Pick your way across the Island of the Knights via rooftop frappés, pillowy pitta and bowls of dakos salad piled high with crumbly feta – not to mention a 15th-century hospital, a confluence of springs in lush forestry and a turquoise bay tucked behind an ancient acropolis. Suffice to say, the Medieval jewel of the Dodecanese lives up to the hype.

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Breakfast

Cool ocean breezes mean that, despite sharing a latitude with Syria and Tunisia, Rhodes remains delightfully temperate all year round. Even in mid-summer, temperatures rarely go above 30°C – more often lingering at a balmy 25-27°C – so there’s no need to plan the more strenuous elements of your itinerary around the midday heat. Nonetheless, if you’re keen to pack the island’s must-sees into a single day, you’ll need to start early.

The principle city and major hub, Rhodes (or Rhodes Town, to avoid confusion), is small and easily walkable, with a nice selection of beaches, shops and attractions (including the site of the Colossus of Rhodes), as well as three major ports providing links to neighbouring islands and further afield. But the jewel in Rhodes’ crown is its walled Medieval citadel – the largest of its kind in Europe – complete with cobbled alleyways, Bohemian tavernas, churches, mosques and even a palace.

Stay in the Old Town. There are plenty of hotels on offer, but if you like a side of scenic vista with your breakfast, opt for Minos Pension, a small family-run guesthouse set snugly into the warren of narrowing streets as they slope gently up towards the Old Town’s southernmost wall. The service (provided largely by the jovial Minos himself) is enthusiastic to a fault, and whatever shortcomings you might find – rooms which could use a lick of paint, plastic wrap on the mattresses – are soon supplanted by the view from the rooftop garden. Pull up a pew, order a frappé (a Greek staple) and a platter of fresh local cheese, ham, salad and Cretan dried rusk, then drink in the jumble of roof terraces and treetops as they tumble away to the glistening Mediterranean.

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Spot of culture: It might come as a surprise that, until the mid-20th century, Rhodes was home to a thriving Jewish community for more than 2,000 years. If this piques your interest, follow the Old Town wall east from Minos Pension and you’ll soon find yourself in the old Jewish Quarter, where €4 gets you inside the rather spectacular 16th-century Kahal Shalom, the oldest functioning synagogue in Greece. In a small complex of rooms behind the main sanctuary is the Jewish Museum of Rhodes; a collection of artefacts which culminates in a written account of the fate which befell almost all 1,800 of the island’s jews when they were deported by the nazis in 1944.

Lunch

Next, stroll to the Central Bus Station (exit the Old Town through the Gate of the Virgin, then follow the main road north along the harbour and turn left just after Mandraki Pier – which, incidentally is also where you’ll see the Rhodes Windmills) and hop on one of the half-hourly buses to Lindos (€5 one way, one hour). The big name here is the acropolis (€12 to enter), an incredible natural citadel perched on a rocky clifftop high above the town. It’s around 250 steps up to the top (the first 50 or so through shaded alleys lined with artsy souvenir shops), but the far-reaching views and impressive ruins are well worth the climb.

Now you’ve had a spot of culture and a smidge of exercise, it’s time to pay a visit to Lindos’ lesser-known star. Follow the road as it snakes southwards out of Lindos proper, then veer left when it forks and tilts down towards the sea, and in a few minutes you’ll be standing in a sheltered cove. St Paul’s Bay is ringed by a rocky outcrop, making for a warm, shallow pool of Greece’s trademark turquoise, far quieter than the bigger Lindos Beach to the north. The more developed St Paul’s Beach sits at its southern end, but its at the smaller strip in its north-west corner that, backed by bright bougainvillea, you’ll find Dimitri’s Taverna and a smattering of sunbeds laid out on what, at first glance, looks a little like an oversized rockery.

