Up and away for jaw-dropping history
LINDOS Acropolis is guaranteed to leave you breathless. Because if the 200 steps to the top don’t get you, the view certainly will. lager Zythos Vap is sold in almost every bar and restaurant up and down the island.
And there’s nothing more refreshing to cool you down after a day in the unrelenting Aegean sunshine. Both sun and lager are hard to come by back home, so enjoy them while you can.
But have a clear head for some more incredible history. A guided tour of the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes (catchy name) at the northern tip of the island is a must.
The 7th century castle was key to the defence of the island for centuries. Entering through one of the 11 main gates into the ancient citadel, you feel like you are stepping back in time. And it is here you realise just how much having a local guide alongside you helps.
To the layman, those holes in the walls fortifying the palace could just be from centuries of wear and tear.
But we came to learn they are in fact the result of public executions, carried out 200 years ago.
The palace is home to countless medieval artefacts, mosaics and potteries discovered on excavations. You really get a feel for Rhodes’s rich and rocky past here.
Dramatic
You get a different angle on the island by boat. The dramatic coastline is littered with beaches and bays, and no trip to Rhodes is complete without a dip in the inviting, crystal-clear sea.
You will never feel cooler than the moment you dive off a boat into the ocean at Navarone Bay – where 1960s hit The Guns Of Navarone was shot.
Driving the length of Rhodes, the eclectic mix of architecture highlights hig the many nations that have tried to make it their own in centuries past.
In mosques, baths and mansions, you get a feel for the Ottoman Turks, while the striking buildings that sprang up in the 20th century tell a tale of Italian fascist rule.
But nowhere is the magic of this island more epitomised than the Valley of the Butterflies in the Petaloudes district, 15 miles from the capital of Rhodes.
Thousands of beautiful butterflies cling to tree after tree as you walk along winding tracks and over rickety wooden bridges.
It’s yet another sight to take your breath away.
FACTFILE: FA On The Beach has seven nights at the five-star Gennadi Grand Resort i n Gennadi, Rhodes, this summer from £ 500pp, B& B. Seven nights at the five- star Electra Palace Hotel in Ia Ialyssos costs £440, halfb board. Prices include retu turn flights from regional a airports across the UK. Vi Visit onthebeach.co.uk or ca call 0871 474 3000 to bo book. Head to visitgreece. gr for more information.