Rhodes Town Travel Guide: What to Know Before You Go

The Knights of St John organized their city by nationality: seven “languages,” seven sections of wall, each defended by a different European tongue. The medieval street plan of Rhodes Town still follows that logic, 500 years after the knights left. The result is the largest inhabited medieval city in Europe, not a preserved ruin, but a functioning town still home to several thousand people whose streets were laid out for armored cavalry.

Four centuries of builders: what you’re looking at

Rhodes Town is a layered city. Four distinct periods of rule left visible marks on the same streets, and recognizing them is what separates an informed visit from a walk through generic “old town” atmosphere.

Byzantine Rhodes (pre-1309)

The Byzantine settlement on the island was modest. Some church foundations and fragmentary walls in the southern part of the old town predate the knights, but the Byzantine period left less architectural evidence in Rhodes Town than in Crete or mainland Greece. The existing medieval framework is almost entirely later.

The Knights of St John (1309–1522)

The Hospitaller Knights, a Catholic military order originally based in Jerusalem, arrived in Rhodes in 1309 after losing their base in Cyprus. They transformed the existing town into a fortified military compound over two centuries, building the circuit of walls, the Street of the Knights, the Grand Master’s palace, and the Hospital that still stands in the town center. The organizational logic was military: the seven (from 1462, eight) “languages” (tongues) of the order (Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Aragon, England and Germany, later joined by Castile) each funded and defended their own section of wall, with their national inn (auberge) on the main street as administrative headquarters.

The knights lost Rhodes in 1522 after a six-month siege by Suleiman the Magnificent’s Ottoman forces. An army of 200,000 faced a garrison of perhaps 7,000 knights and local defenders. Suleiman allowed the surviving knights to leave with full honors, a historically unusual outcome for a conquered fortress city.

Ottoman Rhodes (1522–1912)

Four centuries of Ottoman rule shaped the town south and east of the Street of the Knights. Mosques were installed: some in converted churches, others purpose-built. The Süleymaniye Mosque, built in 1522 on the hill in the southern old town, is the most prominent surviving Ottoman structure. A covered market (the Socrates Street bazaar area) developed where it still operates. The population changed: the Jewish quarter in the southeast remained, the Greek Orthodox community largely relocated outside the walls, and a Turkish administrative and merchant class occupied the interior.

Italian Rhodes (1912–1943)

The least-discussed period by travel guides, and the most architecturally visible outside the medieval walls. Italy took control of the Dodecanese from the Ottomans in 1912 and ran the islands until 1943. The Italians undertook significant archaeological reconstruction, including a comprehensive rebuild of the Grand Master’s Palace in the 1930s, which was not an archaeological restoration but an Italian fascist-era palace built on the 14th-century foundations. The “Italian quarter” immediately outside the medieval walls, with its rationalist buildings, wide planned streets, and the harbour-front administrative buildings, is entirely Italian in character. Most visitors walk past it without recognizing it as the product of 30 years of Italian colonial administration.

The core medieval monuments

The Street of the Knights (Ippoton)

One of the best-preserved medieval streets in Europe. Running from the Grand Master’s Palace to the old hospital, its 200 meters of Gothic facades represent the seven auberges, the national inns where each language’s knights lived and administered. The cobblestone surface is original. The facades are intact. The street is also, in summer, a steady stream of tourists and cruise passengers.

The auberges are identified by carved stone crests above their doorways. The Auberge of France, at the southern end near the hospital, is the most elaborate facade on the street. The Auberge of England is notable as a near-complete Gothic facade.

Walking the street in the early morning, before 9am, gives a different experience from the midday tourist circuit. The stone and light read differently without crowds.

The Palace of the Grand Master

The Palace of the Grand Master at the top of the Street of the Knights was built in the 14th century, destroyed by a gunpowder explosion in 1856, and completely rebuilt by the Italian administration between 1937 and 1940 as a summer residence for Mussolini (who never actually used it). The building you enter is therefore not a medieval monument in any archaeological sense; it’s a 1930s reconstruction with genuine medieval floors (Roman and early Christian mosaics relocated from Kos) installed inside. Worth visiting for the mosaics and the views from the towers, but understand what you’re looking at.

