Lindos Acropolis can be seen for almost everywhere in the village. It is not only beautiful to look at from the surrounding town, beaches and bays, but once you’re on top of it the views from the Acropolis are breathtaking too.
Most acropolises are one civilisation’s work. Lindos is a summation of five. There’s been a sanctuary on this rock since around 900 BC, when it held a temple to Athena Lindia — the goddess Lindos takes its name from. The Doric temple standing there now is the 4th-century BC replacement, and around it are the remains of a monumental staircase and a long Hellenistic colonnade, several columns of which have been re-erected.
In the 1300s, the Knights of St John built a fortress straight over the top of it. That’s why you climb through a medieval gate and two crusader towers to reach a Greek temple. The Byzantines left a small church on the way up, the Romans left an inscription recording repairs to the walls, and the Ottomans took the whole thing off the Knights in 1522.
This guide covers what it costs, when to go, what the climb is actually like, what you’re looking at once you’re up there, and the donkey question.
Lindos Acropolis at a Glance
- Ticket: €20 per adult without concessions
- Closing Time: 7:50PM — hours vary by season, so check before you go
- Best Time to Arrive: 6:30PM in high summer
- Time Needed Inside: About an hour
- The Climb: Under 15 minutes from the village, steps and stepped lanes, minimal shade
- Accessible? No — steps throughout, not suitable for wheelchairs
Is the Lindos Acropolis Worth €20?
We thought €20 seemed steep when we were buying our tickets. Afterwards, we felt it was well worth it.
Even if you are travelling on a budget, we recommending putting money aside for this one. It is atmospheric in a way that photographs undersell, the views are spectacular in both directions, especially during golden hour, and it is the single thing in Lindos we would be sorry to have skipped.
Opening Hours and When to Go
Opening hours change with the season and are worth checking on the day. During August when we visited, the official closing time was 7:50PM.
Our recommendation for peal summer: aim to arrive around 6:30PM. That gives you a comfortable hour inside, and it means you climb in noticeably cooler air and get golden hour light over the village. Give yourself an hour and fifteen before closing as a absolute minimum so you’re not rushed.
The alternative is right at opening, which is cooler still and quieter, but you miss the light. What you want to avoid is the middle of the day: there is essentially no shade either on the climb or on the summit, and it’s very crowded as cruise groups and the day-trip boats from Rhodes Town also cluster around late morning.
Getting Up There
Lindos village is pedestrianised, so however you arrive you finish on foot. Taxis have a dedicated drop-off point on the edge of the village — a short hop from our hotel at the back of town cost us €7 — and from there you walk through the lanes and up the steps.
The walk took us under 15 minutes and it is not strenuous. It is a stepped climb with uneven stone underfoot. The views from the steps on the way up, so it does not feel like a slog to get to the good bit.
You will see donkeys offering rides up the hill, sometimes called the “Lindos taxi”, for around €10. They are a long-standing local tradition and they are also the most debated thing in Lindos. The animals work in high heat on stone, and animal welfare charities have raised concerns about the practice in Lindos. We would avoid going by donkey and walk instead.
What You See Up from Lindos Acropolis
The Lindos Acropolis is a mix of five civilisations fortifying the same cliff. The Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Knights of St John and Ottomans all held it. Working up from the entrance:
- The Trireme Relief — Carved into the rock at the foot of the stairway, a Rhodian warship cut in relief around 180 BC. It once served as the base for a bronze statue.
- The Knights’ Gate and Castle — You enter through 14th-century fortifications built by the Knights of St John on older Byzantine foundations. Two towers survive well.
- The Byzantine Church of St John — Off to the left of the route up, dating from somewhere between the 12th and 14th centuries and built on the ruins of an earlier church.
- The Hellenistic Stoa — A long covered gallery, now an open terrace of columns. Several have been re-erected.
- The Monumental Staircase and Propylaea — The grand ceremonial approach to the sanctuary, dating from the 4th century BC.
- The Temple of Athena Lindia — The summit. A Doric temple in its present form from around 300 BC, built on the remains of an earlier one, on a site that has been sacred for roughly three thousand years.
A lot of what remains is pedestals where statues used to be, plus a good chunk of surviving Hellenistic wall, rebuilt columns and original steps. There are information boards if you are the kind of person who reads them, and the site is small enough that you cannot get lost.
The Views
It sits 116 metres up on a limestone cliff, with the village directly below on one side and open sea on the other. This is the part that makes the ticket price stop mattering. From the top you look straight down on the terracotta roofs of the village on one side, and on the other you get St Paul’s Bay, which from up here reads unmistakably as an upside-down heart. It is one of the most photographed views on Rhodes for good reason.
Worth noting: we think the view of the Acropolis from St Paul’s Bay at golden hour is the better photograph. Do both, ideally on different evenings.
Practical Tips
- Take Water — There is nowhere to buy water at the Acropolis, and there’s always no toilet so go beforehand!
- Grab a Frozen Yogurt on the way up — There are several places in the lanes, and it makes the climb considerably more pleasant.
- Wear Decent Shoes — Stepped lanes, worn stone, and grooves cut into the Hellenistic staircase for drainage, and some of the walkways are quite slippery.
- Bring a Hat and Sunscreen — even for an evening visit.
- Allow an Hour — You can do it faster, but an hour lets you read the boards and take your time on the summit.
- Combine with Dinner — The rooftop restaurants just below the steps are perfectly placed for straight afterwards. We ate at Lassu, which sits on the hillside below the descent and has better views than most restaurant terraces in town.
Planning the Rest of Your Trip
The Acropolis is one part of a very good few days. Our full guide to Lindos covers when to go and how the village is laid out, we have a separate guide to where to stay in Lindos, and we have rounded up the best things to do in Lindos separately. If you are working out a budget, we have also broken down what everything in Rhodes costs.