A Rhodes old town walking tour is a two to three hour guided walk through the largest inhabited medieval town in Europe, from the Knights’ quarter and the Street of the Knights down to the Ottoman Burgo and the Jewish quarter, priced from 20 euros a head. Plan the rest of the trip with Greece Tours.
This page covers the walk: what it costs, the route, the formats, the history of the Knights and the siege, every stop from the palace to the Marine Gate, the walls and how to book.
What does a Rhodes old town walking tour cost?
From 20 to 45 euros a head for a two-hour small-group walk with a licensed guide, 120 to 250 for a private walk for up to six, 35 to 60 for the eco-vehicle or trikke versions, and nothing for the self-guided route using a map.
The walking price covers the guide and the commentary, and monument entries are separate. A Rhodes old town walking tour is booked around it.
Palace of the Grand Master entry runs 9 to 18 euros depending on the season. Every Rhodes old town walking tour is routed around this.
The archaeological museum in the Knights’ Hospital costs 8 to 12 euros. The Rhodes old town walking tour listing states it plainly.
A combined ticket covers the palace, the museum and the smaller state sites. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
Children under 18 from the EU enter the state sites free.
Cruise-passenger versions from the port are timed to the ship.
What does the walking route cover?
The Freedom Gate and the Knights’ quarter, the Street of the Knights and its inns, the Palace of the Grand Master from outside, the Hospital, Sokratous Street and the Suleiman Mosque, Hippocrates Square, the Jewish quarter and the Marine Gate.
Rhodes old town is the largest inhabited medieval town in Europe. Every Rhodes old town walking tour is routed around this.
The route runs downhill from the palace to the harbour gates. The Rhodes old town walking tour listing states it plainly.
Guides link the Knights, the Ottomans and the Italians through the buildings on the way. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
Two hours covers the core and three adds the Jewish quarter and the walls. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
Most of the route runs through pedestrian lanes with no traffic.
The palace and the museum interiors are visited after the walk rather than during it.
How long does a Rhodes old town walking tour take?
Two hours for the standard guided route, three for the extended version with the Jewish quarter and the moat, 90 minutes on the eco-vehicle, and a full morning when the Palace of the Grand Master interior is added.
Distances are short and the walking totals two to three kilometres. The Rhodes old town walking tour listing states it plainly.
Stops run five to ten minutes at each monument. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
Morning departures start at 09:00 or 10:00 before the heat. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
Evening walks start two hours before sunset in summer. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
The palace interior takes another hour on its own.
Anyone short of time takes the eco-vehicle and sees the circuit in half the time.
Where does a Rhodes old town walking tour start?
At the Freedom Gate by Mandraki harbour for most small-group walks, at the Marine Gate for cruise passengers coming from the commercial port, and at Argyrokastrou Square on the routes that begin inside the Knights’ quarter.
The Freedom Gate was cut through the walls by the Italians in 1924. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
Mandraki’s taxi rank and buses sit a two-minute walk from the gate. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
The Marine Gate faces the commercial harbour where the cruise ships berth. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
Meeting points are named on the ticket with a map pin. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
Guides hold a sign or wear an identifying badge.
Arriving ten minutes early is what the operators ask for.
What is the difference between small-group and private walks?
A small-group walk caps at 10 to 20 people on a fixed route and start time; a private walk takes the party alone, sets its own start and pace, and adds or drops stops on request, at four to six times the per-head price.
Small groups suit solo travellers and couples on a budget. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
Private walks suit families, photographers and anyone with mobility needs. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
Licensed guides lead both formats and carry the state qualification. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
Private guides fit the palace interior into the route at a quiet hour. Guides raise it early on a Rhodes old town walking tour.
Parties of five or six pay about the same per head as a large shared group.
Both formats end near the harbour gates.
Can you do it self-guided?
Yes: the old town is compact, the main monuments are signposted, and printed maps and audio routes cover the Knights’ quarter and the Burgo, but the history behind the walls is where a licensed guide earns the fee.
Self-guided visitors follow the same route from the Freedom Gate downhill. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
Audio apps run 5 to 15 euros and play commentary by GPS position. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
The lanes of the Burgo are a maze and a map is essential. Guides raise it early on a Rhodes old town walking tour.
Monument signs are in Greek and English. It decides which Rhodes old town walking tour suits the party.
