The Old Town of Rhodes is the walled city the Knights Hospitaller built between 1309 and 1522, later lived in by Ottomans, Jews and Greeks, and restored by the Italians in the 20th century. This guide covers eight places inside the walls, from the knights' palace to the Ottoman mosque and the old Jewish quarter. All of them sit within a short walk of each other, and the medieval town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.
Gate of Amboise
Most visitors who arrive from the New Town come in through this gate on the north-west side of the walls, next to the Palace of the Grand Master. It was built in 1512 under Grand Master Emery d'Amboise, whose coat of arms is carved above the outer entrance. To reach the town you cross a bridge over the dry moat and pass through several gateways in turn, a layout designed to slow down attackers. It is the first stop of our scavenger hunt.
Palace of the Grand Master
The Grand Masters of the Order of St John ruled Rhodes from this fortress-palace at the top of the Street of the Knights. It was built in the 14th century on the site of an older Byzantine citadel. After the Ottoman conquest of 1522 it was used as a prison and a store, and in 1856 a huge explosion of gunpowder hidden in the nearby church of St John left it in ruins.
What you see today is largely a reconstruction made by the Italian authorities, who ruled the Dodecanese from 1912 to 1943. Between 1937 and 1940 they rebuilt the palace as a residence for King Victor Emmanuel III and Mussolini, though neither ever stayed there. The interiors mix Italian-era furniture with ancient mosaics brought from the island of Kos.
- The Hellenistic and early Christian floor mosaics in the upper rooms, most of them taken from sites on Kos.
- The large inner courtyard, lined with Roman-era statues from Kos.
- The two round towers flanking the main entrance, which give the palace its castle look from the square outside.
Street of the Knights
The Street of the Knights (Ippoton) climbs in a straight line from the Hospital of the Knights to the palace. The Order was organised in national groups called tongues, and several of them had an inn along this street, where knights lived and ate. The facades are plain stone, with coats of arms, Gothic doorways and almost no shop signs, which makes it feel very different from the busy lanes around it.
- The Inn of France, the most richly decorated facade, with carved lilies and coats of arms.
- The Inns of Italy, Provence and Spain, each marked by its own heraldry.
- The arch across the street near the top, which once connected buildings on both sides.
Archaeological Museum of Rhodes
The Archaeological Museum fills the Hospital of the Knights, a large 15th-century building at the lower end of the Street of the Knights. Work started in 1440 and was completed in 1489. Patients were cared for in the long ward on the upper floor, which now displays tombstones of knights. The museum's best-known piece is the Aphrodite of Rhodes, a small marble statue of the goddess kneeling and holding up her hair, from the 1st century BC.
- The arcaded courtyard with its stone cannonballs, left over from the sieges.
- The great infirmary hall upstairs, with its wooden roof and small side rooms.
Hippocrates Square
This square with its stone fountain is where Sokratous Street, the old town's main shopping street, meets Aristotelous Street, close to the Marine Gate. On one side stands the Kastellania, a Gothic building from the early 16th century that served as the court for commercial disputes. Its outside staircase is a popular place to sit, and the square is a natural meeting point between the knights' quarter and the lower town.
Square of the Jewish Martyrs
A few steps east, in what was the Jewish quarter (La Juderia), a square remembers the Jews of Rhodes. In July 1944 the Germans deported about 1,670 Jews from Rhodes to Auschwitz-Birkenau; only around 150 survived. Since 2002 a black granite memorial has stood in the square. Its six sides recall the Star of David, and the inscription is written in six languages, including Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language of the community.
- The memorial column, with its inscription in Hebrew, Greek, English, Ladino, French and Italian.
- The fountain with bronze seahorses in the middle of the square, and the nearby Kahal Shalom synagogue, first built in 1577 and considered the oldest synagogue in Greece.
Suleymaniye Mosque and the Clock Tower
At the top of Sokratous Street stands the Suleymaniye Mosque, named after Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who took Rhodes from the knights in 1522. It was the first mosque in the town and was rebuilt in 1808 to the original design. It has been closed for worship since 2014, but its pink-painted walls and the fountain in front of it are easy to see from the street.
Right behind it rises the Clock Tower (Roloi), built in the mid-19th century on the site of an older Byzantine tower. It stands on one of the highest points of the old town, and when it is open you can climb it for a view over the domes, minarets and the palace. It is the last stop of our scavenger hunt.
How to see them in one walk
Start at the Gate of Amboise and turn straight to the Palace of the Grand Master. From the palace, walk down the Street of the Knights to the Archaeological Museum at the bottom. Continue through the lower town to Hippocrates Square, then head east into the old Jewish quarter for the Square of the Jewish Martyrs. Walk back along Sokratous Street, uphill, to finish at the Suleymaniye Mosque and the Clock Tower. The lanes are cobbled and uneven, so wear good shoes, and do the walk early or late in summer, when the stone holds the heat.
See Rhodes with World City Trail
Our Rhodes scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from the Gate of Amboise to the Medieval Clock Tower, and all eight places in this guide are stops, along with Saint Anthony's Gate and the Ibrahim Pasha Mosque. At each stop you solve a puzzle and learn a story, at your own pace.
There is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Rhodes, for people who prefer a different format.
Play the Rhodes scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Rhodes →
Play the outdoor escape game in Rhodes →
Facts checked in October 2026.