Lindos Acropolis Entry Ticket with Audio Guide Rhodes

The Acropolis of Lindos

The Acropolis of Lindos crowns a steep rock about 116 m above the sea on the east coast of Rhodes, around 50 km south of Rhodes Town. Lindos was one of the three great city-states of ancient Rhodes, together with Ialysos and Kamiros, and its natural harbours made it rich from trade across the eastern Mediterranean. For more than two thousand years the rock served as a sanctuary and a fortress, used in turn by ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and the Knights of St John.

Is the Lindos Acropolis worth visiting? Without doubt: few places in Greece combine ancient temples, medieval walls and such dramatic sea views in one compact site. Plan around one to one and a half hours inside, and allow extra time for the climb up through the village lanes from the main square.

Temple of Athena Lindia and the Hellenistic Stoa

At the very top of the rock stands the Temple of Athena Lindia, the goddess who protected Lindos. The Doric temple you see today was rebuilt in the fourth century BC after an earlier sanctuary burned down, and its columns frame one of the most famous views in the Aegean. The site was excavated and partly restored in the early twentieth century, and many of the columns have been carefully put back in place.

Below the temple lies the great Hellenistic Stoa, a long Doric colonnade built around 200 BC to give a grand approach to the sanctuary. A wide monumental stairway behind it leads up to the propylaea, the ceremonial gateway. Your audio guide explains how pilgrims once climbed these steps, and the best photos are taken from the end of the stoa looking up towards the temple.

The Knights' castle and the ancient ship relief

Before you reach the ancient ruins, you pass through the castle built by the Knights of St John in the fourteenth century, after they took Rhodes. They wrapped the edge of the rock in strong walls and towers, and you enter by a vaulted passage that still feels like a medieval fortress. Inside the walls are the remains of the Byzantine Church of St John and the governor's quarters.

At the foot of the stairway to the castle, look for one of the most remarkable details of the site: the stern of an ancient Rhodian warship carved directly into the rock face around 180 BC. It once served as the base for a statue honouring a naval commander, and it reminds visitors that Lindos owed its wealth and power to the sea.

Visiting Lindos and how to get there

Many visitors ask how to get to Lindos from Rhodes Town: the drive takes about an hour, and regular public buses run from the town bus station. From the main square of Lindos village, the path climbs through narrow lanes of white houses and old captains' mansions for about 15 to 20 minutes. Lindos Acropolis opening hours are longest in the main season, from early morning until the evening, and shorter in winter; you enter at the time slot shown on your ticket.

The best time to visit is early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when it is cooler and the light on the stone is softer. From the summit you look down on St Paul's Bay, a small round lagoon almost enclosed by rocks, and on the main sandy bay of Lindos, perfect for a swim after your visit.