Medieval City of Rhodes hosts festival from 9 to 11 October
Published on 10/11/2026 at 01:25 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSKey points in brief
- The Medieval Rose Festival takes place in the Medieval City of Rhodes from 9 to 11 October 2026.
- The festival programme includes parades, performances, historical re-enactments and traditional craft demonstrations from 9 to 11 October 2026.
- The Medieval City of Rhodes is a UNESCO World Heritage property with fortifications extending around a 4 km-long historic city.
- The main festival locations from 9 to 11 October 2026 are Alhadeff Park, Panagia tou Bourgou and the Agia Aikaterini Hospice.
The Medieval City of Rhodes hosts the 19th Medieval Rose Festival from 9 to 11 October 2026 in Rhodes, Greece. The historic centre welcomes parades, performances, workshops and re-enactments across Alhadeff Park, Panagia tou Bourgou and the Agia Aikaterini Hospice.
Medieval Rose Festival brings living history to Rhodes
The festival is organised by the Medieval Rose Cultural Association, with support from the South Aegean Region, the Municipality of Rhodes and the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Dodecanese. The organiser’s programme notice for 9 to 11 October places the event at the Medieval Town, Alhadeff Park and Panagia tou Bourgou.
The Greek National Tourism Organisation listing describes parades and processions through the streets, theatrical and musical performances, medieval re-enactments, traditional crafts and historic trades. Admission is free, and the programme is spread across several locations rather than confined to one stage.
The date gives travellers a clearly defined way to encounter the old centre during October 2026. A procession through the streets connects the festival’s performances with the city’s surviving urban fabric, while the workshops and craft demonstrations place historical skills alongside the buildings and public spaces that frame them.
Rhodes walls and Gothic quarters frame the festival
The Medieval City of Rhodes occupies a fortified historic centre on the island’s eastern coast. UNESCO describes the property as extending within a 4 km-long wall, divided between a high town to the north and a lower town to the south and south-west.
The high town contains the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Great Hospital and the Street of the Knights. The Order of St John occupied Rhodes from 1309 to 1523 and transformed the city into a stronghold. These dates give the Medieval Rose Festival a precise historical setting: its re-enactments take place within a city shaped by the military and religious order whose buildings still define the upper quarter.
Gothic architecture is combined with mosques, public baths and other Ottoman-period buildings in the lower town. That layered history is why the festival’s programme reaches beyond a single monument. Alhadeff Park, Panagia tou Bourgou and the hospice sit within a wider settlement that UNESCO recognises for its medieval urban organisation and successive cultural influences.
Medieval City of Rhodes links streets, parks and historic buildings
The festival’s venues also show how the event operates across the living city. The main activities are held in a park, at a church ruin and at a historic hospice, while the processions use the streets between them. Visitors therefore encounter the Medieval Rose Festival as a route through the centre as well as a programme of performances.
The fortifications were maintained and remodelled between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, and parts of the walls stand on earlier Byzantine foundations. The city remains a residential and working urban area, not a preserved site detached from daily life. Festival activity on 9, 10 and 11 October 2026 therefore sits alongside the permanent streets, monuments and public spaces of Rhodes.
Visiting Medieval City of Rhodes: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Medieval Rose Festival runs from 9 to 11 October 2026 at the Medieval City of Rhodes, including Alhadeff Park and Panagia tou Bourgou.
- Admission is free, and the programme includes public parades, performances, re-enactments, workshops and traditional craft demonstrations.
- The festival is located in Rhodes city, with activities distributed through the historic centre, its streets, parks and named historic buildings.
- The site is an urban historic area enclosed by a 4 km-long wall, with upper and lower quarters and historic streets connecting the venues.
- Greek is the official language of Greece, and the national currency is the euro.
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Frequently asked questions about Medieval City of Rhodes
When does the Medieval Rose Festival take place at Medieval City of Rhodes?
The festival takes place from 9 to 11 October 2026 at venues including Alhadeff Park and Panagia tou Bourgou.
What is Medieval City of Rhodes?
It is a fortified historic centre in Rhodes, Greece, recognised by UNESCO for its medieval urban ensemble and layered Gothic, Byzantine and Ottoman heritage.
Where is Medieval City of Rhodes and how do you get there?
The site is in Rhodes city on the island of Rhodes. The festival venues are distributed through the historic centre, including its streets, parks and historic buildings.