A self-guided walk takes longer because nobody knows the short cuts.
Many visitors walk it alone on the second day after a guided first.
What is the eco-vehicle or trikke version?
A 90-minute guided circuit on silent electric vehicles or stand-up trikke scooters, covering the Knights’ quarter, the moat road and the walls from outside, suited to visitors who want the whole circuit without the cobbles.
Trikkes are three-wheeled electric scooters ridden standing up. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
A short training session comes first and no licence is needed. Guides raise it early on a Rhodes old town walking tour.
Riders must be 16 or older on most trikke products. It decides which Rhodes old town walking tour suits the party.
The eco-vehicle version seats passengers and suits all ages. The Rhodes old town walking tour price reflects it.
Both run on the moat road where walkers do not go.
Prices run 35 to 60 euros a head.
What is the e-bike and sunset version?
A two to three hour guided e-bike ride through the medieval highlights and out along the Mandraki waterfront to the windmills, timed to finish at sunset over the harbour, priced from 45 to 70 euros.
E-bikes take the slope up to the palace without effort. Guides raise it early on a Rhodes old town walking tour.
The route leaves the old town for the seafront and the aquarium point. It decides which Rhodes old town walking tour suits the party.
Helmets and a short safety briefing are included. The Rhodes old town walking tour price reflects it.
Groups cap at eight to twelve riders. A Rhodes old town walking tour fills first on that count.
The sunset over Mandraki is the reason for the timing.
Riders must be confident on a bicycle in traffic.
Why is Rhodes old town a UNESCO site?
It was inscribed in 1988 as the finest surviving example of a Gothic urban ensemble in the eastern Mediterranean, a complete fortified town of the Knights of St John still lived in, with Byzantine, Ottoman and Italian layers intact around it.
About 6,000 people live inside the walls. It decides which Rhodes old town walking tour suits the party.
The town covers roughly 50 hectares inside four kilometres of walls. The Rhodes old town walking tour price reflects it.
The Gothic buildings are rarer here than in western Europe because they survived intact. A Rhodes old town walking tour fills first on that count.
Mosques, hammams and fountains from 400 years of Ottoman rule stand beside them. The Rhodes old town walking tour calendar is shaped by it.
Italian restorations of the 1930s rebuilt the palace and cleaned the Street of the Knights.
Guides use the inscription to explain why nothing can be built or altered freely.
Who were the Knights of St John?
A military religious order founded to run a hospital for pilgrims in Jerusalem, which took Rhodes in 1309 after being driven from the Holy Land and held it for 213 years as a fortified base against the Ottomans.
The order was also known as the Knights Hospitaller. The Rhodes old town walking tour price reflects it.
Its members came from noble families across Catholic Europe. A Rhodes old town walking tour fills first on that count.
A Grand Master elected for life ruled the order and the island. The Rhodes old town walking tour calendar is shaped by it.
The Knights ran a fleet that raided Ottoman shipping from the harbour. Guests meet it within the first Rhodes old town walking tour hour.
After Rhodes they moved to Malta and became the Knights of Malta.
Every monument on the upper half of the walk is theirs.
What was the siege of 1522?
A six-month siege by Suleiman the Magnificent with about 100,000 men against some 7,000 defenders, ending in December 1522 when the Knights surrendered on terms and sailed away with their archives and relics.
Ottoman sappers dug mines under the walls and blew breaches in the bastions. A Rhodes old town walking tour fills first on that count.
The Knights held out through repeated assaults on the English and Italian sectors. The Rhodes old town walking tour calendar is shaped by it.
Suleiman allowed the survivors to leave with honours. Guests meet it within the first Rhodes old town walking tour hour.
The Suleiman Mosque was built to mark the conquest. That is the Rhodes old town walking tour advantage over a map.
Cannonballs from the siege still lie in the moat and the palace courtyard.
Guides tell the siege at the walls and the gates.
What did the Ottomans leave?
Mosques converted from churches and built new, the Mustafa Pasha hammam, the Hafiz Ahmed Aga library, public fountains, timber balconies on the houses of the Burgo, and a street grid that housed Turks inside the walls and Greeks outside.
Greek residents had to leave the walled town at sunset under Ottoman rule. The Rhodes old town walking tour calendar is shaped by it.
