Rhodes' Old Town is rare indeed in retaining its 500-year-old fortifications all but intact. On weekdays, visitors can grasp their sheer scale by walking a broad, grassy (and largely unrailed) 1km stretch of the ramparts, from the Grand Master’s palace to St John’s Gate. There’s no shade, but you get superb views of the domes, minarets and gardens within the Old Town; look out across the deep surrounding moat, and pass the massive, sealed-off Bastion of St George.
Old Town Walls
Rhodes Town
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
25.39 MILES
A short, steep-stepped footpath climbs the rocky 116m-high headland above the village to reach Lindos’ beautifully preserved Acropolis. First fortified in…
0.21 MILES
A weathered, sun-kissed stone lion, visible from the street, invites visitors into the magnificent 15th-century Knights' Hospital that holds Rhodes’…
18.44 MILES
Cradled in a natural hillside amphitheatre 1km up from the sea, the remarkably complete ruins of ancient Kamiros stand 34km southwest of Rhodes Town…
0.12 MILES
Essentially an occupying army, the Knights of St John transformed the northern segment of the Old Town during the 14th and 15th centuries, to create what…
0.04 MILES
From the outside, this magnificent castle-like palace looks much as it did when erected by the 14th-century Knights Hospitaller. During the 19th century,…
0.14 MILES
Austere and somewhat forbidding, the Street of the Knights (Ippoton) was home from the 14th century to the Knights Hospitaller who ruled Rhodes. The…
0.18 MILES
The Old Town’s central commercial and residential district, south of the Street of the Knights, is known as the Hora. Having acquired its current…
11.67 MILES
The so-called Valley of the Butterflies, 7km up from the west coast, and 32km southwest of Rhodes Town, is a major day-trip destination for package…
Nearby Rhodes Town attractions
0.01 MILES
The innermost gate that leads into the Old Town near the palace, an impressive 200m walk in from the D’Amboise Gate. Italian troops entered Rhodes along…
0.03 MILES
The path at the foot of the stairway that drops from the arch alongside St Anthony’s Gate passes through a 30m tunnel in the walls to reach the broadest…
0.04 MILES
From the outside, this magnificent castle-like palace looks much as it did when erected by the 14th-century Knights Hospitaller. During the 19th century,…
0.06 MILES
Set in the northwestern flank of the citadel walls, and completed in 1512 under the rule of Grand Master Emery d'Amboise, the most impressive approach to…
0.08 MILES
Four coats of arms on the Inn of Provence form the shape of a cross. After Rhodes fell to the Ottomans, the building became a hammam (Turkish bath), while…
0.09 MILES
Commanding the highest point in the Old Town, this sturdy clocktower offers a tremendous panorama. Dating originally from the 7th century, it was damaged…
0.1 MILES
Halfway up the Street of the Knights, the Inn of Spain is the largest inn of all. Its two connected wings were built under Grand Master Antoine Fluvian …
0.11 MILES
Rhodes' Old Town bears many legacies from its Ottoman past. Many churches were converted to mosques during the Turkish era, and even more Muslim houses of…