Swim and sprawl on the sand, then decamp to one of the taverna’s rickety tables and fuel up for the afternoon’s adventures. The menu is basic, but such a simple setting seems to demand plates of fluffy pitta and smooth creamy tzatziki, paired with perfectly chilled Alfa beer generously glugged into thick-rimmed glasses.

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Spot of culture: Make your way back up to GR-95, the main highway which runs along the island’s eastern coast, and head north (towards Rhodes) for a stop at Seven Springs (Epta Piges). The bus (€5, one hour) is by far the cheapest option, but only runs once a day, and timings can be tricky to pin down. Alternatively, take the more-frequent bus going to Rhodes and get off at the Kolympia junction, then follow the road opposite Flevaris supermarket. It’ll take you roughly 45 minutes to reach Seven Springs, but bear in mind there’s nothing but woodland along the way, so stock up on water beforehand. If neither of these options float your boat, you might be better off with a cab, which will cost you roughly €30.

In any case, what awaits is well worth the effort. It’s here that seven bubbling springs flow into a small lake, dammed by Italian soldiers in 1931 in order to provide fresh water for nearby Kolympia. To get to the dam itself, you’ll need to climb over a small hill – or, for the more adventurous, take the narrow, dark tunnel cut through it. The tunnel is 126m long, its bed lined by smooth pebbles and a gentle trickle of water which flows against your ankles as you inch forwards, your way illuminated only by the crack of daylight far ahead. It’s great fun, but if you aren’t a fan of enclosed spaces or darkness, we’d give it a miss.

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Spot of culture: Catch the bus back to Rhodes Town (€3, one hour) or take a cab (around €50, but far less faff) and head for the Palace of the Grand Master and the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes (€6 each, or €10 for a combined ticket). The palace was built by the 14th-century Knights Hospitaller – making it one of Greece’s rare examples of Gothic architecture – and now houses two museums, one on ancient Rhodes and the other its Medieval history, while the Archaeological Museum is based in the former hospital of the Knights of Saint John (read: morbid fascinations galore). Despite their size, you can comfortably do all three museums in two hours – ideal if you’re after a crash course on the island’s past.

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Dinner

Once you’ve had your fill of culture, it’s time for an evening of indulgence. From the Archaeological Museum, walk south down Apellou in the direction of Minos Pension – stopping to pick up a souvenir or two as you cross Sokratous, the Old Town’s main shopping street – and soon you’ll hear the distant strumming of an acoustic guitar. Round another corner, and you’ll see the warm glow of a broad terrace rimmed with picket fences and sprawling creepers.

Pame Antama is not for those after a traditional Greek experience, or indeed – with its bright mismatched furniture, stained-glass windows, leggy pot plants, quirky wall hangings, Bohemian murals and artsy bric-a-brac – a traditional anything. This is a true local hangout, quiet until 11pm, then suddenly heaving with the hippy twentysomethings who seem only to come out at night, their chatter blending with the soft, moody music and their eagerly gesticulating hands casting long shadows up sunflower-yellow walls.

The staff are easy and amiable – they love it here too – and though the chef, Sylvia, hails from Italy, her food is as eclectic as its surrounds. The menu is ever-changing (and often not written down), but half the fun is trying something new on the enthusiastic recommendations of your waiter (or the local at the next table) and the encouragement of a large glass of local wine. That said, Sylvia’s dakos salad (a Cretan staple) is excellent, and she’ll jump at the chance to make spaghetti aglio e olio, a true loveletter to her homeland.

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Drinks

Finish the night at Raxati Café, just a couple of minutes’ amble down Sofokleous from Pame Antama. Continuing the evening’s eclectic, Bohemian vibe, here you’ll find more shabby-chic furniture, more assorted bric-a-brac, and another slice of the local contingent, this time greying local merchants catching up over cigarettes and ouzo, amongst them the jovial owner and his affectionate dog, Liza, who is 16 but doesn’t look a day over seven. Ouzo will flow, and you’ll be well acquainted with all of the above by evening’s end.

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