridlike pattern of streets lined with houses and shops, and several temples. The hill hides many more ruins, yet to be unearthed.
Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85105, Greece22410-40037Sight Details
Rate Includes: €6, Closed Mon. Nov.–Mar, Apr.–Oct., Mon. 8–3, Tues.–Sun. Nov.–Mar., Tues.–Sun. 8:30–3 -
17. Kritinia Kastello
This ruined-yet-still impressive fortress, built by the Knights of St. John in the late 15th century, rises high above the sea on the coast just north of Mt. Avrios, with good views in every direction. Above its entrance you can still make out the engraved coats of arms of two Grand Masters.
Kritinia, Rhodes, 85105, GreeceNo phone -
18. Lachania Beach
BeachStretching uninterrupted for several miles, Lachania Beach lies below the unspoiled, whitewashed village of the same name, one of the most picturesque in Rhodes. Though stretches of the sand are lined with sun beds, it's easy to find a fairly secluded spot backed by scrub-covered dunes. Amenities: food and drink; water sports. Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.
Lachania, Rhodes, 85109, Greece -
19. Lady of the Castle Church (Panagia tou Kastro)
Museum/GalleryIcons and frescoes from religious buildings throughout Rhodes Town (most of them long since destroyed) are displayed within this 11th-century church. The building was transformed into a mosque under Turkish rule, but later stripped of all remnants of this period under Italian administration as part of a wider attempt to revive the Hospitaler character of the city. Closes at 3:30 pm.
Off Platia Mouseou, Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85100, Greece22410-25500Sight Details
Rate Includes: €3; combined museum ticket €10, Closed Tues. -
20. Loggia of St. John
Religious Building/Site/ShrineThis 19th-century neo-Gothic structure stands on the site of the 14th-century Church of St. John, patron of the Knights of St. John and the final resting place of many members of the order. Used as an ammunition storehouse during Turkish occupation, the church was reduced to rubble in an explosion sparked by lightning in 1856.
Rhodes Town, Rhodes, 85100, Greece
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