Rhodes

When Greece opened up for package holidays, the first two major islands to be developed for mass tourism were Corfu and Rhodes, and having been to both (more than once) it's easy to see why.
The island of Rhodes itself is a worthwhile destination with plenty of activities and sights to see but the jewel in the crown is definitely Rhodes town in my opinion.
The medieval walled town with it's own Crusader castle is a charming maze of cobbled streets and beautiful stone built shops, restaurants and houses. You can walk down one of the busy cobbled alleyways bustling with holiday makers, with cafes and shops catering for the tourist trade, turn a corner into an alleyway of residential houses and admire the locals having a makeshift barbeque outside, men and women deep in conversation and the children playing in the traffic free street.
Going slightly out of season shows Rhodes in it's true light, a laid back pace of life and locals happy to engage with the travellers who made the choice to come.
The harbour area is as magical as the town as you try to visualise the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world) that once towered over the harbour entrance replaced today by statues of deer atop Greek columns, also impressive in their own way.
At the height of the season Rhodes is full of package holiday guests and cruise ship passengers but the town seems to absorb them effortlessly.
…

The Medieval Town of Rhodes has been much visited and highly ranked, but not reviewed very often so far. I’ll give you a low down on the monuments, as I experienced them on my visit in early September 2022. Certainly, if you have just come from the quiet north of Greece as I did, you first have to get over the mass tourism of Rhodes. But I was out early on a Sunday so that I could explore the old town at my leisure. There is a lot to see, in a mishmash of different eras. For 10 EUR you can purchase a ‘special ticket’ that gives you entrance to the Archaeological Museum, the Grand Master's Palace and the church Panagia tou Kastrou.

City Walls To enter the old city of Rhodes, you have to defy the city walls that the Crusaders put up here. They took it seriously – I came through the Amboise gate and had to go through several layers of defense. Through a wooden gate, you eventually arrive at the Grand Master's Palace. In the early evening, I visited again, walking all the way around the city walls along the harbour, through the Bastion of St. Paul, to the Sea Gate.

Street of the Knights. Here the different countries represented under the Knights of Saint John had their seat. It is a 600 meter long dead straight street, overly restored. The coats of arms of the respective countries can still be seen on …

It's the height of summer, and Coronavirus is severely limiting my travel options, so I figured I might as well skip to a review of a site I visited last fall that many in Europe will have the opportunity to see at the 2020 World Heritage Meetup in September: The Medieval City of Rhodes.

Before my visit, I was aware of a couple facets of Rhodian history. First, this was the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the World -- the Colossus of Rhodes. This statue to the Greek sun god Helios was demolished long ago, and its exact location has been lost through the ages. Still, I walked out to the entrance to the old city harbor to imagine what it must have been like to see such a statue on an approach by sea. Indeed -- even without the statue, the medieval walls and the Palace of the Grand Master in the heart of Rhodes are rather spectacular to see from the water.

Second, and more important to its status as a World Heritage Site, Rhodes for two centuries was home to the medieval Knights Hospitalier, also known as the Order of Saint John, dedicated to caring for pilgrims en route to Jeruslem and the Holy Land. This aspect of Rhodes was what my friend I was traveling with was most interested in exploring, so after we attended an early Sunday morning service at a Greek Orthodox church, we set to exploring the vast …

Rhodes would probably easy make it into the top 25 visited list on a community site for package tour travellers. The city is stuffed with visitors from cruise ships and the nearby party destinations, like Faliraki. No need to mention that almost every building within the walls is either a restaurant, a shop or a pension. Nevertheless Rhodes is one of the most beautiful medieval cities I've seen so far. The 4km town wall is stunning. The city is set at the sea and was occupied by the Ottomans for a few centuries, creating a really special flair. Further, Rhodes island is one of the sunniest places in Europe. Chances that clouds are ruining your pictures between April and October are pretty low. Definitely worth a trip.

I visited Rhodes through an island tour stop. We spent the better part of the day here. We had a tour of the medieval city but then we explored on our own. the old city was incredible, one surprise after another as you wandered the alley ways. The area by the water was beautiful. I would suggest spending two-three days here; one went by way too fast. We also visited Lindos and I would recommend doing this. Lindos is older but holds a lot of history and is definitely worth the trip.

The city of Rhodes is fabulous. This medieval city has been restored, and is as beautiful a walled city as any of the hundreds we have seen in other countries in Europe

Near some expensive hotels there were a dozen bathing-beauties, some so poor they could only afford half of a bathing suit, so were barefoot from the waist up.

I thouroughly suggest Rhodes as a holiday place , the medieval city is absolutely amazing and very well preserved, in between the two parts of the wall , there is an open theatre where live concerts of greek artists are given , nice music, the mystic yellow lights of the castle, a night summer breeze in the air, friendly people, and charter airplanes crossing the air with their lights every 10 minutes , make Rhodes one of Greeces most dynamic and classic places. The story of this order of St Johns knights is so interesting too, now i ll be looking for some books on this matter. I absolutely enjoyed my time in this magnificent town. One bad thing only, motor bikes should be forbiden of crossing the narrow streets of the old city..the noise is bothering. Thanks!!