Rick Steves Greece: Athens & the Peloponnese

by Rick Steves

Walk in the steps of Socrates, test the acoustics of the amphitheater of Epidavros, and set sail for with Rick Steves on your side, Greece can be yours!

Inside Rick Steves Athens & The Peloponnese you'll
Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves Athens & the Peloponnese.

Spending a week or less in the city? Check out Rick Steves Pocket Athens!

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Greece, Reference

1066 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2011

About the author

Rick Steves is an American travel writer, television personality, and activist known for encouraging meaningful travel that emphasizes cultural immersion and thoughtful global citizenship. Born in California and raised in Edmonds, Washington, he began traveling in his teens, inspired by a family trip to Europe. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in European history and business, Steves started teaching travel classes, which led to his first guidebook, Europe Through the Back Door, self-published in 1980.
Steves built his Edmonds-based travel company on the idea that travelers should explore less-touristy areas and engage with local cultures. He gained national prominence as host and producer of Rick Steves' Europe, which has aired on public television since 2000. He also hosts a weekly public radio show, Travel with Rick Steves, and has authored dozens of popular guidebooks, including bestselling titles on Italy and Europe at large.
Beyond travel, Steves is an outspoken advocate for drug policy reform, environmental sustainability, and social justice. He supports marijuana legalization and chairs the board of NORML. He has funded housing for homeless families and donates to anti-hunger and arts organizations. In 2019, he pledged $1 million annually to offset the carbon emissions of his tour groups.
Steves is a practicing Lutheran with Norwegian ancestry and continues to live in Edmonds. He has two adult children and is in a relationship with Reverend Shelley Bryan Wee. Despite health challenges, including a prostate cancer diagnosis in 2024, Steves remains committed to his mission of helping Americans travel with greater purpose, empathy, and understanding of the world. His work reflects a belief that travel, done right, can be both transformative and a force for peace.

Reviews

[Ron Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dawn used this book to plan for months before our two-week trip to Greece, and now we’re using it as we tour around the beautiful country. As usual, Steves is helpful, congenial, detailed and mildly humorous. We’ve used his travel books for years and depend on him for practical advice about what to see, how to see it, and what to skip.

One request: I wish the various maps in the ebook version were dynamic — this is, connected to Google Maps — so we could get updated info as we follow them around.

[Melanie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks for the great tips as usual, Rick Steves!

[Michael Huang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really useful as usual. Took it with me on my recent field trip to Athens and Peloponesse. Helped a lot, especially in filtering the various museums. His companion audio guide for city walks (transcript of which is in the book) really can substitute for a local guide, IMO.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick Steves’s guidebook to Greece is of course loaded with practical advice for trip planning and for consulting during a trip, but it also has a large narrative thread commenting on the history, culture, and character of Greece and its people, and it has many focused threads addressing particular places and features.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic guidebook for Athens, Delphi, Nafplio, and a few other small stops we made in between! The self-guided tours were well written (I'd definitely recommend the accompanying podcasts for the Acropolis, Agora, and Archaeological Museum in Athens too) and the food/lodging recommendations we followed were spot-on. Bonus: the book is pretty light too, which made it convenient to carry around during the day, unlike my all-of-Greece Lonely Planet.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome helpful and interesting as always

I always rely on Rick Steves for his European travel guides. No other guide compares to the level of detail and personal care. The recommended places to visit, eat, see, etc., are all top notch, and the guided walks are truly the best way to see sights and the city and learn something about it that one will take away forever. I highly recommend all his other European guides as well. I never visit any place without reading it first!

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

All you need to know for a trip to Greece

This book is well structured, easy and fun to read. It gives you all the information, maps, history overview and even contact information to plan an unforgettable trip to Greece.
Read this and listen to Rick's podcasts that includes guided audio tours to prepare you for your trip.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering/dreaming about a trip some time in the next two years--a week in the UK to visit The Kilns (C.S. Lewis' home) and other notable literary places, and then possibly do a week in the Greek islands, with one day in Athens.

Read this 'cause I know nothing about Greece.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting ready for a trip to Greece in the fall. Rick always tells you what you need to know to make traveling in Europe easy. I am happy to say that this guide clarifies previously confusing info about making phone calls with your mobile phone in Europe.

[Debra Denson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hail Hellas!

This just as good as his Paris tour book. He and his team have left no stone (ancient or modern) unturned. Great tips on driving, important sights to see, and a great packing list. The important phrases is a little slice of help too!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to travel by!

[Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great guide for my recent Greece trip! It was an outdated 2011 version from my library, but it still helped me easily plan an itinerary.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick does it again! This made our trip so much better. If you go, download his walking tours. They are amazing.

[JB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has all sorts of tidbits and very useful information in it.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent guidebook for these areas. I'll take it again when I return.

[Chere Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait to try out all his tips later this month!

[Kim Spier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Rick Steves guidebooks. I have used them for years and found so many hidden gems of restaurants, gotten great tips about the countries I have visited and really good encapsulated history nuggets and amazing stories. I thought this was a great guidebook for Greece and read it cover-to-cover, but I wished he would have included more islands (we visited Corfu) and also the rest of mainland Greece. We visited Meteora (incredible monasteries built on top of rocky cliffs) and Ioannina (caves and ancient stone bridges and castles). I wish I had Rick Steves's advice on these places.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Checked this out from the library and used it for a quick extended weekend family trip to Athens. Excellent information--no need to hire additional guides for the main sites of Athens: Acropolis (and museum), Agora and Archeology Museum. The additional information in this guide is more than enough to enjoy Athens in three days.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't go to a country without a Rick Steves book for that country, unless it doesn't exist. I've used these for 8 countries so far and they never disappoint.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

We recently went to Greece and found this book super helpful and informative! He also had several podcasts that we used that were great as well!

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always handy for a traveller either novice or pro, Rick's details enable a satisfying experience. You will find essentials here and some destinations which will make you wish you could stay longer!

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not the book for travel to the Peloponnese. Over 2/3 of the book is dedicated to Athens and the touristy islands and serves as a checklist of places rather than an exploration.

[Thomas Abraham]

Standard Rick Steve's fare. But, he does better work in other countries. Not my favorite book for traveling to Greece.