Minarets rise over the lanes of the lower town. Guests meet it within the first Rhodes old town walking tour hour.
Gothic churches became mosques and kept features of both. That is the Rhodes old town walking tour advantage over a map.
The fountains carry Ottoman inscriptions and still stand in the squares. A Rhodes old town walking tour covers the walls around it.
Ottoman rule lasted from 1523 to 1912.
The Burgo half of the walk is where that layer shows most.
What did the Italian period change?
Italy took Rhodes in 1912 and held it until 1943, excavating and restoring the Knights’ monuments, rebuilding the Palace of the Grand Master, clearing Ottoman additions from the Street of the Knights and building the Mandraki new town outside the walls.
The palace we see today is largely an Italian reconstruction of the 1930s. Guests meet it within the first Rhodes old town walking tour hour.
Mussolini intended it as a residence for the King of Italy. That is the Rhodes old town walking tour advantage over a map.
The Governor’s Palace and the Evangelismos church at Mandraki are Italian. A Rhodes old town walking tour covers the walls around it.
The Freedom Gate was opened in the walls in 1924. The Rhodes old town walking tour season turns on this.
The Dodecanese joined Greece in 1947 after the war.
Guides point out which walls are medieval and which are rebuilt.
What was the Colossus of Rhodes?
A bronze statue of the sun god Helios about 33 metres tall, built from 292 to 280 BC to celebrate lifting a siege, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, which fell in an earthquake in 226 BC after 54 years.
It stood near the harbour, though not astride the entrance as legend says. That is the Rhodes old town walking tour advantage over a map.
The bronze was paid for by selling the siege equipment left behind. A Rhodes old town walking tour covers the walls around it.
The fallen statue lay in pieces for 800 years. The Rhodes old town walking tour season turns on this.
No trace of it survives and its exact site is disputed. A Rhodes old town walking tour is booked around it.
The two columns with deer at the Mandraki entrance mark the legendary spot.
Guides tell it at Mandraki at the start or end of the walk.
What is under the medieval town?
The ancient city of Rhodes, founded in 408 BC on a grid plan by Hippodamus of Miletus, whose temple of Aphrodite, streets and walls appear in excavated pits between the medieval buildings.
The temple of Aphrodite sits in the open beside Argyrokastrou Square. A Rhodes old town walking tour covers the walls around it.
The ancient acropolis stands on Monte Smith hill west of the town. The Rhodes old town walking tour season turns on this.
The medieval streets roughly follow the ancient grid in places. A Rhodes old town walking tour is booked around it.
Excavations for any new building inside the walls turn up ancient remains. Every Rhodes old town walking tour is routed around this.
The archaeological museum displays what has come out of the ground.
The acropolis is a separate stop and not part of the old town walk.
What was La Juderia?
The Jewish quarter in the south-east of the old town, home to a Sephardic community for centuries, which lost about 1,700 people to deportation to Auschwitz in July 1944, and from which about 150 survived.
Jews lived in Rhodes from the ancient period. The Rhodes old town walking tour season turns on this.
Sephardic families arrived after the expulsion from Spain in 1492. A Rhodes old town walking tour is booked around it.
The community spoke Ladino and ran schools, shops and synagogues. Every Rhodes old town walking tour is routed around this.
The deportation came weeks before the German withdrawal. The Rhodes old town walking tour listing states it plainly.
The Square of the Jewish Martyrs holds the memorial.
The extended walk spends 30 minutes in the quarter.
How is the old town divided?
Into the Collachium in the north, the walled Knights’ quarter holding the palace, the inns and the hospital, and the Burgo in the south, the larger town of merchants, Greeks, Jews and later Turks, separated by an inner wall along Sokratous Street.
The Collachium was closed to ordinary townspeople under the Knights. A Rhodes old town walking tour is booked around it.
The inner wall still runs in fragments south of the Street of the Knights. Every Rhodes old town walking tour is routed around this.
The Burgo holds most of the shops, houses and tavernas today. The Rhodes old town walking tour listing states it plainly.
The walk crosses from one to the other at Hippocrates Square. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
Guides use the division to explain who lived where and why.
Visitors who know the split read the whole town more easily.
What stops does the walk make in the Knights’ quarter?
