Rhodes: A Living Medieval City on the Edge of the Aegean
The first time we walked through the Gate of Amboise into Rhodes Old Town, we had the disorienting sensation of stepping through a portal in time. One moment we were on a busy modern street with traffic and tourist shops; the next, we were standing on cobblestones worn smooth by 700 years of footsteps, surrounded by towering medieval walls, Gothic arches, and minarets, with the sound of the modern world suddenly muffled behind three meters of fortified stone. Rhodes Old Town is not a ruin or a museum — it is the oldest continuously inhabited medieval city in Europe, and it is astonishing.
The Knights of St John — the Hospitallers, a crusading military order — captured Rhodes in 1309 and held it until the Ottoman siege of 1522, when Suleiman the Magnificent finally forced their surrender. In those two centuries, they built one of the most complete medieval cities ever constructed: the Palace of the Grand Master, the Street of the Knights with its seven national inns (Inn of France, Inn of Italy, Inn of England, and so on), the Hospital (now the Archaeological Museum), and the 4km of walls that still entirely enclose the old town. After 1522, the Ottomans added mosques, hammams, and markets to the existing fabric. The result is a city that has accumulated 700 years of architectural layers without losing its essential medieval character.
Rhodes Town is a real city — 50,000 people live here year-round, residents inhabit the medieval houses, and the restaurants, shops, and kafeneions serve the local population as much as the tourists. This gives the old town an authenticity that pure museum pieces lack.
Fly into Rhodes Diagoras Airport (RHO) — direct flights from Athens (45 minutes) and from many European cities. The airport is 14km from Rhodes Town.
The Arrival
Enter the old town through one of the ancient gates — the Gate of Amboise in the northwest, the Gate of St John in the south, the D'Amboise Tower gate facing the harbor — and let the old town swallow you. The cobblestoned Street of the Knights (Ippoton) rises steeply from the hospital to the Palace, flanked by the limestone facades of the seven national inns, each carved with the heraldry of its country. Nothing has changed here in five centuries except the tourists. The medieval city is intact. Walk it slowly, return to different sections at different times of day, and accept that two or three days is the minimum required.
Why Rhodes rewards the traveler who slows down
The Palace of the Grand Master is the center of the medieval city — rebuilt after an 1856 gunpowder explosion destroyed most of the original, but reconstructed faithfully using ancient plans and incorporating original fragments. The interior rooms contain extraordinary Byzantine mosaics relocated from the island of Kos, 4th-century BC mosaic floors, and medieval furniture assembled from across the Knights’ domain. Entry €8; allow 90 minutes.
The Archaeological Museum in the old Hospital of the Knights (one of the most complete medieval hospital buildings surviving anywhere) houses the island’s exceptional collection — the Aphrodite of Rhodes (a marine Venus discovered in the harbor, her hair still wound with seaweed), Hellenistic grave steles, and a fine collection of ancient pottery and jewelry. Entry €8.
Lindos, 54km south on the island’s east coast, is the other essential day trip: an ancient acropolis perched on a sheer white cliff 116 meters above the sea, reached through the perfectly preserved medieval village below. The Temple of Athena Lindia (300 BC) and the Byzantine church of St John within the acropolis walls share the summit with views across the Mediterranean that extend, on clear days, to Turkey 15km east. The approach through Lindos village — white-washed houses, donkey rides up the cliff path, workshops selling local embroidery — is both touristy and genuinely beautiful.
The Ottoman Quarter
The Turkish quarter of the old town — centered on the Mosque of Suleiman and the old hammam (Turkish bath, still operating) — is the least visited and most atmospheric section. The small Suleiman Mosque (closed to non-Muslims, but impressive from outside) was built in 1523 to mark the Ottoman victory. The covered market nearby (Arasta Bazaar) has been trading since the 16th century. Sit in the kafeneion beside the mosque in the afternoon — it serves both Greek and Turkish coffee, reflecting the island's layered history — and watch a medieval city continue to function as it has for 700 years.
What should you do in Rhodes?
The Street of the Knights and Palace
The Street of the Knights (Ippoton) is the best-preserved medieval street in the world — 600 meters of Gothic limestone facades, each inn identifiable by its carved heraldry. Walk it first without stopping, to understand the scale and completeness. Then return and identify each national inn: France (the largest), Italy, England, Germany, Provence, Auvergne, Castille. Enter the Palace at the top. Allow a full morning for both.
Lindos
The 54km drive south through the island’s east coast takes 70 minutes and passes through several good beach stops. Lindos village is genuinely beautiful; the acropolis above it is extraordinary. The donkey ride up the cliff path costs €10 and is optional (the path is walkable in 15-20 minutes). The Mosque of Ibrahim Pasha inside the acropolis gates and the Temple of Athena Lindia beside it represent 1,400 years of history on the same rock platform. Entry €12; arrive before 10am.
The Valley of Butterflies
45km south of Rhodes Town, the Petaloudes valley hosts thousands of jersey tiger moths from June through September — the same phenomenon as the Paros Butterfly Valley but on a larger scale. The gorge itself, with its streams and shade trees, is beautiful regardless of the moths.
