2 days in Rhodes

Day by day

1. Day 1: Palace of the Grand Master and Street of the Knights

   Palace of the Grand Master, Street of the Knights, Old Town walls and moat and Archaeological Museum of Rhodes, then Mandraki Harbour in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Palace of the Grand Master

      It was wrecked by an explosion in 1856 and rebuilt by the Italians in the 1930s, who furnished it with Roman and early Christian mosaic floors brought from Kos. The ground floor holds exhibitions on ancient and medieval Rhodes.

   2. Late morning

      Street of the Knights

      The façades still carry coats of arms, and the Inn of France is the most ornate. It is one of the best-preserved medieval streets in Europe.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Pitaroudia

      Village tavernas and traditional mezedopoleia in the Old Town; ask for them by name if they are not on the menu.

   4. Afternoon

      Old Town walls and moat

      The wide, grassy dry moat between the inner and outer walls makes a shaded walk that shows the scale of the defences that held off the Ottomans until 1522.

   5. Late afternoon

      Archaeological Museum of Rhodes

      The arcaded courtyard and the infirmary hall upstairs are worth the visit on their own.

   6. Evening

      Mandraki Harbour

      Walk the mole to the windmills and the fort at sunset, then eat souvlaki at the New Market stalls.

2. Day 2: Acropolis of Lindos and Lindos village and St Paul's Bay

   Acropolis of Lindos, Lindos village and St Paul's Bay, Monte Smith and the Acropolis of Rhodes and Kallithea Springs, then Orfanidou Street, New Town in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Acropolis of Lindos

      At the foot of the final staircase, a relief of a warship's stern is carved into the rock. The views over St Paul's Bay and the village are the reason most people make the climb.

   2. Late morning

      Lindos village and St Paul's Bay

      Below the acropolis, St Paul's Bay is an almost enclosed lagoon with a small white chapel, where tradition says the apostle Paul landed.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Symi shrimp

      Seafood tavernas in Rhodes Town and on Symi itself, where they are a point of local pride.

   4. Afternoon

      Monte Smith and the Acropolis of Rhodes

      The open site is unfenced in places and the hilltop is the town's favourite sunset spot, looking out over the sea towards the Turkish coast.

   5. Late afternoon

      Kallithea Springs

      It has appeared in several films and is a popular wedding and photo spot.

   6. Evening

      Orfanidou Street, New Town

      Rhodes Town's 'Bar Street', a run of music bars and clubs near Elli Beach that stay busy until the early hours in summer.

If it rains

• Swap in Rhodes Aquarium (Rhodes New Town): It takes under an hour, so combine it with a swim at Elli Beach next door.
• Swap in Kahal Shalom Synagogue and the Jewish Quarter (Rhodes Old Town): Look for the museum's family photographs and records; volunteers can often help descendants trace names.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 12–16 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 9.7 hours in December to 14.6 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Bus. KTEL and RODA buses leave from stops beside the New Market (Nea Agora) next to Mandraki Harbour.

More or fewer days

• One day in Rhodes
• 3 days in Rhodes
• 5 days in Rhodes

Questions travellers ask