The Palace of the Grand Master at the top, the Street of the Knights with its seven inns, the Hospital of the Knights, the church of Our Lady of the Castle, Argyrokastrou Square, the temple of Aphrodite and Symi Square inside the Freedom Gate.
The quarter is walked in 45 minutes at a guided pace. Every Rhodes old town walking tour is routed around this.
All the major Knights’ buildings stand within 300 metres of each other. The Rhodes old town walking tour listing states it plainly.
The route climbs gently from Symi Square to the palace. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
Coats of arms carved over the doorways identify the knights who built them. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
The quarter empties of shops and fills with Gothic stone above the hospital.
Evening walks see the Street of the Knights almost deserted.
Why does the Street of the Knights have inns?
The Knights were organised into seven Tongues by language, France, Provence, Auvergne, Italy, Aragon, England and Germany, and each Tongue had its own inn on the street where its knights ate, met and received guests.
The Inn of France is the most decorated, with lilies carved on the facade. The Rhodes old town walking tour listing states it plainly.
The street runs 200 metres uphill from the hospital to the palace. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
Italian restoration removed the Ottoman balconies added over four centuries. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
The inns house offices and consulates and are closed to visitors. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
The facades and the coats of arms are the stop.
The street is one of the best-preserved medieval streets in Europe.
What does the walk show at the Palace of the Grand Master?
The fortified facade with its twin towers, the history of the Grand Masters who ruled from it, the explosion of 1856 that destroyed the original, the Italian rebuilding, and the Hellenistic and Roman mosaics laid inside its halls.
A gunpowder store in a nearby church exploded in 1856 and levelled the building. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
The Italians rebuilt it on the old plan and filled it with mosaics from Kos. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
Most walks stop outside and send guests inside afterwards. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
The courtyard holds statues from the ancient city. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
Entry runs 9 to 18 euros depending on the season.
Private walks add the interior with the guide.
What is the Hospital of the Knights?
The fifteenth-century hospital of the order, a Gothic building around an arcaded courtyard with a vast ward on the upper floor, which now houses the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes and its Aphrodite of Rhodes statue.
Caring for the sick was the order’s founding purpose. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
The upper ward held patients in curtained beds under a timber roof. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
The museum’s kneeling Aphrodite is its best-known piece. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
Grave stelae and Mycenaean finds from Ialyssos fill the rooms.
Entry runs 8 to 12 euros and a visit takes an hour.
The building stands at the foot of the Street of the Knights.
What is Our Lady of the Castle?
A Byzantine church rebuilt by the Knights as their Gothic cathedral, converted to a mosque by the Ottomans, and now the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Museum holding frescoes and icons from the island’s churches.
The building shows its three lives in its arches, its mihrab niche and its fresco fragments. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
It stands opposite the Hospital at the bottom of the knights’ quarter. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
Frescoes from abandoned island chapels were moved here for protection. Guides raise it early on a Rhodes old town walking tour.
Entry is included on the combined ticket.
A visit takes 30 minutes.
Guides use it to show how one building passed through every ruler.
What is Argyrokastrou Square?
A small square beside the Hospital with a Byzantine baptismal font turned into a fountain, the Inn of Auvergne, the Armeria building of the Institute of History and Archaeology, and the start of many walks inside the Knights’ quarter.
The fountain was assembled by the Italians from a Byzantine font. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
The Inn of Auvergne stands on one side with its outside staircase. Guides raise it early on a Rhodes old town walking tour.
The square is quiet in the morning and the best photograph of Gothic Rhodes. It decides which Rhodes old town walking tour suits the party.
The temple of Aphrodite ruins lie a minute’s walk north.
Guides gather groups here out of the traffic of Symi Square.
The Museum of Decorative Arts sits on the square.
What is Kleovoulou Square?
A quiet square at the foot of the Palace of the Grand Master, shaded by plane trees and lined with cafe tables, where the walls, the palace towers and the lanes of the upper town meet, and a common rest stop before the walk turns downhill.
The square sits just inside the western walls. Guides raise it early on a Rhodes old town walking tour.
The d’Amboise Gate leads out to the moat road a short walk away. It decides which Rhodes old town walking tour suits the party.
Morning shade here makes it the coolest stop on a summer walk. The Rhodes old town walking tour price reflects it.
Guides pause here to set the scene before the palace.
Orfeos Street runs from it past the clock tower and towards Sokratous.
