Things to do in Dodecanese
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Rhodes Town Beach
The town beach begins north of Mandraki and continues around the island's northernmost point and down the west side of the New Town. The best spots will depend on the prevailing winds but tend to be on the east side.
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Municipal Athletics Organisation
In recent years Kalymnos has become something of a mecca for rock climbers. Some spectacular limestone walls backing the resorts now attract legions of climbers looking for seriously challenging extreme sport. There are about 21 documented climbs awaiting the adventurous, pulling in visitors from as early as March onwards. The Municipal Athletics Organisation is a good place to start for the full low-down.
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Indigo
You wouldn't expect to find quality in among the fast-food joints of the New Market. But there is Indigo. Salads feature strongly: the Indigo salad with croutons, rocket, walnut, lettuce oil and garlic entices, as does a 'playful chicken' salad made up of chicken strips in vegetables and a hazelnut salad with blue cheese. Subtle and scrumptious at the same time.
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Museum
Menetes has a small but well-presented Museum on the right as you come in from Pigadia. Opening hours are upon request - the owner of Taverna Manolis will open it up for you.
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Dionysos Fiesta
Take a break at Dionysos Fiesta, specialising in local dishes, including an omelette made with artichokes and Karpathian sausages.
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Avenue of the Knights
An appropriate place to begin an exploration of the Old Town is the imposing cobblestone Avenue of the Knights where the knights lived. The knights were divided into seven 'tongues' or languages, according to their place of origin - England, France, Germany, Italy, Aragon, Auvergne and Provence - and each were responsible for protecting a section of the bastion. The Grand Master, who was in charge, lived in the palace, and each tongue was under the auspices of a bailiff.
To this day the street exudes a noble and forbidding aura, despite modern offices now occupying most of the inns. Its lofty buildings stretch in a 600m-long unbroken wall of honey-coloured stone blocks, a…
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Nisyros Volcano
There are five craters in the caldera of Greece's only active volcano. A path descends into the largest one, Stefanos, where you can examine the multicoloured fumaroles, listen to their hissing and smell their sulphurous vapours. The surface is soft and hot, making sturdy footwear essential.
The islanders call the second and smaller, yet wilder crater Polyvotis because, during the Great War between the gods and the Titans, the Titan Polyvotis annoyed Poseidon so much that the god tore off a chunk of Kos and threw it at him. This rock pinned Polyvotis under it and became the island of Nisyros. The hapless Polyvotis from that day forth has been groaning and sighing while tr…
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Acropolis of Rhodes
The Acropolis of Rhodes was the site of the ancient Hellenistic city of Rhodes. The hill is named after the English admiral Sir Sydney Smith, who watched for Napoleon's fleet from here in 1802. It has superb views.
The restored 2nd-century-AD stadium once staged competitions in preparation for the Olympic Games. The adjacent theatre is a reconstruction of one used for lectures by the Rhodes School of Rhetoric. Steps above here lead to the Temple of Pythian Apollo, with four re-erected columns. This unenclosed site can be reached on city bus 5.
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Palace of the Grand Masters
A truly magnificent 14th-century palace, it was destroyed in the gunpowder explosion of 1856 and the Italians rebuilt it in a grandiose manner, with a lavish interior, intending it as a holiday home for Mussolini and King Emmanuel III. It is now a museum, containing sculpture, mosaics taken from Kos by the Italians and antique furniture.
An around €10 inclusive ticket covers the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of the Decorative Arts.
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Kastro
Heading west of Skala you hit the big Astypalea outback. Here is a land of gnarled, bare and rolling hills with scarcely a sealed road to speak of. It's all driveable (just), but you'll need a solid 4WD or off-road motorcycle. An access road peels upwards northwesterly from Skala and follows the hill ridges past Psili Vigla to a road junction at Stavros after 6km. Head north and follow the sign to the so-called Kastro , which is reached via a detour after another 2km.
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Archaeological Museum
Housed in the old 15th-century knights' hospital is the Archaeological Museum. Its most famous exhibit is the exquisite Parian marble statuette, the Aphrodite of Rhodes, a 1st-century-BC adaptation of a Hellenistic statue. Less impressive to most is the 4th-century-BC Afroditi Thalassia in the next room.
A around €10 inclusive ticket covers the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of the Decorative Arts.
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Marco Polo
You mightn't know about this seriously select dining locale if you didn't read it here. Original Graeco-Italian creations include pork with balsamic vinegar, rocket and sliced parmesan cheese, pork fillet with manouri cheese (a creamier and unsalted version of feta) and fig jam, or Santorini fava lentils with caramelised onions with a sweet wine sauce and mint. Select, but palate-pleasing wine list. Dining at its best in a palm tree caressed courtyard.
