Destination Guide · Rhodes, Greece
24 hours in Rhodes:
walking the Medieval Old Town.
One day, one walled city.
This is a guide to one perfect day in Rhodes, Greece: a half-day walking route through the Medieval Old Town, from the d'Amboise Gate to the Palace of the Grand Master, past the Church of the Annunciation, and up onto the walls above Mandraki harbor. I walked this route on a quiet November day with a camera and no real plan, and it turned into one of my favorite afternoons in Greece.
Below is the exact walk, the sights I would not skip, and the practical details that make it easy, especially if you are arriving by cruise ship. The Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site ringed by one of the best preserved circuits of medieval fortifications in Europe, but you will feel none of that weight as you wander. It feels like a small, sun-warmed town that happens to be inside a fortress.
A half-day route
Two to three unhurried hours, start to finish.
The loop is simple: enter at the top of the town, wander downhill through the quarter the knights built, and finish on the ramparts with the harbor spread below. Plan for two to three hours, more if you linger the way I did.
01
Start at the d'Amboise Gate
Most visitors funnel in through the big gates near the harbor. I prefer to begin at the top of the town, where the d'Amboise Gate winds through the ramparts under twin round towers. Named for Grand Master Emery d'Amboise and completed in 1512, it is the grandest of the Old Town's entrances, and the passage bends through three successive gates, a medieval welcome for anyone who arrived without an invitation. There is no ticket and no ticket taker. You simply walk under the stone, and the whole old city opens up ahead of you.
02
Wander the Palace of the Grand Master courtyard
A short climb from the gate, the Palace of the Grand Master crowns the highest point of the Old Town. The Knights of St. John raised it in the fourteenth century as their fortress and seat of command, and the Italians rebuilt much of it in the 1930s, which is why the courtyards feel so immaculate. Inside, take your time with the mosaic floors and the cool, high rooms of the Byzantine Museum. Outside, the courtyard holds the morning sun and an almost museum-like quiet. On a November visit I had it mostly to myself, and I sat there longer than I meant to.
03
Down the Street of the Knights to the Church of the Annunciation
Leave the palace and follow Odos Ippoton, the Street of the Knights, as it runs downhill the way it has since the knights ruled the island. Stone inns line the lane, one for each of the languages, or tongues, of the order, and early in the day you can have it almost to yourself. At the bottom, step through the harbor-side gate and you are in front of the Church of the Annunciation, its pale facade and slender bell tower rising from the Mandraki waterfront. The Italians raised it in the 1920s as a loving recreation of the knights' church that once stood beside the palace, destroyed in the gunpowder blast of 1856. Next to the blue harbor, it is one of the most photographed corners in Rhodes, with good reason.
04
Climb the walls above Mandraki harbor
Finish the loop by stepping back through the gate and climbing onto the ramparts for the view the whole walk is really for. The wall-top walk is ticketed at the palace ticket office and keeps short hours, so ask when you buy your morning ticket. From the walls you look straight down at Mandraki: the two deer statues on their columns, the medieval windmills, ferry and cruise boats easing past the breakwater where legend says the Colossus once stood. I leaned on the warm stone and watched the light change for a long time. The ticket costs a few euros. The view is free.
Can't miss
Four sights not to rush past.
The Street of the Knights
The cobbled lane of the knights' inns, one for each of the eight tongues of the order. Walk it once early, when it is empty, and again later for the life of it.
Hippocrates Square
The shaded plane tree and cafe tables at the heart of the old town. Legend holds that Hippocrates taught beneath it, and it remains the best people-watching in Rhodes.
The Hospital of the Knights
The great Gothic hospital of the order, now the Archaeological Museum. Its medieval halls are worth the detour, and the collection is compact and wonderful.
The moat walk
The green moat around the walls is free and quiet, looped with gardens and pockets of shade. Save it for the warmest hour, when the ramparts take the sun.
Practical tips
The details that make the day easy.
Go early, then come back for the light
The Palace opens at eight in summer, and the lanes stay quiet until the tour groups arrive mid-morning. If you have the time, return to the ramparts in the last hour before sunset, when Mandraki turns gold and the old town settles down.
Arriving by cruise ship
Cruise ships tie up in the commercial and tourist ports directly beside the Old Town, so it is a flat five-to-ten-minute walk to the nearest gate. No shuttle and no taxi needed. Sort your wall-top ticket at the palace first thing, because the walk keeps short hours that change by season.
Two local food notes
Pitaroudia, the Rhodian chickpea fritters, are the snack to look for: crisp outside, soft within, served from small cafes and tavernas. For something sweet, melekouni, pressed honey and sesame, is the classic local treat that rarely makes it home.
Autumn into winter
What is happening in Rhodes right now.
October is Rhodes in its golden hour: the crowds thin, the sea holds its warmth, and the island's autumn calendar fills with festivals and harvest, with the olive harvest carrying the season into the new year. Here is what is worth planning around this season.
The best weeks of the year
September and October are Rhodes at its finest: the sea stays warm and swimmable well into October, the summer heat and crowds ease, and the Old Town feels spacious. It is the window locals recommend above all others.
A full autumn calendar
The European Polyphony Festival and the Medieval Rose Festival have wrapped for the year, but the Old Town stays lively: the ceramics biennale keeps its exhibition at the Palace open through October 31, and OXI Day on October 28 brings a big parade along the coastal road near Mandraki Harbour, with state archaeological sites and museums free to enter across Greece. Come December, the Living Nativity of Salakos returns to the Natural Springs for the holidays, and Rhodes Town's Catholic church hosts its Santa Maria Nativity scene from December 23 through January 6. Evenings in Rhodes keep a festival air all season.
The olive harvest runs into winter
Inland, the grape harvest takes over villages like Embonas, with winemakers welcoming visitors for tastings of the year's pressing. By November the olive harvest is in full swing across the island's groves, peaking this month in the heartland of Apollona, where the Koroneiki and Rodou olives are still brought down with hook harvesters, and family-run mills open for tours of the new season's oil, which finds its way onto taverna tables across the island. The harvest often stretches into the new year.
Sound & Light at the Palace
The narrated Sound & Light show plays against the Palace of the Grand Master through October, telling the old town's story after dark. It is a lovely way to end the walking route: ramparts by day, walls alight by night.
Greek Christmas, island style
The Greek Christmas season runs from St. Nicholas Day on December 6 through Epiphany on January 6. Rhodes Town and the villages light up with festive decorations, the traditional karavaki, the decorated wooden boat honoring sailors, goes up in homes and squares, and the three windmills of Mandraki Harbor glow as the Three Wise Men. Children go door to door singing kalanda carols, and Christmas Day brings big family feasts after the fasting season. It is a warm, unhurried way to see the island.
Ready to put Rhodes on your itinerary?
Rhodes is one of the Mediterranean port calls we love to plan, whether it is a week on the island or a single afternoon off the ship. Tell us your dates and a Destination Engineer will build the day around you.