Acropolis of Lindos

The Acropolis of Lindos sits on a 116-metre limestone rock directly above the village. The site has been continuously occupied since the Neolithic period; the Doric temple of Athena Lindia at the summit dates to the late 4th century BC, and the surrounding fortification walls were extended by the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John in the 14th and 15th centuries.

You walk up. There is no road, no cable car. The path leaves from the main square of Lindos village and climbs through whitewashed lanes for about fifteen minutes. The final stretch is a wide stone staircase — a Hellenistic stoa flanked by columns frames the view as you arrive at the propylaea.

Open daily from early morning. Ticket price set by the Ministry of Culture; buy at the gate. The site is unshaded — go in the first ninety minutes after opening, or in the last hour before closing. Carry water. There is a small kiosk just below the entrance.

What to look for: the Hellenistic relief of a trireme carved directly into the rock at the base of the propylaea steps, the Byzantine chapel of Saint John inside the walls, the foundations of the bishop's palace, and — from the upper platform — the long view down into Saint Paul's Bay on the south side.