Rhodes Town is the capital of the Greek island of Rhodes, at the northern tip of the largest island in the Dodecanese. Its walled medieval city, built mainly by the Knights Hospitaller between the early 14th and early 16th centuries, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988 and is often described as one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. Around it lies a modern town of Italian-era buildings, harbours and seafront, with tens of thousands of permanent residents.
Visitors come to walk the Street of the Knights and the old walls, swim close to town, take boats to nearby islands and use Rhodes Town as a base for exploring an island about 80 km long. It suits history lovers, couples and families who want a city break and a beach holiday in one trip. Vacation rentals range from stone houses inside the walls to apartments in the New Town and villas in villages such as Koskinou and Ialysos.
Staying inside the Old Town puts you among the sights, in stone houses and courtyards that grow quiet once the day visitors leave. Lanes are narrow and cobbled and parking is very limited, so travel light and expect to walk from the nearest gate. The walled city has two parts: the high town to the north, built entirely by the Knights, and the lower town to the south, which includes La Juderia, the old Jewish quarter.
The New Town, north of the walls around Mandraki harbour, is flatter and busier, with shops, cafés, Italian-era public buildings and the sea a few streets away. Families and longer stays often look along the west coast towards Ixia and Ialysos, or south-east towards Kallithea and Faliraki, where apartments and villas offer more space and beaches close by. Municipal buses connect all of these areas with the centre.
The Knights Hospitaller made Rhodes their headquarters in the early 14th century and held it until the Ottoman siege of 1522. The city they fortified is enclosed by a wall about 4 km long, rebuilt after a first Ottoman siege in 1480 and an earthquake the following year. The Street of the Knights climbs through the high town to the Palace of the Grand Master, which was largely destroyed by a gunpowder explosion in 1856 and reconstructed during Italian rule.
The lower town mixes Gothic houses with the legacy of almost four centuries of Ottoman rule: the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Hafiz Ahmed Agha Library, public baths and enclosed wooden balconies over the lanes. In La Juderia, the Kahal Shalom Synagogue recalls the island's Jewish community. Just outside the walls, the Acropolis of Rhodes has the remains of a temple of Pythian Apollo, an ancient theatre and a stadium.
The city was founded in 408 BC, when the island's three older cities, Ialysos, Kamiros and Lindos, joined to build a new capital at the northern tip. Sea trade and shipbuilding made it rich for three centuries. In the early 3rd century BC the sculptor Chares of Lindos raised the Colossus of Rhodes, a giant statue of the sun god Helios and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, believed to have stood near the harbour; an earthquake toppled it around 226 BC.
Roman and Byzantine rule followed, then the Knights and, from 1523, the Ottomans. Italy took the Dodecanese in 1912, preserved and restored the Knights' buildings and laid out the New Town along Mandraki. In July 1944 the German authorities deported about 1,700 Jews of Rhodes to Auschwitz; only around 150 survived. Rhodes and the other Dodecanese islands were united with Greece in 1947.
Rhodes Town sits on the island's northern point with the sea on three sides, so a swim is never far away. The west coast towards Ialysos and the airport catches the wind, which draws windsurfers and kitesurfers, as does Prasonisi at the island's southern tip. The east coast is more sheltered: Faliraki, about 14 km south of the town, has a sandy beach roughly 5 km long, and further bays lead on towards Lindos.
Lindos, about 40 km south, is a village of white houses below an acropolis where a Doric temple of Athena Lindia, dating from about 300 BC, stands inside a fortress built by the Knights. Inland, the Valley of the Butterflies, or Petaloudes, fills with tiger moths in summer, and Mount Attavyros, at 1,216 m, is the island's highest point. On the west coast, the ruins of ancient Kamiros make a quieter half-day.
Rhodes International Airport Diagoras (RHO) lies about 14 km south-west of the town. It has flights from Athens and other Greek airports all year and many seasonal international routes in summer. Rhodes Town has three ports: ferries link it with Piraeus, the other Dodecanese islands and the Cyclades, cruise ships call through the summer, and boats cross to Marmaris and Fethiye on the Turkish coast, so bring your travel documents for those trips.
The Old Town and the New Town are best explored on foot. Municipal buses run by RODA serve the suburbs, the airport and the west coast, while KTEL buses run down the east coast to resorts and villages such as Faliraki and Lindos. Taxis wait at ranks in the centre. Traffic and parking are difficult in summer, so a rental car is most useful for days in the south and the interior rather than for getting around town.
Rhodes has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, and its old nickname, the Island of the Sun, comes from Helios, the sun god of the ancient city. Summers are long, hot and dry, while the strong seasonal winds of this part of the Aegean cool the coasts and make the island a sailing centre. Winters are mild and wetter. The south-east, around Lindos, is warmer than the north.
July and August are the busiest months, when cruise passengers and day visitors fill the Old Town lanes at midday. May, June, September and October are warm enough for the beach and more comfortable for walking the walls or climbing to the acropolis of Lindos. Because Rhodes Town is a year-round city with its own residents, offices and markets, it stays open in winter, when the Old Town is at its calmest.
The Old Town suits travellers who want to sleep among the medieval sights and do not mind cobbles and stairs. The New Town around Mandraki is flatter and well connected by bus. Families wanting beaches and more space often choose Ixia, Ialysos, Kallithea or Faliraki.
May, June, September and October offer warm weather, a swimmable sea and fewer crowds than July and August, when the island is at its busiest and hottest. Winter is mild and quiet, a good time to explore the Old Town without the summer heat.
Rhodes International Airport Diagoras (RHO) is about 14 km south-west of Rhodes Town. Taxis and municipal buses connect it with the centre, and the drive is usually short outside summer traffic peaks. Resorts on the west coast, such as Ialysos, lie between the airport and the town.
Two or three days are enough for the Old Town, the Palace of the Grand Master, the walls and the Acropolis of Rhodes. With a week you can add Lindos, the Valley of the Butterflies, ancient Kamiros, beach days on the east coast and a boat trip to Symi.
Yes. Symi lies about 24 km north of Rhodes and is a popular boat trip from the town's harbours. Ferries also cross to Marmaris and Fethiye on the Turkish coast. For Turkey you need valid travel documents and should check current entry rules before you go.
Yes. In Greece, homes offered for short stays must be listed in the short-term rental registry of the tax authority, AADE, which gives each one a registration number called the AMA. Hosts have to show it visibly in their listings, while licensed tourist accommodation displays its own licence number.
Yes. Children enjoy the walls, the great gates and the Palace of the Grand Master, and the sea is close on every side. The Old Town's cobbles make strollers hard work, so families often stay in the New Town or a beach suburb and visit the walled city on day trips.
Researched and written with AI assistance, then fact-checked against the sources below. Last checked .