Admission is a modest fee. Opening hours change seasonally; closed Mondays. In peak season, arrive before 10am or after 3pm.

The Archaeological Museum (the former Knights’ Hospital)

The building housing the Archaeological Museum is the genuine medieval monument that the Grand Master’s Palace is not. The former Hospital of the Knights, completed in 1489, is the finest surviving example of Gothic civic architecture in the Aegean. The ground floor, where knights once cared for sick pilgrims, now displays bronze and marble sculpture from the Hellenistic period. The first-floor ward, where hundreds of patients once lay in one enormous room, holds the permanent collection including the “Marine Venus”, a 3rd-century BC marble Aphrodite in the act of rising from the sea, found in Rhodes harbour.

Allow 60–90 minutes. The building is worth the modest admission fee as much for the architecture as the collection.

The medieval walls: 2.5km circuit

The wall walk runs along the inner circuit of the city walls from the Palace of the Grand Master to the southern gate and back, a 2.5km loop that shows the full defensive structure the knights maintained. The views from the top alternate between the sea, the rooftops of the Turkish quarter below, the Ottoman minarets, and the Italian quarter outside the walls.

Access is through the Palace of the Grand Master; the entrance is typically inside the palace courtyard on the left. Check current opening hours before planning around it; access times are limited and the walk closes in bad weather. Allow at least one hour. Wear shoes with grip; the surface is uneven medieval stone.

The harbour: Mandraki and the Colossus

Mandraki Harbour, the inner harbour at the northern tip of the old town, was the ancient and medieval port. Three 15th-century windmills stand at the end of the mole, decorative now, but functional until recent centuries. Fort St Nicholas on the sea wall at the far end is the key defensive structure guarding the harbour entrance.

The site where the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, once stood is marked symbolically by two columns with bronze deer at the harbour entrance. Whether the Colossus actually straddled the harbour entrance (the popular image) is disputed by historians; the columns mark a tradition rather than an archaeological certainty. The statue itself was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC after standing for only 54 years.

For cruise passengers: The commercial cruise harbour where large ships dock is south of Mandraki, near the Akandia Gate. It’s a 10–15 minute walk to the Old Town entrance gates. Smaller cruise ships and tenders sometimes use Mandraki directly. Check your ship’s documentation for which pier you’re assigned.

The Turkish quarter: what remains

The area south of the Street of the Knights and east of the central spine of the old town is the former Ottoman residential and commercial quarter. The Süleymaniye Mosque, salmon-pink, two-domed, and visible from most of the upper old town, anchors it spatially. It was built immediately after the Ottoman conquest in 1522 and rebuilt by the Ottomans in 1808. It is not currently operational as a mosque.

The bazaar area along Socrates Street remains a functioning market of small shops. The Turkish character of the street plan, more winding, with courtyard structures rather than the straight Gothic lanes of the knights’ quarter, is visible if you’re looking for it. The covered Turkish baths (Mustafa Hamam) on Arionos Square are the best-preserved Ottoman bathhouse in the Aegean still open for use, though opening hours are irregular.

Lindos as a day trip (about 47km south)

The village of Lindos, about 47km south of Rhodes Town, sits below an acropolis with a Temple of Athena (4th century BC) and a Knights’ castle built around it. The village itself is all whitewashed cube houses on steep lanes above a sheltered bay. The beach below the acropolis is excellent and swimmable. A round trip from Rhodes Town by bus (around 90 minutes each way) or hire car makes a viable full day.

The acropolis is impressive but smaller than photos suggest. The village is genuinely attractive, and genuinely overcrowded in July and August; many visitors find the crowds undermine what’s appealing about it. Earlier in the day, or visiting outside July–August, makes a significant difference.

