Hello Friends:

I am looking to buy travel books for my trip to Athens- Mykonos and Satorini (something small, easy to carry and resourceful). I am visiting these places in May.

Some books that I looked at but haven't bought...need your suggestions. We are looking for some history, walking maps, places to visit, places to eat and party.

1) Fodor's Greece
2) Formmer's Greece
3) DK- Top 10 AThens
4) Lonely planets- Best of Athens
5) Time Out Athens

I haven't found any books on Mykonos and Santorini.

Thank you for your suggestion.

Lonely Planet's Best of Athens had just come out when my daughter and I went to Athens last March, and it was a great resource. I had looked at the others in the library but we were waiting for LP, and we were so glad to have it. They seem to cover more off the beaten path places as well as the big historical sites.

Have fun!

Go to your local library and check out several books, take them home and read them and then decide which one is best for the location you are going and buy that one. We tend to like DK and Michelin (sorry Fodors) but everyone has a different organization style and what I like may not be good for you.

I used Lonely Planet for Greece, although I found the restaurant recommendations decidedly off. However, Rough Guides has a separate guide for the islands you might take a look at.

I liked Time Out Athens.

Athens INFOGUIDE on the web is super helpful...

These 3 walks are all good -- Walk #3 is THE BEST -- all around the base of the Acropolis on no-cars walkways, with a view of Parthenon all the way
http://www.athensinfoguide.com/walk1.htm

Also this page, UNLIKE the official Ministry of Culture page, actually gives the opening/closing hours of all the Athens sites and many around the mainland, the admission price of each, the various discounts (student etc), and the days that admission is free PRINT THIS & TAKE ALONG!

http://www.athensinfoguide.com/open.htm

The Greek Islands editions of Rough Guide and Lonely Planet have complete sections on Athens, but omit the rest of the mainland. Consequently they are much smaller than the full country editions. Both cover Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini. Lonely Planet will be publishing a new edition on Mar 30th. See http://tinyurl.com/2mxu7a.

Another alternative is to buy a small guide for Athens and a guide for the Cyclades.

An excellent guide to Santorini that you can purchase in Greece is the Athinorama Santorini Guide. Amazon lists it, to, but it is out of stock.

And I see that you do not mention the Cadogan guide which is excellent: Cadogan: Mykonos, Santorini and the Cyclades.

You might also spend some time on Matt Barett's website, www.greektravel.com, and print out the information you find useful.