Archaeological Museum of Rhodes

The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes occupies the Hospital of the Knights on Museum Square in the Old Town of Rhodes, in the South Aegean region of Greece. The building was constructed mainly between 1440 and 1489 and served as the hospital of the Knights of St John, and its Gothic architecture is a main attraction in its own right. Visitors enter a large arcaded courtyard with stone cannonballs, tombstones and sculptures, then climb a monumental staircase to the upper floor, where the former infirmary hall, a long vaulted ward, displays funerary slabs and Knights' epitaphs. The collection covers Rhodes from prehistory to the Roman period. Major pieces include the Aphrodite of Rhodes, a marble statuette of the goddess crouching at her bath, the Aphrodite of Thalassa, found in the sea, Hellenistic and Archaic kouroi, painted pottery from Ialyssos and Kamiros, and funerary stelae from the island's necropoleis. A visit generally takes one to one and a half hours. The courtyard, which is shaded and cool, gives a break from heat, and visitors often rest there. Opening hours run from about 08:00 to 20:00 in summer and 08:30 to 15:30 in winter, and the adult ticket costs about 8 EUR, with free entry for eligible young visitors. Because the museum is indoors and stays cool, it is a good choice in the hottest part of the day or on rainy days. Crowds tend to be moderate, with the busiest period at late morning when cruise groups arrive. The museum stands at the lower end of the Street of the Knights, close to the Church of Our Lady of the Castle, and visitors combine them in one outing.