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I’ve always loved the Palace of the Grand Master in Rhodes, and I think every visitor to the island should stop by at least once.
The first time I visited, I was only 13 and on a school trip, but I’ve since been back a few times, and most recently when I moved to Rhodes and had time to explore it more deeply and in detail.
Since it is one of the most visited sights on the island — the other being Lindos village and its Acropolis — it can get quite busy in the summer.
But with a bit of planning, you’ll fall in love with the fortress and feel like you’ve stepped back in time to the Middle Ages.
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- 🎟️ Ticket: Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master E-Ticket & Audio Tour
This article is part of my things to do in Rhodes series, where I explore and share activities and ideas. I moved to Rhodes a few months ago and have been exploring both the off-season and summer side of the island ever since. You can find more guides to Rhodes, here.
Key information
The Grand Master’s Palace is located quite centrally within the Old Town of Rhodes. If you’re staying in town, you’ll probably have to walk 5–15 minutes to reach the area on foot.
If you arrive by ferry or boat, estimate about a 20-minute walk from the port, or you can always grab a taxi.
You usually do need a ticket in advance, unless you are visiting in early spring, late autumn, or in the off-season in general.
In the winter, it tends to be almost completely empty, which is a unique experience.
You can either grab your ticket from the official website of the Hellenic Heritage, or through a platform like GetYourGuide, which often includes a free audio guide as well.
When to visit
If you have the ability to be flexible, my recommendation is to come early. If your travel plan doesn’t allow that, just make sure to arrive at least 20 minutes ahead of your time slot to avoid surprises.
One small part of the grounds is outdoors, and the rest is all inside. So at least you will be protected from the intense heat if you choose to visit during midday.
On the other hand, the temperature and the light are much better in the late evening, when the cruise tours have finished, so it is worth waiting until then.
I also suggest making this a stop during one of your first days in Rhodes. Here’s a short 3-day itinerary that you can use to help plan your time on the island.
Why do we care about the Palace of the Grand Master?
I think most of us as travelers fall into the trap of: I see a big, beautiful and popular place = I must go.
But why?
What I’ve realized after spending more time in Rhodes is that the Palace of the Grand Master becomes more interesting once you stop looking at it as “a castle” and start imagining the kind of world that existed when it was actually alive.
When we walk through Rhodes Old Town today, surrounded by souvenir shops, restaurants and tour groups, it’s easy to forget that this island once sat on one of the most tense and important frontiers in the Mediterranean.
The palace was not built during the time of ancient Greece or philosophers in white robes discussing democracy. It belongs mostly to the medieval world.
While parts of northern Europe were fragmented into kingdoms and constant wars after the fall of the Roman Empire, the eastern Mediterranean was still deeply connected through trade, religion and military power. Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) was one of the richest and most important cities on Earth. Venice controlled maritime trade routes. The Islamic world was expanding and flourishing scientifically and economically. Crusades were reshaping entire regions.
And right in the middle of all this sat Rhodes.
The version most visitors experience today was heavily shaped by the Knights of Saint John, also known as the Knights Hospitaller. They arrived in Rhodes in the early 1300s after losing control of parts of the Holy Land during the Crusades. They needed a new stronghold, and Rhodes became their military headquarters for more than TWO centuries.
This wasn’t some quiet island monastery. Rhodes became one of the most fortified places in the Mediterranean. The knights built enormous defensive walls, towers, gates and underground storage areas because they genuinely expected invasion at any moment.
And no, they weren’t paranoid.
The Ottoman Empire was expanding rapidly. Naval battles, sieges and religious conflicts all came into play. This part of the Mediterranean was not a holiday destination but a giant chessboard.
Meanwhile, what we now call “Greece” did not yet exist as a modern country. There was no Greek state in the modern sense. The islands and mainland shifted between empires, rulers and occupations for centuries before Greek independence in the 1800s.
With that in mind, I will once again remind any frequent readers to purchase the book:
📔 Biography of a Modern Nation by Roderick Beaton
Most people associate Greece with the ancient past, which is justified, but also incomplete.
The story of its creation as a modern nation — including wars, internal conflicts, religion and politics — is equally, if not more, interesting to a contemporary visitor.
Guides in Greece
It is my sincere recommendation that most people use a guide when visiting archaeological and cultural sites in Greece.
Do I have an issue with non-guided visits? No
Do I think all tour guide are good at their job? Again no.
I’m just keeping it honest and expressing the fact that a lot of people will come and photograph the site without connecting with the history which is quite a complex and interesting one.
Now on that front I will be a bit critical of the local guides, and that is: they make it a bit hard to book a guided tour.
Most options are for private tours only. Which makes sense since they aim at cruise ship groups or larger groups in general. But what about the solo travelers and families guys?
I’m hoping to adjust this article in the near future with a solid local guide recommendation that I enjoy, but overall it is more difficult than it should be to get a guide for the castle.
Most options are for private tours and they start at $120 per person.
Hellenic Heritage Self-Guided Tours
Another option is to download the Hellenic Heritage app and download the audio tour.
Just make sure to bring your headphones.
It is available both as audio and transcript (so you can read the information to your kids) and is available in various languages as well.
The app includes only 3 of the main archaeological sites in Rhodes:
- Ialysos
- Lindos Acropolis
- and the Palace of the Grand Master
What you’ll see
The main thing that surprised me from my first visit was how beautifully carved the rooms are, and how many there are in total.
Don’t expect a fully reconstructed medieval castle experience, since some of the rooms are empty and quiet, but there is enough there to give you an idea of what these walls would have looked like. There is medieval furniture, religious objects, armor and artifacts, as well as various art pieces.
The mosaics are particularly interesting because they were not there originally, but were brought from other parts of the Dodecanese islands during the Italian reconstruction period.