Cafes on the square open early for walkers.
What is Sokratous Street?
The main commercial street of the old town, running downhill from the Suleiman Mosque to Hippocrates Square, lined with shops selling leather, jewellery, sponges and ceramics in buildings that were the Ottoman bazaar.
The street follows the line of the inner wall that divided the Knights from the town. It decides which Rhodes old town walking tour suits the party.
It is the busiest lane inside the walls from mid-morning. The Rhodes old town walking tour price reflects it.
An old Ottoman coffee house still operates halfway down the street. A Rhodes old town walking tour fills first on that count.
Cruise days fill it shoulder to shoulder by 11:00.
The walk passes through it rather than stopping on it.
Early starts see the shutters still down and the stone empty.
What is the Suleiman Mosque?
A pink-domed mosque at the top of Sokratous Street built in 1522 to mark Suleiman’s conquest, rebuilt in 1808, with a Venetian-style portal reused from a church and a minaret taken down for safety, now restored but rarely open.
The mosque stands on the site of the church of the Holy Apostles. The Rhodes old town walking tour price reflects it.
Its restoration ran for years after structural damage. A Rhodes old town walking tour fills first on that count.
The exterior and the portal are the stop on the walk. The Rhodes old town walking tour calendar is shaped by it.
The Hafiz Ahmed Aga library stands directly across the lane.
The square in front is the meeting point for the Burgo walks.
It is the most photographed Ottoman building in the town.
What is the Hafiz Ahmed Aga library?
An Ottoman library founded in 1793 opposite the Suleiman Mosque, holding more than 1,000 Arabic, Persian and Turkish manuscripts, including an account of the 1522 siege and illuminated Korans.
Hafiz Ahmed Aga was an Ottoman official born on Rhodes. A Rhodes old town walking tour fills first on that count.
The reading room and courtyard open on limited hours. The Rhodes old town walking tour calendar is shaped by it.
The siege chronicle is one of the few Ottoman accounts of 1522. Guests meet it within the first Rhodes old town walking tour hour.
Entry is free or by small donation when it is open.
Walks stop at its door and continue if it is closed.
It is one of the least-known buildings on the route.
What is the Mustafa Pasha hammam?
A Turkish bath of 1558 on Arionos Square in the Burgo, one of the few historic hammams in Greece still working, with domed hot rooms, marble basins and separate men’s and women’s sections.
The bath was built by Mustafa Pasha and extended in later centuries. The Rhodes old town walking tour calendar is shaped by it.
Its opening days vary and the guides confirm them on the day. Guests meet it within the first Rhodes old town walking tour hour.
Entry for a bath costs 5 to 10 euros. That is the Rhodes old town walking tour advantage over a map.
Walks stop at the entrance and explain the bathing ritual.
Guests who want to bathe return separately with a towel.
Arionos Square is a quiet corner off the busy lanes.
What is Hippocrates Square?
The square at the bottom of Sokratous Street with the Sintrivani fountain in the middle, the Castellania merchants’ court of 1507 on one side, and the Marine Gate a few steps away, where the Knights’ town met the harbour trade.
The Castellania was the commercial court and exchange of the order. Guests meet it within the first Rhodes old town walking tour hour.
Its upper floor holds the municipal library. That is the Rhodes old town walking tour advantage over a map.
The fountain is a meeting point and the square fills with cafes. A Rhodes old town walking tour covers the walls around it.
Streets branch from it into the Jewish quarter to the east.
Many walks end here or at the Marine Gate beside it.
The square is named after Hippocrates of nearby Kos.
What is the Kahal Shalom synagogue?
The oldest synagogue in Greece still standing, built in 1577 on Simiou Street in the Jewish quarter, with a small museum of the Rhodes Jewish community and the names of the deported written on its walls.
The synagogue survived the war because it was the one left standing in the quarter. That is the Rhodes old town walking tour advantage over a map.
The museum covers daily life, emigration and the 1944 deportation. A Rhodes old town walking tour covers the walls around it.
Entry runs a few euros and the visit takes 30 minutes. The Rhodes old town walking tour season turns on this.
The building is open in the tourist season on set hours.
Modest dress is expected inside.
The extended walk includes it with the memorial square.
What is the Square of the Jewish Martyrs?
