Explora Journeys in Rhodes

Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands, and its medieval Old Town is the largest inhabited fortified town in Europe, built by the Knights of St John in the 14th and 15th centuries and protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the cruise dock the city walls are essentially in front of you, so the entire knightly quarter, the harbor where the Colossus is said to have stood, and an archaeological museum housed in a Gothic hospital are all on foot. It earns the day because the Old Town is a complete, lived-in medieval city you can read in an afternoon, with Lindos as the road option for those who want a second act.

What to do on a day in Rhodes

• Palace of the Grand Master, the rebuilt knights' fortress with Roman and early-Christian mosaic floors brought from Kos
• Street of the Knights (Ippoton), one of the best-preserved medieval streets in Europe, lined with the inns of the knightly tongues
• Archaeological Museum of Rhodes, set inside the 15th-century Hospital of the Knights, home to the Aphrodite of Rhodes
• Mandraki Harbour, where the bronze deer Elafos and Elafina mark the spot popularly tied to the Colossus (the giant statue is long gone and likely never stood here, but the harbor and Venetian windmills are the real draw)
• The Marine Gate and a walk along the moat and city walls for the scale of the fortifications
• Lindos and its clifftop Acropolis with the Temple of Athena Lindia, about an hour south by road, for those choosing the excursion over the Old Town

Getting ashore

Large ships use the commercial harbor at Akandia, roughly a 15-20 minute walk (about 1 km) to the Old Town gates such as St John's Gate or the Marine Gate. The route is flat, well marked and busy with other passengers, and once inside, the Old Town is a pedestrian maze you cover entirely on foot. One day handles the Old Town thoroughly, or the Old Town in the morning plus Lindos by afternoon if you are willing to drive.

When to book the ship's excursion vs your own →

Weather and when to visit

• May to June (late spring). Warm and dry, typical highs around 25-28C (high 70s to low 80s F), low rainfall, ideal for walking the walls and lanes before the deep heat arrives.
• July to August (peak summer). Hot, with highs around 31-33C (upper 80s to low 90s F) and almost no rain; the meltemi wind can take the edge off, but midday in the stone streets is intense.
• September to October (autumn). Warm and still largely dry, highs easing from the high 20s back toward the mid 20s C, sea warm into October, among the most comfortable windows for sightseeing.