Rhodes

Anchored at the south-eastern corner of the Aegean Sea just eighteen kilometres off the Turquoise Coast of Asia Minor, Rhodes (Rodos) is the largest and historically richest of the Dodecanese islands. Known in antiquity as the "Island of the Sun God Helios", whose 33-metre bronze Colossus of Rhodes once towered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World beside Mandraki Harbour, the island was transformed between 1309 and 1522 by the Knights Hospitaller of St John into the strongest Christian citadel in the eastern Mediterranean.

Encircled by four kilometres of double sandstone ramparts and a deep dry moat, UNESCO-listed Rhodes Medieval Old Town preserves Gothic inns, the monumental Palace of the Grand Master, Ottoman mosques and the 1577 Kahal Shalom Synagogue. Down the calm eastern coast shine the Art Deco domes of Kallithea Springs, the emerald rocks of Anthony Quinn Bay and golden Tsambika, and the 300-BC Doric temple of the Acropolis of Lindos above heart-shaped St Paul's Bay. Start with our before-you-go briefing and top things to do in Rhodes.

Rhodes Diagoras International Airport (RHO) sits on the north-western coast at Paradisi, 14 kilometres (25 to 30 minutes by frequent public DES Roda bus or metered taxi) from Rhodes Town. All inter-island ferries from Athens, Crete, Kos and Symi, as well as international catamarans from Marmaris and Fethiye in Turkey, dock at the Tourist & Commercial Ports right next to the Medieval Old Town walls. Inside the island, two adjacent bus terminals at Rimini Square (Mandraki) serve the East Coast (Lindos/beaches) and West Coast (Airport/Kamiros). See getting to Rhodes and how island buses and beach boats work.

For a first trip of 3 to 5 days, base yourself in or just outside Rhodes Town, either inside a restored stone knight's courtyard hotel in the Medieval Old Town, or 10 minutes north in the walkable New Town peninsulas around Mandraki Harbour and Elli Beach, so you have instant access to evening dining, the Symi excursion boats and all bus lines. If you want a romantic whitewashed village stay by the beach, choose Lindos (48 km south), or book a sea-view resort in Kallithea or Ixia. Compare all areas in where to stay in Rhodes.

Walk the cobbled 14th-century Street of the Knights to the Palace of the Grand Master and the Moat Walk, climb to the Acropolis of Lindos and swim in St Paul's Bay, snorkel in the emerald waters of Anthony Quinn Bay and relax at Tsambika, photograph the rotunda of Kallithea Springs, take a day boat to pastel Symi Island, and watch sunset from cliff-perched Monolithos Castle. Full list in things to do in Rhodes.

Rhodian cuisine (Rodiaki Kouzina) blends Aegean seafood with Dodecanese grains, cumin, coriander and honey: slow-baked clay-pot chickpea stew (pitaroudia chickpea fritters and Sunday lakani lamb with coarse wheat), shrimp sautéed with garlic from Symi (garides Symiakes), hand-rolled pasta with caramelized onions and cheese (matsi), and crisp sesame-and-honey wedding bars (melekouni, PGI-protected). Read more in our Rhodes food and wine guide.

Claiming over 300 days of sunshine a year, Rhodes is a living architectural palimpsest where Hellenistic stadiums, 14th-century French and Italian Crusader fortifications, 16th-century Ottoman domes, Sephardic Jewish courtyards and 1920s Italian Art Deco buildings stand side by side.