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Pro Center
In addition to snorkelling, die-hard windsurfers in the know head for the broad Afiartis Bay, 8km south of Ammoöpi, to enjoy some world-class conditions. The bay supports windsurfing centres and caters for advanced surfers at the northern end and beginners in the sheltered Makrygialos Bay lagoon at the southern end. While most surfers come on package tours from Germany, casual 'blow-ins' are more than welcome. One particularly good outfit is Pro Center.
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Nireas
Another back-street beauty, Nireas is nominally a fish restaurant but still covers the full gamut of dishes. The mydia ahnista (steamed mussels) in a rich flavoursome broth are worth particular mention, as are the skillet-seared mydia saganaki (mussels with tomato and feta cheese). Eat mezes (appetiser) style if you can. The locale is quiet and relaxing.
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Mosque of Süleyman
Bearing many legacies of its Ottoman past is the Hora (M0144). During Turkish times churches were converted to mosques, and many more Muslim houses of worship were built from scratch, although most are now dilapidated. The most important is the pink-domed Mosque of Süleyman (M0145) Built in 1522 to commemorate the Ottoman victory against the knights, it was renovated in 1808.
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Tallaras Roman Baths
Analipsi (also known as Maltezana) is 7km beyond Marmari in a fertile valley on the isthmus. A former Maltese pirates' lair, it's a scattered, pleasantly laid-back settlement with a long sand and pebble beach, shaded by more ever-welcoming tamarisk trees. The water is clean and shallow. There are the remains of the Tallaras Roman Baths with mosaics on the settlement's outskirts.
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Paradise Restaurant
A visit here is made more attractive by the lush flower garden and Paradise Restaurant, run by the charming Evdokia. She rustles up a good line in vegetarian dishes, such as revithokeftedes(chickpea rissoles) and filo-pastry turnovers with fillings such as aubergine, vegetables and onion. Stuffed mushrooms or zucchini flowers is another one of her specialities.
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Acropolis of Lindos
It's about a 10-minute climb to the entrance gate of the Acropolis, spectacularly perched atop a 116m (380ft) rock. Once inside, sights include a warship hewn out of the rock by the sculptor Pythokritos, the remains of a 20-columned Hellenistic stoa, a Byzantine church, a 5th-century BC propylaeum (temple porch) and a 4th-century Temple to Athena.
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Jewish Quarter
The Jewish Quarter is an almost forgotten sector of Rhodes Old Town, where life continues at an unhurried pace and local residents live seemingly oblivious to the hubbub of the Hora, no more than a few blocks away. This area of quiet streets and sometimes dilapidated houses was once home to a thriving Jewish community.
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To Meltemi
Unusual in that the New Town sports virtually no beachside tavernas, Meltemi occupies a prime spot just north of Mandraki harbour. Dishes run a predictable gamut of fish and grills, while the oven-baked feta and an original 'Meltemi salad' are worth sampling. Piped music and nautical memorabilia complete the scene.
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Glaros Restaurant
Of the few harbour-side eateries, Glaros is probably the best place to dine. Owners Voula and Giannis are very engaging and serve markakia (feta cheese fingers in vine leaves with a special sauce), among other standard oven-cooked meals, grills and fish dishes, all made from predominantly organic produce.
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Sti Linda
From the Stavros junction a rough track winds upwards to the shepherd's hut on the mountain spine and then an extremely rough track (take care) winds downwards to Kaminakia beach, where there is a good seasonal restaurant, Sti Linda, which rustles up hearty fish soups, oven-baked goat and home-made bread.
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Finiki View Taverna
In Finiki an obvious yet recommendable place to eat is the Finiki View Taverna. Taking poll position on the location stakes overlooking the beach this place does look touristy, but it's Greek enough when it comes to the crunch. The whitebait, octopus salad or the caper salad are all excellent options.
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To Steki tou Tsima
To Steki is an unpretentious and totally untouristy fish restaurant on the south side of Old Town. Sample from an imaginative, and occasionally unusual, array of fish such, as yermanos (leatherback) and shellfish-based mezedhes: try grooved fouskes (sea squirts) to be different!
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Ammoöpi Taverna
At the far northern end of Ammoöpi and right on the beach, the food here is uniformly good. Look for the daily specials - the clove-laced mousakas (sliced eggplant and mincemeat arranged in layers and baked) excels. There is a fairly genuine 'Greek music night' once a week.
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