Things to do
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Anthony Quinn Bay
A small cove of green water between pine-covered cliffs south of Faliraki, named after the actor who filmed The Guns of Navarone here. The beach itself is narrow and rocky, so much of the swimming is off the rocks. Snorkelling along the cliffs is good, though parking at the top is limited in summer.
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Archaeological Museum
Housed in the knights' great hospital, a Gothic building finished in 1489 around an arcaded courtyard. Upstairs, the long infirmary ward leads to rooms of finds from the island's ancient cities: grave goods, painted pottery and marble sculpture. The garden courtyard holds stone cannonballs and sculpture. Entry is ticketed, and the building stands at the foot of the Street of the Knights.
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Kallithea Springs
An Italian spa of domes, arcades and pebble-mosaic terraces built in 1929 above a sheltered rocky cove, restored and reopened in 2007. The ticket covers the gardens, the restored pavilions and the swimming platforms, where the water is clear enough for snorkelling. Sunbeds are extra. It sits on the coast road south of Rhodes town and keeps shorter hours from November to April.
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Mandraki
The old harbour outside the walls, where bronze deer stand on columns at the entrance and yachts and day boats tie up along the quay. A breakwater runs past a row of medieval windmills to the round Fort of Saint Nicholas at its tip. Excursion boats to Lindos and Symi leave from here in season, and the promenade is pleasant for an evening walk.
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Medieval City
A UNESCO-listed walled town of stone lanes, arched passages and small squares, still home to shops, tavernas and families. The knights' high town lies to the north and the busier lower town, with its mosques and fountains, to the south. Several gates lead in from the harbour and the moat. The lanes are free to wander at any hour, and the cobbles are uneven underfoot.
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Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights
A Gothic fortress-palace at the top of the old town, rebuilt by the Italians in the 1930s after an explosion had wrecked it. Halls on the upper floor are paved with Roman mosaics brought from Kos, and two ground-floor exhibitions trace ancient and medieval Rhodes. It is ticketed and opens daily in summer, with shorter winter hours and one closed day a week.
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Street of the Knights
A straight cobbled street running uphill from the hospital to the palace, lined with the inns where each language group of the Order of Saint John lodged. Coats of arms and carved doorways mark the facades of France, Spain, Italy and the rest. The buildings now hold offices and are mostly closed inside, so the visit is the walk itself, best in the soft light of evening.
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Acropolis of Rhodes
The ancient city's high ground on Monte Smith hill, a short walk west of the old town. A restored stadium and a small marble odeon sit below four restored columns of the Temple of Pythian Apollo. The site is free to enter and set in parkland among pines, and the hilltop looks west over the open sea, a favourite place to watch the sun go down.
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Camirus
The ruins of Kamiros, one of the island's three ancient cities, spread down a hillside on the west coast above the sea. A main street climbs past houses, a fountain house and a Doric temple to a long stoa and the big rainwater cistern at the top. The ticketed site has little shade, so a hat and water are needed.
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Filerimos Monastery
A hilltop monastery above Ialysos, on the site of the ancient acropolis, with the foundations of a temple of Athena beside the church. From the monastery a shaded path lined with stations of the cross leads to a giant cross with views over the north of the island. Peacocks roam the grounds, and one ticket covers the monastery and the ruins.
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Kahal Shalom Synagogue
Completed in 1577 in the old Jewish quarter, it is the oldest synagogue in Greece. The prayer hall has a pebble-mosaic floor and a central reading platform. Side rooms hold the Jewish Museum of Rhodes, with photographs and documents of the community deported in 1944. Visits run in the warmer months, from spring to autumn.
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Kokkini Porta Rossa
A small suites hotel in a restored knight's house inside the old town walls, near the gate of Saint John. Each of the few suites is different, with stone arches, timber ceilings and deep bathtubs, and breakfast is cooked to order. Some suites are reached by steep stairs with no lift, and cars stop at the gate.
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Valley of the Butterflies
A wooded ravine of sweetgum trees where tens of thousands of Jersey tiger moths gather in summer, drawn by the scented resin. A trail of wooden bridges and stone steps follows the stream uphill past small pools. The moths are thickest from June to September, and the valley closes over winter. Clapping to rouse them is banned, since it exhausts them.
