Rhodes Information

Rhodes Island General Information

Rhodes is the largest settlement and capital city of the island of the same name. It is famous as the former site of the Colossus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Rhodes is the largest island in the Dodecanese. Its capital city, located at its northern tip, is the capital of the Prefecture with the Medieval Town in its centre. In 1988 the Medieval Town was designated as a World Heritage City. The Medieval Town of Rhodes is the result of different architectures belonging to various historic eras, predominantly those of the Knights of St. John.

The island of Rhodes is located at the crossroads of two major sea routes of the Mediterranean between the Aegean Sea and the coast of the Middle East, as well as Cyprus and Egypt. The meeting point of three continents, it has known many civilizations.

Throughout its long history the different people who settled on Rhodes left their mark in all aspects of the island's culture: art, language, architecture. Its strategic position brought to the island great wealth and made the city of Rhodes one of the leading cities of the ancient Greek world.

For the traveler, Rhodes City falls into four more or less distinct areas. The most important by far for most visitors is Rhodes Old Town, still enclosed by its medieval wall. Rhodes New Town, north and west of the Old Town, is an extensive and fairly non-descript modern city.

The New Town's eastern waterfront, comprising the Commercial Harbor, the yacht and ferry Mandhraki Harbor, and extensive Elli Beach may count as separate area. Finally, the Acropolis of Rhodes, the ruins of the ancient city, are about 2 km southwest of the Old Town.