Rhodes: My Medieval Time Machine

We walked off the ship straight through the Marine Gate into the Old Town and immediately got lost in 600 years of history. The Street of the Knights is perfect — cobblestones polished by millions of feet, coats of arms still visible on the stone inns. We climbed the walls at golden hour (allowed only with special ticket) and had the entire western rampart to ourselves while the sun set over Turkey across the water.

Lindos in the afternoon was pure white sugar cubes tumbling down to a perfect bay. We climbed to the Acropolis (donkey or feet — we chose feet) and the view made me dizzy — turquoise water, Paul's Bay, and the tiny village below. We had lunch at Mavrikos in Lindos square — octopus stifado that fell apart with a fork, local wine that tasted like sunshine.

The pros: medieval atmosphere so thick you expect to see armor around every corner. The cons: cruise crowds mid-day, but they thin out dramatically after 4 p.m.