A square in the Jewish quarter with a seahorse fountain and a black granite memorial to the 1,604 Jews of Rhodes and Kos deported in 1944, built on the site of houses destroyed by bombing.
The memorial carries inscriptions in Greek, English, French, Hebrew, Italian and Ladino. A Rhodes old town walking tour covers the walls around it.
The Archbishop’s palace of the Knights period faces the square. The Rhodes old town walking tour season turns on this.
Tavernas and cafes now sit under the plane trees around it. A Rhodes old town walking tour is booked around it.
Guides stop here to tell the deportation story.
The square is ten minutes’ walk from Hippocrates Square.
It is the closing stop on the extended walks.
What is the Clock Tower?
A seventeenth-century Ottoman clock tower rebuilt in 1851 on the line of the inner wall near the palace, which visitors climb for the best rooftop view of the old town, the palace and the harbour.
The tower stands on Orfeos Street between the palace and Sokratous. The Rhodes old town walking tour season turns on this.
Entry costs a few euros and includes a drink at the bar below. A Rhodes old town walking tour is booked around it.
The climb is short on narrow stairs. Every Rhodes old town walking tour is routed around this.
The view covers every dome and minaret in the town.
It is the highest point inside the walls open to the public.
Walks point it out and leave the climb for later.
What are the city walls?
A circuit of about four kilometres built and thickened by the Knights from the fourteenth century to resist gunpowder artillery, up to 12 metres thick in places, with bastions assigned to each Tongue and eleven gates, most still in use.
The walls were rebuilt after the failed Ottoman siege of 1480. A Rhodes old town walking tour is booked around it.
Each national Tongue defended its own stretch, the Post of England or the Post of Italy. Every Rhodes old town walking tour is routed around this.
The bastions were angled to deflect cannon fire, then a new idea in fortification. The Rhodes old town walking tour listing states it plainly.
The walls survived 1522 largely intact because the Knights surrendered.
They are among the best-preserved medieval fortifications in Europe.
Walks view them from inside and the trikke versions ride below them in the moat.
Can you walk on the walls?
Only on a guided section opened at set times from the Palace of the Grand Master along the western walls, and the schedule changes by season, so guides confirm it on the day.
The wall walk gives the only elevated view of the moat and the town roofs together. Every Rhodes old town walking tour is routed around this.
It runs between the palace and the St Anthony Gate area. The Rhodes old town walking tour listing states it plainly.
Access is closed in strong wind and on some days of the week. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
The path is uneven with no railings in places.
Children must be accompanied at all times.
Private walks fit the section in when it is open.
What is the moat?
A wide, deep dry ditch running outside the landward walls, now a grassy park with walking paths, cannonballs from the sieges lying in the grass, and the best place to see the scale of the defences.
The moat was never filled with water on the landward side. The Rhodes old town walking tour listing states it plainly.
Stone cannonballs from 1480 and 1522 are piled along the path. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
The path runs along the western and southern walls between the gates. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
The moat path is shaded in the morning and hot at noon.
Entry is free and it is walked from the d’Amboise Gate.
The trikke and eco-vehicle tours run through it.
What are the gates?
The d’Amboise Gate by the palace, St Anthony’s Gate, the Marine Gate facing the harbour, St Catherine’s Gate, the Koskinou or St John’s Gate on the south-east, the Arsenal Gate, St Paul’s Gate by Mandraki, and the Freedom Gate cut by the Italians in 1924.
The d’Amboise Gate of 1512 is the grandest landward entrance. This is what a Rhodes old town walking tour delivers.
It crosses the moat on a stone bridge with a triple defensive passage. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
The Koskinou Gate leads out towards the south-eastern suburbs. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
St Paul’s Gate opens onto the Mandraki side of the walls.
The gates are free and open at all hours.
Guides choose the start and end gates by the meeting point.
What is the Marine Gate?
The harbour entrance of 1478 facing the commercial port, flanked by two round towers with a relief of the Virgin, St John and St Peter above the arch, and the gate cruise passengers walk through into the old town.
The gate is also called the Sea Gate. Rhodes old town walking tour guides prepare for it.
It was the ceremonial entrance for ships arriving at the Knights’ harbour. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
Hippocrates Square sits a few steps inside it. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
The cruise terminal lies a ten-minute walk along the quay.
It is the most photographed gate from the waterfront.
