Blue Guide Greece

Paperback - January, 1996 - W. W. Norton & Company
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By: Robin Barber and John Flower
ISBN: 0393312739

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About this book

A library of Greek art, culture, and history in one book? If what you seek is the erudite be-all, end-all in "everything you wanted to know about Greece," Blue Guide has collected it here. With complete academic-style descriptions of the major classical, Byzantine, and medieval sites; more than 70 itineraries covering villages, market towns, cities of the mainland, and islands; and more than 70 site and town plans, this is a comprehensive tome. As independent travel expert Rick Steves writes in his book, Europe Through the Back Door:

With the Blue Guide to Greece, I had all the information I needed about any sight in Greece and never needed to hire a guide. Scholarly types actually find a faint but endearing personality hiding between the sheets of their Blue Guides.

A full complement of essays written by experts in Greek history and culture introduces the text; these include: "Monuments of Ancient Greece," "Byzantine Art and Architecture," "Post-Byzantine Monuments," "Greek Vernacular Architecture," "Modern Greek History," and "Greek Folk Art." A color atlas of the mainland and islands is included at the back of the book. No accommodations are listed. (Note: Crete is covered in a separate volume.) --Kathryn True

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Reviews by readers

The Indispensable Companion for a Trip To Greece

For more than 30 years, this book has been an indispensable companion for anyone traveling to Greece who wants to get the maximum out of the experience. The comprehensiveness and depth of research this guide reflects is simply astonishing. That is partly a function of sheer individual effort -- how many other guidebooks incorporate the results of the authors' reading of more than a hundred archaeological reports? -- and partly a function of the fact that this guide has been polished, updated, improved and fine-tuned over three-and-a-half decades by a very able succession of individual authors.

But why, more specifically, should you buy and rely on the Blue Guide? I would suggest the following reasons.

1. Armed with this guide, you won't miss anything of significance at any place you visit. When you visit the Museum at Olympia, you'll know to look out for the helmet that the Athenian general Miltiades wore at the Battle of Marathon and later dedicated at the Temple of Zeus. You'll know to look out for the clay cup found in the ruins of the sculptor Pheidias's workshop, which is inscribed with his name on the bottom. If you want to find the site of the cobbler Simon's shop in the Athenian agora, where Socrates is said to have spent much of his time hanging out, this guide will get you there. It'll tell you the spot on the road between Delphi and Thebes where Oedipus is believed to have murdered his father. If you go to see the Menelaion near Sparta, the Blue Guide will alert you that at the back of the hill on which it stands are the rooms and corridors of a little-known Mycenaean palace that may once have been the home of Helen of Troy (assuming she was actually a historical person). And when you visit the fortress at Methone, it'll tell you the tragic story that lies behind the little islet with the lighthouse at the very end of the cape.

One side benefit of having this book is that you can save on hiring local guides when you visit places like the Agora in Athens. If you've got this guide, you'll know more than they will.

2. Another good reason to buy this guide is that it'll save you from getting lost. There are no fewer than 70-plus (count 'em) city plans and archaeological site plans in this volume. Inner Athens is covered in a very comprehensive series of maps -- you should even be able to get through the maze-like warren of the Plaka with the Blue Guide. And the route system used in the guide comprehensively explains how to get to every point of interest, even when a detour off the main route is called for. In particular, if you've got any interest in visiting fascinating but somewhat obscure sites like the Menelaion near Sparta, this book is a must.

By the way, this guide is also quite good on scenic wonders and tracks into the wilderness. It's not just for marble ruin nuts.

3. Don't know much about Greek history? Or art? Or architecture? This is the volume for you -- as long as you really want to learn. The section of introductory essays on these topics are wonderfully comprehensive.

4. Personally, I love the way the Blue Guide is written with this marvelously restrained British narrative voice. It makes it all the more fun when the authors actually break out of character, take you by the shoulders, and say 'don't miss this' -- as when they advise that "The view at sunrise [from the summit of Mount Parnassus], before the mists gather, exceeds in grandeur and interest almost every other prospect in the world."

Is there any reason you might not want to buy the Blue Guide? Well, you should be aware of the following.

A. This guide isn't for people who only want to travel with a single guidebook. It doesn't cover hotels, restaurants, shopping, or nightclubs. So you'll need to pair this guide with another, more standard one that addresses those more functional concerns.

B. It doesn't include Crete. The Crete chapter ultimately grew so big that it was hived off into a separate Blue Guide all its own.

C. This guide isn't for the "once over lightly" tourist. If that's where you're coming from, you won't need this book. This book is for the traveler who likes to be challenged and have their horizons broadened, who is willing to come back from a trip fired up with ideas for further reading.

For a general view on traveling in Greece, this is a fine guide. The necessary current information, the eateries and lodging advice, the important historical guide are here. The book is as big as you would want for carrying around. Read up about small details before you leave.

Great book for more in-depth information

This is a great book to find information about archaeological sites around Greece. It gives very thorough information and descriptions. Great book to use with other guides. I didn't give it a 5 star because it has not been updated (e.g. it still has the location of the old Athens airport).

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