Books on Crete We Recommend
These are the books on Crete we know and recommend: walking guides and a touring map, town guides, wild flower and plant books, Cretan cookbooks and a few books set on the island. Some are hard to find outside Crete, so you may need to buy them on the island.
Walking Guides and Maps of Crete
Walking guides and maps are most useful on Crete’s gorges and mountain paths.
Samaria Gorge Guide Book
The Samaria Gorge guide book describes the terrain, flora and fauna of the gorge. Read it before you travel, so you know what to look out for on the walk. Our guide to hiking the Samaria Gorge covers the walk itself.
Crete Touring Map (1:160,000)
The Crete Touring Map is a fold-up map at a scale of 1:160,000, with a booklet of town maps and practical information. It marks the E4 European path and gives village, town and landmark names in both Greek and English spellings, which suits walkers, birdwatchers and nature lovers. Our map of Crete guide explains how to choose a touring map.
Town Guide Books for Chania and Rethymno
Town guide books for Chania and Rethymno cover each city and the surrounding prefecture of the same name.
Chania: The City and the Prefecture
The Chania guide book covers the city of Chania and the prefecture around it in West Crete. It is small enough to carry on the day but holds a lot of background on what to see. Our page on the Chania guide book has more detail.
Rethymno, Soul of Crete
The Rethymno guide book covers the city of Rethymno and the prefecture of the same name. It is a handy size for planning which sights and activities to see before you go. Our page on the Rethymno guide book has more detail.
Books on the Wild Flowers and Plants of Crete
Books on the wild flowers and plants of Crete help you name what you see on a walk, from spring flowers to edible greens.
Wild Flowers of Crete by Vangelis Papiomitoglou
Wild Flowers of Crete is a handbook written and photographed by Vangelis Papiomitoglou. Its text and photographs make it easy to identify the island’s wild flowers, and it is affordable. Our guide to the flowers of Crete describes many of the species.
Plants of Crete: Healing, Aromatic and Edible by Antonis Alibertis
Plants of Crete is a fully illustrated book of about 350 pages by Antonis Alibertis. It gives colour photographs, descriptions, habitats, properties and uses for a wide range of Cretan plants, including endemics. Our page on the plants of Crete has more on the book.
Wild Edible Plants of Crete by Kleonikos Stavridakis
Wild Edible Plants of Crete is an inventory of the edible plants that grow wild on the island. Kleonikos Stavridakis compiled, classified and photographed each plant, including the horta (wild greens) that village women traditionally gather for Cretan recipes. The hardback is in Greek and English.
Orchids of Crete and the Dodecanese
Orchids of Crete and the Dodecanese describes 70 species and 23 subspecies, and lists 5 more species as doubtful or unstable. Each entry gives the flowering period, a distribution map, photographs and the habitats where the orchid grows. The book also contains the following sections.
- Notes on which species hybridise, plus a section on 86 different hybrids.
- Tips on telling apart species that are easy to confuse.
- A map of orchid distribution across the 4 islands.
- An assessment of special habitats, especially those with threatened species.
- Suggested excursions to the orchid habitats of the southern Aegean.
Cretan Cookbooks and Olive Oil Books
Cretan cookbooks show how the traditional village diet works in a home kitchen. We have tried and tested most of the recipes in the 2 cookbooks below.
Cretan Cookery: Mum’s 200 Recipes
Cretan Cookery: Mum’s 200 Recipes collects 200 traditional recipes handed down from mother to daughter, with clear instructions and more than 150 photographs. The dishes use the core Cretan ingredients: olive oil, wild greens, fresh dairy products, meat, fish and pulses.
Cretan Cooking by Nikos and Maria Psilakis
Cretan Cooking by Nikos and Maria Psilakis has 265 easy-to-follow recipes, each with a colour photograph, and background on the Cretan diet. The recipes reflect the traditional village diet: plenty of olive oil, vegetables, wild greens, pulses and cereals, with less meat.
Olive Oil: The Secret of Good Health by Nikos and Maria Psilakis
Olive Oil: The Secret of Good Health traces the history and use of olive oil on Crete since Minoan times. Nikos and Maria Psilakis add simple recipes that use olive oil. Our page on the secrets of olive oil covers both olive oil books.
Olive Oil, Way of Long Life
Olive Oil, Way of Long Life covers the mythology, history and folklore of the olive tree, olives and olive oil. It also includes traditional recipes that use olive oil.
Novels and Notebooks Set in Crete
Novels set in Crete are a good way to get to know the island before a visit. Two books we recommend give very different views of island life.
The Pale Surface of Things by Janey Bennett
The Pale Surface of Things is Janey Bennett's debut novel, set in a Cretan village and in Chania. Its 4 heroes are a fatherless Cretan mountain boy, a young American runaway bridegroom, a celibate Cretan-American Orthodox priest and a Belgian archaeologist. Each is searching for his place in the world, and each finds it on Crete.
The story moves fast, with kidnaps and killings, prayers and healing, ethics and ritual. Their paths cross like the goat trails of the mountain villages and the back streets of the Venetian old town of Chania. Bennett has researched Crete thoroughly. She captures its difficult history and the struggle to balance treasured old values with modern life. We found it hard to put down.
The Greek Islands: A Notebook by Richard Clark
The Greek Islands: A Notebook by Richard Clark is a collection of short pieces on journeys, places, culture, history and island life. It covers Corfu, Crete, Rhodes and the islands in between, past and present.