Best Things to Do in Rhodes: the Must-See attractions
Introduction
The largest of Greece’s Dodecanese islands, there are several reasons Rhodes is a perennial favorite among holidaymakers – namely its endless golden beaches, azure waters, wooded valleys, and rich history. The island has been home to ancient civilizations since the 16th century BCE, and culture buffs will get their fix here, as will adventure seekers. Villages infused with the scent of jasmine and bougainvillea, a magical Medieval UNESCO-listed old town, excellent beaches with glistening waters: There are hundreds of reasons to come to Rhodes, but we’ll try to condense the tally to just 15. The largest of the Dodecanese islands in the southern Aegean, Rhodes has architecture that looks like nowhere else in Greece, stemming from Medieval times when the Knights Hospitaller wrapped the capital in impenetrable walls to repel attacks by the Ottomans.
Rhodes also has a history of a much more ancient kind, at the Lindos Acropolis, famed for its rock carving of a trireme, the Acropolis of Rhodes, and the ruins of the city of Kameiros. Related Readings about Rhodes: Rhodes Travel Guide, Dodecanese Islands Travel Guide, Related Tours to Rhodes
Let’s explore the best things to do in Rhodes:
The Medieval City of Rhodes
Rhodes’ medieval city is the island’s must-see attraction. This UNESCO World Heritage site is Europe’s largest and best-preserved fortified city!
When the knights of Saint John arrived on the island in 1309, they decided to build this impressive citadel. The 4-km-long fortified walls, with many strongholds and towers, are incredibly well-preserved.
There are only pedestrian streets inside the walls. You can take a pleasant stroll and enjoy its charming paved alleys and historical monuments. Nowadays, the medieval city of Rhodes is entirely dedicated to tourism: there are many taverns, restaurants, and shops. The place is also bustling (even if I visited Rhodes at the end of September!).
The best places to see in Rhodes are:
- The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes is one of the knights’ first castles. Inside, you will discover a museum dedicated to Rhodes’ History and the Grand Master’s apartment, with magnificent mosaic floors. Unfortunately, most of the furniture was destroyed when a stock of ammunition exploded in 1856.
- The Street of the Knights: there, each language had its inn (also called “auberge” or “palatial residence”). For example, you will discover the Inn of the Tongue of France or the Inn of the Tongue of England.
- The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes is in the medieval Hospital of the Knights. There, you will find many ancient objects from Rhodes and the other Dodecanese Islands.
- The Roloi Clock Tower, to admire a beautiful view over the Old City from the top.
- The Byzantine Art Museum and its many frescoes and icons from the Byzantine period.
- The Churches of Agia Triada and Agia Aikaterini.
- The Suleman Mosque was built during the Turkish occupation of Rhodes.
Mandraki Port
The northernmost of Rhodes City’s three harbors, Mandraki Port, is the most fun to explore on foot. A long mole up its east side leads to the Fort of St Nicholas and is traced by the three iconic windmills.
This started as a guard tower in the mid-15th century but became a fully-fledged fortress under Grand Master d’Aubusson in 1480. This is also the supposed location of the Colossus of Rhodes on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
That representation of the sun god Helios was erected in 280 BC and toppled by an earthquake not long after, in 226 BC. The idea of the statue bestriding the entrance to the port probably isn’t historically accurate, but it is romantic all the same.
Prasonisi
Rhodes’ far south is a piece of coast unlike any other on the island. Prasonisi is a tidal island joined to the mainland by a long sandbar. When the tide is high in winter, this can disappear entirely underwater, leaving Prasonisi stranded. In summer, people visit to hike on the island and a nature reserve, and they take the opportunity to sit on a beach with water on both sides. The beach is exposed to sea breezes, and the sails of windsurfers are a common sight. The more sheltered east flank has inviting shallow water and is also preferred by less experienced watersports enthusiasts. Meanwhile, seasoned windsurfers and kite surfers favor the west side and its rolling waves.
Lindos Acropolis
On the crag to the east of the modern village of Lindos is a site inhabited and revered by a long line of civilizations. Its history goes back to the Mycenaeans in the 7th century BC, who were the first to worship here, while the Byzantines, Knights of St John, and the Ottomans used the rock for defensive purposes. What’s left is an exciting mishmash of ancient ruins and the 14th-century Castle of the Knights of St John. First off, the view of the coastline from the top is enough reason to make the climb (or donkey ride) on its own. There isn’t enough room to list everything you need to see in the Lindos Acropolis. Still, the relics of the Doric Temple of Athena Lindia from the 4th century BC and the Propylaia (gateway) from the same period are musts. See also the relief of a trireme by the steps to the acropolis and the Hellenistic Stoa from the 3rd century BC.
Rhodes’ best beaches
If you want to relax at the beach and swim in crystal clear waters, Rhodes is a great destination for your holidays.
The best beaches to take a dip in Rhodes are:
- Faliraki Beach: located 10 km South of Rhodes City, it’s one of the island’s most famous and crowded beaches. On the seaside, you will discover many hotel complexes offering all-inclusive stays.
- Tsambika is a beautiful fine-sand beach, ideal for families. You can rent deckchairs and umbrellas and enjoy many nautical activities.
- Anthony Quinn Beach was named after the main actor of the movie Zorba the Greek because it was his favorite beach!
- Saint Paul’s Bay, where you will find two small beaches with a beautiful view of Lindos’ Acropolis. Most of the beach is private. There is also a pretty white chapel hosting a few weddings every year.
- The beaches close to Lindos are located below the village. It’s a great place to relax and take a dip after visiting the Acropolis.