Eating in Rhodes
The old town restaurants on Socratous Street (the main tourist drag) are tourist-priced and variable. Walk two streets in any direction and the prices drop 30% and the quality improves. The Rhodian specialty is pitaroudia — chickpea fritters flavored with cumin and mint, served as a meze — and the local mastic (lentisc resin) that flavors everything from liqueur to ice cream. Drink the local Athiri white wine with anything from the sea; the CAIR cooperative wine is the island's accessible standard and genuinely good at €5-8 per bottle.
Where should you eat in Rhodes?
Nireas in the old town (Sofocleous Street) is the most consistent seafood restaurant in the medieval city — in a restored Ottoman-era building with a courtyard, serving fresh fish by weight and excellent mezedes at prices that are elevated but fair for the old town location. Mains €20-35.
Palia Istoria in the Neochori (new town) district is the best overall restaurant on the island — a beautifully restored old house with a sophisticated modern Greek menu using Rhodian ingredients (local cheese, Lindos lamb, fresh Aegean catch). Mains €22-35.
Tamam in the old town uses the old hammam space for a restaurant serving a hybrid of Greek and Middle Eastern dishes — the hummus, the lamb dishes, and the stuffed vine leaves reflect the island’s Ottoman heritage in the best possible way. Mains €14-22.
For casual eating: the market of the new town near Mandraki harbor has excellent souvlaki and gyros from €3.50.
Sleeping in Rhodes
Staying inside the old town walls is the experience, and it is available at reasonable prices given what it offers: waking in a medieval city, stepping onto cobblestones at dawn before the tourists arrive, walking to a bakery in a Gothic alley for coffee. The old town hotels are typically converted medieval or Ottoman-era buildings with thick stone walls, cool rooms, and the particular acoustic silence of three-meter-thick fortifications between you and the outside world. Book months ahead for July-August; the rest of the year the best rooms are accessible without difficulty.
Where should you stay in Rhodes?
Spirit of the Knights Boutique Hotel inside the old town (€140-250/night) is a beautifully restored medieval mansion with individually designed rooms, a courtyard, and a location on a quiet lane near the Palace. Among the finest boutique hotels in the Dodecanese.
Hotel Nikos Takis inside the old town (€100-160/night) is a charming smaller option in the Ottoman quarter — wooden furniture, stone walls, and genuinely helpful management.
Lydia Mews near the Street of the Knights (€80-120/night) is a good-value option inside the walls with comfortable modern rooms in a historic building.
Outside the walls, the new town’s Hotel Anastasia (€60-90/night) is a reliable budget option close to Mandraki harbor, 10 minutes’ walk from the old town gates.
Planning Your Visit
Four days is the minimum for Rhodes done properly. Day one: old town arrival and early exploration. Day two: Palace, Archaeological Museum, Street of the Knights. Day three: Lindos day trip. Day four: Valley of Butterflies, beaches, and evening walk through the Ottoman quarter. May and September give you these four days in good weather with manageable crowds and accommodation prices that are 30-40% lower than July-August. The old town at dawn — when the cobblestones are still damp from the night and you share the streets with cats and the first cafe operators — is the correct starting point for each day.
When is the best time to visit Rhodes?
May and June are the finest months: warm temperatures, the old town accessible without the summer cruise ship influx, and Lindos visitable in the morning before tour buses arrive.
September and October are equally good — warm sea, lower prices, and the island returning to its own pace after the peak season.
July and August bring cruise ships to Mandraki harbor (the old town fills for 6-8 hours when a ship docks, then empties again), maximum accommodation prices, and the best beach weather. The old town at dawn and after 7pm is excellent; midday is the difficult period.
November through April offers the old town at its quietest — some restaurants and hotels close, but the medieval streets, the museums, and the essential character of the city are all present and uncrowded.
- Getting There: Fly to Rhodes Diagoras Airport (RHO) from Athens (45 min) or direct from many European cities. Bus service from the airport to Rhodes Town center runs €2.50; taxi costs €25-30.
- Best Time: May or September. The old town is navigable, the Lindos acropolis accessible before the cruise ship crowds, and accommodation inside the walls available without two months' advance booking.
- Stay Inside the Walls: The old town hotel experience — medieval stone walls, courtyard breakfasts, dawn cobblestone walks — cannot be replicated from the new town resort hotels. It costs the same and is categorically different.
- Don't Miss: Lindos Acropolis at opening time (8am). The Temple of Athena Lindia on its sheer white cliff, before the tour groups arrive from Rhodes Town and the heat builds. This is one of the finest ancient sites in Greece and deserves a quiet, early visit.
- Cruise Ship Timing: Check the Rhodes harbor cruise ship schedule (available online) and avoid the old town on days when a large ship is docked. Alternatively, go to the beach or Lindos those mornings and return to the old town after 6pm when the day visitors have left.
- Local Specialty: "Pitaroudia, parakalo" — "Chickpea fritters, please." The Rhodian specialty meze, flavored with cumin and mint, served at any good taverna in the old town. Order with a glass of local Athiri white wine. This is the correct Rhodes aperitivo.
Rhodes pairs naturally with the eastern Aegean: Crete is accessible by ferry from Heraklion. Santorini is 4-5 hours northwest. Athens is 13-18 hours by overnight ferry from Piraeus, or 45 minutes by air. Find guided old town tours and Lindos excursions through our Greece Planning Guide.