Walks for cruise guests start and end here.
What is Mandraki harbour on the walk?
The small harbour just north of the walls where the Colossus legend is placed, marked by the bronze deer on two columns at its entrance, lined by the three windmills on its mole and closed by the fort of St Nicholas at its tip.
The deer are the symbol of Rhodes and stand where the legend puts the Colossus. A Rhodes old town walking tour settles this at the gate.
Excursion boats to Lindos and Symi leave from the quay. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
The Italian buildings of the new town face the harbour. Guides raise it early on a Rhodes old town walking tour.
The New Market with its cafes stands opposite the Freedom Gate.
Most walks begin or end here with the Colossus story.
The windmills are a ten-minute walk along the mole.
What does the old and new town walk add?
The Italian-built Mandraki waterfront, the Governor’s Palace, the Evangelismos church, the Murad Reis Mosque and cemetery, the National Theatre and the northern tip of the city at the Aquarium, over three hours.
The Italian buildings mix Venetian Gothic, Moorish and rationalist styles. The Rhodes old town walking tour route is set by it.
The Murad Reis cemetery holds Ottoman graves under eucalyptus trees. Guides raise it early on a Rhodes old town walking tour.
The Aquarium at the northern tip is an Italian building of 1930s design. It decides which Rhodes old town walking tour suits the party.
Elli beach and the Casino sit along the route.
The walk shows how the Italians built a second city outside the walls.
It suits visitors who have already seen the medieval town.
What do you eat on a Rhodes old town walking tour?
Pitaroudia chickpea fritters, melekouni sesame and honey bars, Rhodian souma spirit, loukoumades, local wine, and meze at the tavernas of the Jewish quarter and around Hippocrates Square, with food versions adding five to seven tastings.
Melekouni is traditionally made for weddings and baptisms. Guides raise it early on a Rhodes old town walking tour.
Souma is the island’s grape spirit, stronger than ouzo and without anise. It decides which Rhodes old town walking tour suits the party.
Food walks cost 55 to 90 euros and replace lunch. The Rhodes old town walking tour price reflects it.
Tavernas inside the walls charge more than those in the new town.
The quieter lanes of the Burgo hide the better-value places.
Vegetarian tastings are arranged when the booking says so.
Is the old town easy to walk?
The lanes are paved in black-and-white pebble mosaic and uneven stone, the Knights’ quarter climbs gently to the palace, and there are steps at the gates, so comfortable closed shoes matter and wheelchair access is limited to the main streets.
The pebble paving is slippery when polished by feet or wet. It decides which Rhodes old town walking tour suits the party.
Sokratous and the Street of the Knights are the smoothest routes. The Rhodes old town walking tour price reflects it.
The Burgo lanes narrow and twist with steps and ramps. A Rhodes old town walking tour fills first on that count.
The eco-vehicle version suits visitors with limited mobility.
Benches and cafe stops break the route every few hundred metres.
Guides adapt the route when the booking names mobility needs.
When is the best time for a Rhodes old town walking tour?
April to June and September to October for 20 to 28 degrees, morning departures at 09:00 or evening walks after 18:00 in July and August when the stone streets reach 35 degrees at midday, and weekdays without a cruise ship in port.
Cruise days bring thousands of passengers into the lanes by mid-morning. The Rhodes old town walking tour price reflects it.
Cruise schedules are published by the port and the guides check them. A Rhodes old town walking tour fills first on that count.
Evening walks see the Street of the Knights lit and nearly empty. The Rhodes old town walking tour calendar is shaped by it.
Winter walks run on request and the monuments keep shorter hours.
Spring brings wildflowers to the moat and mild days for the walls.
Booking a day ahead covers every month.
What do you bring on a Rhodes old town walking tour?
Closed walking shoes for the pebble paving, a hat and water in summer, covered shoulders for the churches and the synagogue, a card or cash for the monument entries, and a phone or camera with space for the Street of the Knights.
Sandals slide on the polished pebbles. A Rhodes old town walking tour fills first on that count.
Shade covers the narrow Burgo lanes and not the open squares. The Rhodes old town walking tour calendar is shaped by it.
Water is sold at every square and the old fountains are not for drinking. Guests meet it within the first Rhodes old town walking tour hour.
Monument tickets take cards at the main sites.
