DK Greece, Athens and the Mainland (Travel Guide)

I love Eyewitness guides; they're usually my go-to if I'm eyeing up somewhere to visit on holiday. I picked this up as I'm planning to visit Greece next summer, and I thought this would be great to get my bearings. This particular book covers mainland Greece with a focus on Athens. It has two maps inside, and a seperate map that you can pull out that covers Athens specifically.It talks through the history of Greece, suggests potential trips you can do, and has sections that highlights regions of Greece and the things you can do there. There are restaurant options, details on transport, and insights into Greek culture.It's a pocket-size guide, too; perfect for taking on a trip and popping in a day-bag. It's got a wealth of information and acts as a fantastic spring-board for planning a trip - while also being perfect to take with you for reference on your travels. I'd highly recommend!

We are using this guide to plan our short Greece visit and have found it great to use.

This travel guide by DK Eyewitness comprehensively covers Mainland Greece and Athens. The book is split into three sections – Discover, Experience and Need to Know. There are two foldout maps inside the front and back cover which covers the regions with page numbers and landscape features. There is also an additional Athens map that can be pulled out separately which is very useful whilst in the capital.The Discover section includes an oversight to the background / history of Mainland Greece and Athens and this section also features potential itineraries to help you plan your trip. The Experience section delves into further detail about each of the individual regions including places to visit and detailed maps. There are also recommendations about places to stay and eat / drink and I think this is a great starting point for each region. The final Need to Know section includes helpful information about what you need to do before you go, transport information and practical information which are very useful.The book measures 12.6cm x 22.8cm with a thickness of 1.7cm and has 272 pages so is full of information. The paper is a good thickness so shouldn’t easily tear and it is still lightweight enough to travel with. However, as the book has a semi soft cover, so it is likely to become scuff and battered over time particularly if you decide to carry it around in a rucksack every day.The book has plenty of inspiration for planning and travelling around Greece, detailing each region comprehensively and allowing you to plan your trip and itinerary with expert recommendations. The book is illustrated with beautiful photographs, easy to understand diagrammatic maps and there is a clear contents page with an index making it easier to navigate the book – it certainly packs a good amount of information.The book gives a great oversight of Greece’s various regions and is well written with colour coded chapters for easy navigation. It is great for inspiration of experiences, sights and activities as well as uncovering hidden gems. Priced at £10.87 at the time of reviewing, I think this is excellent value for money and the format is easy to follow. The information in the book is good quality and up to date – I would definitely recommend it if you are looking to explore Greece further.

Part local guide, part history book, part cultural initiation. This is an interesting book, and a useful bit of kit if you're thinking about a trip to Greece. It covers Athens, and different regions within the country, with a section dedicated to each. It's quite accessible, listing information about the main attractions and places of interest, but also includes where you can stay and eat, local travel routes, and mini insights into the culture and history of a place, with any relevant traditions and customs. There are lots of images, maps and illustrations that help to break the information up.At the beginning, there is a summarised history, giving you a timeline of how Greece developed and some of the important events and people that helped to shape it. It also provides general information about Greece and why you might want to visit in the first place, from food, music and architecture, to exploring the islands and natural terrain. What I thought was interesting, is that there is a section entitled "7 days" (no, not like the Craig David song). For each region, it provides a two-page sample itinerary for a week, and links you to the relevant pages which have further information about each stop.Near the back of the book, there is an index, and a section that provides key information about local laws, and a quick reference of things to be aware of while there (like emergency numbers and the health system). This section even includes a mini-phrasebook of key things you might want to communicate, listing the English translation, the original Greek Cyrillic, and a transliteration to help you pronounce it; although, having studied some Greek myself with both Greek and Cypriot speakers, I found some of the transliterations to not be quite correct in the sound they produce (e.g. "Thank you" (ευχαριστώ) being transliterated as "ef - cha - ree - sto", instead of "if - harris - toe"). Obviously, it's not perfect, but it would be closer.Right at the back, there is a 1:850 full-colour laminated map of Athens glued in, which folds out. On the reverse side is information about transit, and a list of all the streets with a corresponding grid reference to help with navigation and wayfinding.For reference, one part about travel mentions that international train services are suspended due to COVID-19, and seeing that this book was recently published in spring 2024, it's possible that still applies, although it's not clear. There didn't seem to be restrictions on other forms of travel in and out of Greece though. Best to do some independent research to confirm.

I'm in the very (very, very) early stages of planning a trip to Greece. I originally checked out a guide by a competing brand (let's call them "solitary globe") in a bookshop and was left rather underwhelmed, as I felt it focused too much on shops and restaurants and not nearly enough on the sights you're actually there to see!No such issue with this guide. It correctly assumes that anyone who takes a paper guide along on a holiday will actually want it to contain decently detailed information on the places you're visiting, and other than a relatively brief introductory section (plus some itineraries) at the front and some basic information at the back, that's what it spends the bulk of its pages doing. Entries for the sights also include brief details about opening times and dates, public transit routes, and dates they're going to be shut (if applicable). Excellent if you need to quickly check but you don't have roaming data on your phone.The folding map of Athens at the back is also a nice touch. It's designed to be taken off the book without damaging it, and is laminated for extra durability (not to mention waterproofness).Looking forward to using this guide on my trip.