One thing to keep in mind is that the informational signs inside are fairly limited. They might explain an object, but not the full story of the palace or how it was used.
Short timeline of the Palace of the Grand Master
I like to think in timelines when I visit places like the Palace of the Grand Master so if that’s you as well you’ll find this useful:
- 408 BC: City of Rhodes if founded
- 280 BC: The Colossus of Rhodes is completed
- 7th century: Byzantine fortress exists in this Old Town
- 1309: Knights Hospitaller (Knights of Saint John) take control of the island
- 14th century: Palace is expanded into major military fortress
- 1480: Rhodes survives major Ottoman siege
- 1522: Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent conquers Rhodes after long siege (the Knights leave the island)
- 1856: gunpowder explosion destroys large part of the palace
- 1912: Italy occupies Rhodes after Italo-Turkish War
- 1937-1940: Italians reconstruct the palace in the form we see today
- 1948: Rhodes becomes part of modern Greece
Different to many other parts of Greece that got their independence after the Greek War of Independence, Rhodes was still very much under Ottoman occupation until much later.
Greece at the time (the free parts) mainly included the Peloponnese, parts of Central Greece and nearby islands.
Crete officially until in 1913. Ionian Islands like Corfu and Kefalonia joined in 1864 after British control.
Some northeastern islands like Lesvos and Chios joined during the Balkan wars around 1912-1913.
But the Dodecanese islands went from Ottoman occupation to Italian rule, and that is why we see so many influences from that period to this day.
Other things to keep in mind about the Palace of the Grand Master
These are some miscellaneous facts about the area and the palace that you might find useful.
- The polished stones are a bit slippery, but otherwise it is easily accessible.
- Some parts are not very stroller-friendly (like the huge staircase when you first go in).
- There are toilets on site.
- Don’t expect large open gardens. Most of the visit takes place inside the palace itself. Some exterior sections are usually closed off.
- You can walk the medieval moat outside the walls for FREE. It’s one of the most underrated spots in Old Town, especially late afternoon or early morning and very popular for locals to go running.
There are a lot of different alleyways to discover near the palace
🤸♀ FAQ for PALACE
- Did the Knights live in the Palace?
Yes. The castle was a military headquarters mixed with a religious order and government center. The knights were often highly educated nobles, diplomats and military commanders. But a huge part of what we see today as visitors was reconstructed and didn’t originally look exactly like this.
- Who was the “Grand Master”?
A mix of military commander, political leader and religious authority. He represented the highest authority within the order.
- How many knights were there?
From what we know, the number was relatively small — usually only a few hundred at a time. But they were supported by soldiers, servants, local workers and craftsmen.
- Did the knights live in other parts of Rhodes too?Yes.
While the Palace of the Grand Master was the administrative and symbolic center, the knights also used:
- defensive towers
- smaller fortifications
- ports
- watch points
- villages
- agricultural land
across the island.
The Order controlled Rhodes as an entire territory, not just the Old Town. They also heavily fortified strategic coastal areas, which is partly why you still don’t see many traditional settlements or villages directly near some coastal areas in Rhodes.
- What happened when the knights left Rhodes?
After the massive Siege of Rhodes in 1522, the knights surrendered to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and eventually left the island.
But this wasn’t a total massacre or destruction of Rhodes like people sometimes imagine.
The Ottomans allowed the knights to leave relatively peacefully after months of fighting. The order later relocated and eventually established itself in Malta, which is why they later became strongly associated with Malta.
- What about the locals when the knights were here?
One thing people often forget is that the knights did not arrive on an empty island. Rhodes already had a local population long before the Palace of the Grand Master existed.
Most locals at the time were Greek-speaking Orthodox Christians and descendants of the Byzantine world that had previously controlled Rhodes. They worked as farmers, sailors, merchants and craftsmen across the island.
When the Knights Hospitaller arrived in the early 1300s, they became the rulers of Rhodes, but the local population continued living there as well. The knights themselves were mainly Catholic Europeans from places like France, Italy, Spain and other parts of western Europe, which created a very unusual mix of cultures on the island.
This is partly why Rhodes feels so different from many other places in Greece today. The Old Town carries layers of Byzantine, Crusader, Ottoman and later Italian influence all at once.
- Did the knights get along with the local population?
Not always.
Even though both groups were Christian, the knights were Catholic western Europeans while most locals on Rhodes were Greek Orthodox. The knights controlled the island politically and militarily, collected taxes and built many Catholic buildings and churches throughout the Old Town.
Imagine when…
When the Knights arrived in Rhodes (1309), the Ottoman Empire was just beginning to rise and Europe was still deep in the medieval period. Think about what else was happening at the time.
- England and France were moving toward the Hundred Years’ War.
- The Aztec Empire did not yet exist in Mexico.
- The Byzantine Empire still controlled Constantinople.
- The United States would not exist for another 450+ years.
- Samurai still existed in Japan.
- The Black Death (plague) had not yet swept across Europe.
- The Mongol Empire still influenced huge parts of Asia.
- China was ruled by the Yuan Dynasty under Mongol influence.
- Europeans had not yet reached the Americas.
Some years later…
- Gutenberg would invent the printing press.
- The Renaissance was beginning in Italy.
- Columbus had still not reached the Americas.
- Leonardo da Vinci would eventually be born.
- Constantinople would fall to the Ottomans in 1453.
- The Ottoman Empire would become one of the most powerful empires in the world.
Ready to book your trip to Rhodes?
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⛴️ Ferry tickets: There are a lot of ferry providers but I prefer Ferry Scanner for their simple UI.
❤️ Best Tours in Rhodes
These are some of the tours I’ve done and love.
