Photo: Thalia Galanopoulou

Forgot your beach read? Need an Athens guide? Looking for a beautiful edition for your coffee table? We have you covered.

By Katherine Whittaker

Photo: Thalia Galanopoulou

To Lexikopoleio

Politeia

Photo: Thalia Galanopoulou

Photo: Thalia Galanopoulou

Alfeios Bookstore

Anavasi

Photo: Thalia Galanopoulou

Photo: Thalia Galanopoulou

Booktique

Evripidis

Photo: Thalia Galanopoulou

"Once you find something you like, you can head upstairs to the rooftop cafe to enjoy your new read (and the view across the lively square to Parliament and the National Garden)."

Public

Aiora

Aiora is an independent publishing house in Exarchia that doubles as a little bookshop. Most of what they stock is in Greek, but if you want to dig into classic literature, you’re in luck: Aiora also publishes a Modern Greek Classics series, which translates famous modern Greek works into English, German, French, Italian and even Russian. You’ll find beautiful editions of poems by Cavafy and Elytis, thoughtfully researched tomes on rebetika, the songs of the Greek underworld, and novels by masters like Karagatsis and Papadiamantis. Look out for the slim works by ancient Greek thinkers too, from Hippocrates’ Aphorisms to The Golden Verses of Pythagoras. 

"Aiora also publishes a Modern Greek Classics series, which translates famous modern Greek works into English, German, French, Italian and even Russian."

Museum Shops

The shop at the Benaki Museum.

Photo: Orestis Seferoglou