Practical considerations for cruise visitors

A four-to-six hour port stop is enough for the Street of the Knights, the Grand Master’s Palace or the Archaeological Museum (choose one or both), the Mandraki harbour area, and lunch. It is not enough for a relaxed experience of both the medieval monuments and the Turkish quarter.

The commercial harbour to the Old Town gates is flat and walkable in 10–15 minutes. No taxi needed. The main gates, Freedom Gate near the northern corner and the Marine Gate (with St Catherine’s Gate) on the harbour side, are the standard entry points from the harbour direction.

Peak summer crowds at the Palace of the Grand Master and the Street of the Knights are most intense between 10am and 1pm. If your ship arrives early enough for a pre-10am entry to the walled city, use it.

When to visit Rhodes Town

April–June and September–October offer manageable heat (20–28°C), clear skies, and crowds that are heavy but not impossible. Late April and early May are particularly good: the tourist infrastructure is open, the light is excellent, and the walled city is walkable without pushing through groups.

July–August is hot (30–35°C+), very crowded at peak sites, and the most expensive period for accommodation. Sunset is late (after 8pm), and the evenings are genuinely pleasant. Morning starts, before 9am at the major monuments, are the most practical strategy.

Winter (November–March) is quiet and mild (12–18°C). Many tourist-facing restaurants and some hotels close. The monuments are open and largely empty. If you’re on the island for an extended stay rather than as part of a cruise, winter offers a genuinely different experience.

Frequently asked questions

Is Rhodes Old Town worth visiting? Yes, and for a specific reason: it’s the largest inhabited medieval city in Europe, not a museum piece. People live and work here. The density of architectural history in the Old Town (Gothic, Ottoman, Byzantine fragments) is unmatched in Greece and comparable to Carcassonne or the old city of Dubrovnik in terms of preservation. The crowds in summer are real, but the city exists underneath them.

What are the Knights of St John? The Knights Hospitaller, formally the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, were a Catholic military order founded in Jerusalem in the 11th century to care for sick pilgrims. After the Crusader kingdoms fell, they moved to Cyprus, then Rhodes (1309–1522), then Malta (1530 onwards), where a branch of the order still exists. In Rhodes, they functioned as both a religious military order and a naval power dominating the eastern Mediterranean.

How long do I need in Rhodes Town? For a thorough visit to the medieval monuments and the Turkish quarter: a full day minimum. For a cruise port stop: four to six hours covers the core. Overnight allows the early morning light on the Street of the Knights and the evening atmosphere in the bazaar.

Is Rhodes Town good for cruise visitors? Yes, it’s one of the more rewarding cruise stops in the Mediterranean precisely because the Old Town is compact, walkable from the port, and historically legible. The main monuments are within 10 minutes of the city walls.

What is the best thing to do in Rhodes Town? Walk the Street of the Knights early in the morning, then do the wall circuit for the full defensive context. Choose either the Grand Master’s Palace (for the mosaics and the view) or the Archaeological Museum (for the medieval building and the Greek sculpture collection) depending on your interests.

How do I get from the cruise port to Old Town? On foot, 10–15 minutes from the commercial harbour to the nearest Old Town gate. Follow the road along the harbour wall north; the gates are visible. No taxi is necessary unless you have mobility limitations.

Is Lindos worth visiting from Rhodes Town? For a longer stay on the island, yes: the acropolis, village, and beach together make a strong day trip. For a cruise passenger with limited time, it’s marginal: the journey each way takes 90 minutes by bus, which constrains what’s left for the Old Town itself.

When is the best time to visit Rhodes? May and September are the local answer: sea temperatures are warm enough to swim, the air temperature is comfortable, and the crowds are at their most manageable. The tourist season on Rhodes runs April through October, and peak pricing and peak crowds align with July and August.

Rhodes is one of Greece’s most historically layered destinations. Athens provides the full classical context, while Heraklion and Chania on Crete offer the Minoan layer of Greek history alongside Venetian-era old towns. Corfu Town shares the Venetian architectural period and is another major cruise stop in the Ionian Sea.