Is Rhodes Worth Visiting?

Rhodes carried one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World at the entrance to its harbor, and though the Colossus fell to an earthquake more than two thousand years ago, the island's medieval Old Town still stands as one of the best preserved in Europe.

Rhodes, the largest of the Dodecanese, holds a UNESCO-listed Old Town built almost entirely by the Knights Hospitaller after they arrived in 1309 following the loss of their stronghold in Jerusalem. The Street of the Knights, considered one of the best preserved medieval streets in Europe, leads to the Palace of the Grand Master, a Gothic fortress built over the ruins of an ancient temple to Helios, and the Archaeological Museum occupies the former Knights' Hospital, holding artifacts spanning 7,000 years, including a first-century marble Aphrodite.

Rhodes changed hands across Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Italian rule, and that layered history shows in details like the Mosque of Suleiman and the Kahal Kadosh Shalom Synagogue, the oldest in Greece. Outside the walls, Mandraki Harbor marks the likely site of the Colossus itself, with two column-mounted deer statues standing where its feet are thought to have rested.

South of the capital, the Acropolis of Lindos crowns a hilltop with the Temple of Athena Lindia and a dramatic view over the coast, and the ruins of ancient Kamiros and Ialysos round out the three ancient city-states that once made up the island. The Valley of the Butterflies draws thousands of Jersey tiger moths each summer to a shaded gorge with wooden bridges and waterfalls, and the island's beaches split by coast, calmer and warmer on the east, windier and better suited to water sports on the west.

Rhodes has its own international airport with year-round flights from Athens and seasonal routes from across Europe, plus ferry connections to Symi, Kos, and other Dodecanese islands. It suits history-focused travelers, beachgoers, and families alike, and its size and range give it enough to fill a week without repeating a day.