From the Ionian Islands in the west to the brilliant blue and white of the Aegean, the villages of Greece and its islands present a picture of incomparable beauty.

The variety of village life and building springs from a multitude of histories and influences, often through foreign occupation. Yet this cannot disguise the fact that these villages are all, in their separate ways, an expression of Greekness, one of the most durable ideals in history.

Here are the most beautiful villages created by that spirit. Complete with appendices of useful information for the traveller, The Most Beautiful Villages of Greece and the Greek Islands presents a fabulous picture of a culture largely lost to other countries of Europe, but loved by visitors every year.