There are three different ways to walk the old town walls of Rhodes: on top, along, and within. Each way offers its own views and perspectives of the Old Town Rhodes, and I did all three options on my visit to Rhodes in early August. The old walls were built in the medieval era by the Knights of St. John using Byzantine structures. The walls are a UNESCO heritage site, and they span four kilometers with the walls offering a "double" layer of defense and a dry moat that visitors can walk inside and find little areas between the walls. Along the walls are several bastions and some gateways into the old city. The city needed to be defended against the Ottomans; Rhodes is very close to Turkey (the Ottoman Empire).
In addition to walking within the walls along the dry moat, visitors can walk on top of the walls with the only entrance being near the palace and the exit about 2/3rds of the way around. The exterior of the walls can also be walked completely around from the docks to parkland with views over the outer wall.
My first walk was along the outside of the walls themselves, which I started from near the Gate of Saint Athanasios. The gate was built in the mid-1400s by the Italians, and the Ottomans gained entry to the old town here but were later chased away.
Next is the Gate is the Gate of St. John, which was dyed red by blood of those who were killed here.
I found my way around the top of th walls to walk along and look down into the moat.
I discovered a sculpture in a little park area here.
This is a nice point to get a good view of the impressive walls and structures, and there are several shadey areas along the way, so it is a perfect walk to do during the mid day as it offers areas of shade.
Some of the bastions have sculptures remaining on the outside and above the gates. The below is a depiction of Mary and child on the Bastion of England.
Th western part of the walls offered some nice views of the Virgin Mary tower and bastion with bastion of England protecting the tower. It was a strategic important bastion for the defense of the city.
The Bastion of Spain
This is a good view of the outer section of the walls.
D'Amboise gate is close to the palace.
Saint George Bastion
The various bridges or gates over the dry moat offer some nice views of the walls and walks.
The next walk that I did was the old town walls walk, which costs a small fee. Visitors need to purchase a ticket from the Grand Master Palace, and the walls close by about 16:00, and the tour is one way from just near the entrance to the palace.
There are lovely views over the city walls here as this is the internal wall with views over the city and all the way to the docks. The outer wall walk is good to see the outer walls and views, but this wall walk (with the fee) allows visitors to see the town and walk the walls. Note that there isn't any shade, so make sure you carry water with you.
On this walk, you can visit some of the bastion ruins and view them.
There are good views of the clock tower and some mosques.
There is also a nice view of the palace.
I believe this is the bastion of Auvergne.
The walls are quite exposed to the sunlight.
There are information panels along the wall walk to read that tell of the history of the walls, those who defended them, and when the walls saw action.
There were places to view the wall structure.
Rhodes can be busy with cruise ships. I saw a couple of them from the walls.
During the wall walk, one couple informed about the moat walk and an ampitheatre. I decided to take a look, but it wasn't an old one but a modern one for events.
I didn't walk the full way around the moat as it also was not shaded, and I did try to find my way out but found I was getting lost in the maze between the two walls. There are some parts where you have to walk through and underneath the walls, so it isn't that easy. I wanted to walk further to get out, but I was not sure how long it would take me or if I would be blocked. I was also worried about being on my own in a remote location where there's no means of escape and the fact that it was now later in the afternoon.
I did explore some of the other parts of the moat earlier too, and there are cannons and cannonballs scattered around.
I did enjoy these walks as they allowed me a unique vantage of seeing Rhodes Old Town and its history. I recommend the walk, but make sure to take water and wear comfortable shoes.
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