A light scarf covers shoulders for the religious buildings.
Guides carry water on the summer departures.
Is a Rhodes old town walking tour good for families?
Yes: two hours on foot inside a real castle town with walls, gates, cannonballs and a palace, stories of knights and sieges, free state-site entry for EU under 18s, and cafes on every square for breaks.
The moat and the cannonballs are the stops children remember. The Rhodes old town walking tour calendar is shaped by it.
Pushchairs manage the main streets and struggle in the Burgo lanes. Guests meet it within the first Rhodes old town walking tour hour.
The eco-vehicle version suits families with small children. That is the Rhodes old town walking tour advantage over a map.
The trikke version is limited to riders aged 16 and over.
Private walks let a family shorten the route and add ice cream.
Evening walks avoid the heat that tires children fastest.
Can you do a Rhodes old town walking tour on a cruise call?
Yes, and it is the most booked cruise excursion on Rhodes: the terminal is a ten-minute walk from the Marine Gate, a two-hour walk fits inside any call, and private guides meet passengers at the terminal gate.
Ship excursions cost roughly double the independent walks. Guests meet it within the first Rhodes old town walking tour hour.
Independent guides time the walk to the all-aboard hour. That is the Rhodes old town walking tour advantage over a map.
Lindos is 50 kilometres away and does not fit with a full walk on a short call. A Rhodes old town walking tour covers the walls around it.
Starting early beats the passengers of the other ships.
Two to four ships a day call in high season.
The walk ends back at the Marine Gate beside the terminal.
How does it compare with a Lindos day trip?
The old town walk is two to three hours inside a medieval Knights’ city; the Lindos trip is a half or full day to a whitewashed village under an ancient acropolis 50 kilometres south. They answer different questions and many visitors do both on separate days.
Rhodes town is the Gothic and Ottoman story and Lindos is the ancient one. That is the Rhodes old town walking tour advantage over a map.
Lindos involves a steep climb to the acropolis in the heat. A Rhodes old town walking tour covers the walls around it.
Boats run to Lindos from Mandraki as well as coaches. The Rhodes old town walking tour season turns on this.
The old town walk needs no transport from most town hotels.
A first day in the old town explains the island before Lindos.
The island-wide day sits at Rhodes catamaran cruise.
What are the common Rhodes old town walking tour mistakes?
Walking in at noon on a cruise day, wearing sandals on polished pebbles, staying on Sokratous Street and missing the Knights’ quarter and the Jewish quarter, and assuming the Palace of the Grand Master is medieval when most of it is an Italian rebuild.
Midday on a cruise day is the hottest and most crowded moment in the town. A Rhodes old town walking tour covers the walls around it.
The pebble paving is where most slips happen. The Rhodes old town walking tour season turns on this.
The shop street is the least interesting part of the old town. A Rhodes old town walking tour is booked around it.
The palace story is more interesting once the rebuild is understood.
The fifth is leaving no time for the moat and the gates.
A guided morning walk avoids all five.
How do you book a Rhodes old town walking tour?
Book a day or two ahead in summer and on the morning itself out of season. Small groups cap at 10 to 20, private walks confirm the route and start time at booking, and cruise walks state the ship and the all-aboard hour.
Operators confirm the meeting point by message the evening before. The Rhodes old town walking tour season turns on this.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead is standard on the platform listings. A Rhodes old town walking tour is booked around it.
Monument entries are named on the listing where they are included. Every Rhodes old town walking tour is routed around this.
Groups of five or more take a private quote rather than separate places.
Mobility needs go on the booking so the route can adapt.
The water side of the island sits at Rhodes jet ski.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Rhodes old town walking tour cost?
From 20 to 45 euros a head for a two-hour small-group walk with a licensed guide, 120 to 250 for a private walk for up to six, and 35 to 60 for the eco-vehicle or trikke versions. Monument entries are separate.
How long does the walk take?
Two hours for the standard route from the Freedom Gate through the Knights’ quarter to Hippocrates Square, three with the Jewish quarter and the moat, and a full morning with the Palace of the Grand Master interior.
Is the Palace of the Grand Master medieval?
Only in plan. A gunpowder explosion destroyed the original in 1856, and the Italians rebuilt it in the 1930s on the old footprint and filled it with Hellenistic and Roman mosaics brought from Kos.