Best Things to Do in Rhodes

Rhodes rewards travellers who split their days between its extraordinary medieval and classical monuments and the crystal-clear bays of its eastern shoreline. Here are the ten experiences that define a visit.

1. Walk the 14th-century Street of the Knights (Ippoton) in Rhodes Old Town. Stroll the best-preserved Gothic street in Europe, flanked by the seven stone Inns of the Tongues of the Knights Hospitaller.
2. Tour the Palace of the Grand Master and the Archaeological Museum. Marvel at Hellenistic mosaics from Kos inside the 14th-century Crusader citadel and see the marble Aphrodite of Rhodes inside the 1440 Hospital of the Knights.
3. Climb to the Acropolis of Lindos and swim in St Paul's Bay. Ascend past a 180 BC rock-carved relief of a Rhodian warship to the Doric Temple of Athena Lindia, looking straight down into a heart-shaped turquoise lagoon.
4. Snorkel in emerald Anthony Quinn Bay and swim on golden Tsambika Beach. Dive into pine-framed rock shelves before relaxing on a wide, development-free ribbon of fine golden sand beneath Tsambika Monastery.

5. Admire the pebble-mosaic rotundas of Kallithea Springs. Swim off stone terraces inside a 1929 Italian Art Deco and Moorish-revival seaside spa pavilion just 9 km south of town.
6. Take a 50-minute boat trip to Symi Island and Panormitis Monastery. Sail into Greece's most colourful neoclassical amphitheatre harbour and taste tiny fried Symi shrimp.
7. Stroll Mandraki Harbour to the Deer Columns and sunset at Monte Smith. Stand where the medieval windmills and St Nicholas Fortress guard the port, then watch sunset from the ancient Stadium and Temple of Apollo.
8. Explore the Jewish Quarter (La Juderia) and 1577 Kahal Shalom Synagogue. Visit the oldest surviving synagogue in Greece and the pink minaret of Suleymaniye Mosque.

9. Drive the wild west coast to Ancient Kamiros and clifftop Monolithos Castle. Walk a complete Hellenistic city grid overlooking the sea and watch sunset from a 1480 eagle's-nest fortress before seeing two seas meet at Prasonisi.
10. Escape into the shaded ravines of Seven Springs (Epta Piges) and Butterfly Valley. Wade through a 186-metre forest water tunnel or walk wooden bridges in Petaloudes.