- Afandou ideal if you’re with children
- Prasonisi (at the southern end of the island) is one of Rhodes’ most beautiful beaches. This sand beach separates the Aegean Sea from the Mediterranean Sea. It’s also a great spot for Windsurfers!
- Gennadi is a nice and quiet pebble beach. The water is very clear there, so it’s perfect for snorkeling. You can also rent deckchairs.
- Kiotari, a sand beach with a private part and several taverns
- Pefki is located only 4 km away from Lindos. It’s way quieter than the beaches closer to Lindos.
- Agathi, a small beach frequented mainly by locals
- Vlicha (or Vlycha) is an excellent choice if you’re with children. There, you can rent deckchairs and enjoy a few restaurants.
- Glystra, with its fine sand and crystal clear waters.
Kameiros
Long before Rhodes City was founded, Kameiros was one of the largest urban centers on the island, occupied from prehistoric times by the Mycenaeans. The ruins of the city are on Rhodes’ northwest coast at the base of Mount Akramytis. On a terrace at the top is the acropolis, which has the relics of a temple to Athena Kameiras, a stoa with two rows of Doric columns and a reservoir that could hold 600 cubic liters of water, with terracotta pipes to conduct it to the residential quarters below. The middle terrace was the main settlement, with housing blocks on a grid pattern. Lastly, below this is the later Hellenistic temple, a fountain house, an agora, and a wall inscribed with dedications to deities like Zeus, Poseidon, and Artemis. You can visit Kamiros for 6€. You will enjoy a breathtaking view from the top of the hill and discover this city’s size. All the explanation signs on the site are in Greek and English, which is quite unusual in Greece. Try to get there early, to avoid most of the tourist buses!
Tsambika Monastery
A recurring theme in Rhodes is that challenging climbs will be rewarded with exciting monuments and heart-lifting views. That is the case at this church in a natural park above one of the best beaches on the island. The road will only take you so far, after which you have to scale a stairway with 350 steps. At the top, you’ll be 300 meters above sea level. To the north, you can look down on the small resort of Kolymbia, while southwards, you can see as far as the Lindos Acropolis, 20 kilometers away. The church is from the 18th century and was built in the Dodecanesian style, with hollow roof tiles. Traditionally, women struggling to conceive would pilgrimage to the church barefoot to pray to the icon of the Virgin.
Monolithos Castle
Some way from Rhodes’ tourist centers, this monument on a rock 100 meters over the west coast requires a bit of a journey. But it’s a trip you won’t regret once you conquer the stairway snaking up the cliff. Raised by the Knights of St John, Monolithios Castle was once among the four most potent strongholds on the island and was never conquered. Inside the walls are two 15th-century chapels, St George and St Panteleimon. But best of all, you can scramble around the rocky, pine-edged paths to survey the rocky cliffs atop Mount Akramytis behind and cast your gaze out to sea to spot the tiny Dodecanese islands.
St Paul’s Beach Rhodes
A bathing spot to treasure, you can recline at St. Paul’s Beach and contemplate the Lindos Acropolis on its soaring throne. The main s ndy beach is on the southern curve of an ovular bay with just a tiny opening on its northeastern side. Another smal er pebble beach is on the north end, right beneath the acropolis. Both fill up uickly in summer, when you’ll share the beach with hundreds of people. But that takes not ing away from the main attraction, the transparent sea, which is tranquil and shallow enough that even non-swimmers can wade in and relax.
Kallithea Hot Springs
The natural springs at Kalithea had been favored for their curative properties since ancient times. But it wasn’t unt l the Italian period, following an analysis of the water in the 1920s, that they were developed correctly. The complex was esigned in a mix of neo-Baroque and Moorish styles by architect Pietro Lombardi, and exotic trees and bushes were planted in the gardens. The spa is no lo ger in business, but the elegant Moorish pavilion and pergolas have been restored and are rented out for functions. If you pay a sma l fee, you can bathe in Kalithea Bay, a long inlet with transparent water fringed by sun loungers and palm sunshades on terraces.
Monastery of Filerimos
Roughly ten kilometers southwest of Rhodes City is Filerimos, an isolated mountain in a natural reserve. Among the cypres es, up a winding road, you’ll come to a monastery established by the Knights of St John in the 15th century. With pointed ar hes, the church has all the hallmarks of Gothic architecture, and there’s a large cross pattée in the stonework on the façade. Make sure to t ke a walk on the grounds, where peacocks are free to roam, and you’ll stumble upon a 14th-century underground chapel. And if you sti k to the mountain path, you can follow the stations of the cross to a majestic cross at a viewpoint over the coast and farmland to the west.
Anthony Quinn Bay
So-called because it was bought by the Mexican-American actor Anthony Quinn when he was filming the Guns of Navarone on Rhodes, this bay near Faliraki on the east coast wins hearts for its glimmering emerald water. The bay is at the end of a rocky inlet with long headlands that keep the sea currents out. From these co iferous slopes, the water clarity makes for seriously Instagrammable photos, and down on the beach, there’s a little archipelago of rocks for you to climb and sunbathe on before returning to the water. These rocks might pose a hazard for younger children, so families may prefer Tsambika or St Paul’s, but couples and teenagers will be in heaven.
Best Dodecanese Islands to visit around Rhodes
If you’ve seen most of Rhodes, you should visit the other Dodecanese islands located nearby:
- Symi is one of the closest islands to Rhodes. The ferry makes it really easy to get there.
- Halki, if you want to relax far from the tourist crowd.
- Kos, the 3rd largest island of the Dodecanese, is renowned for its beautiful sand beaches and nightlife.
- Leros, for hiking lovers!
Visit our Ferries in Greece page to check the ferries’ rates and schedules and book your tickets.
Best Package Tours to visit Rhodes
