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Alexandria
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Alexandria

Alexander's City on the Mediterranean

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2 daysIdeal stay₹2,420From / night₹790Food / day₹530Entry

Egypt's second city, founded by Alexander the Great, strung along a 20 km seafront Corniche. The modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina stands near the site of the ancient library, the Citadel of Qaitbay on the site of the Pharos lighthouse, and the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa and the Roman theatre at Kom el-Dikka show the Greek and Roman city. Fresh seafood by the harbour, old cafés and trams. Two and a half to three hours from Cairo by train; Egyptians fill it in July and August, when it is cooler than Cairo.

Highlights

  • Bibliotheca Alexandrina
  • Citadel of Qaitbay on the Pharos site
  • Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa
  • Roman Amphitheatre at Kom el-Dikka
  • Corniche walk at sunset
  • Seafood by the Eastern Harbour
  • Montaza Palace gardens
  • Old cafés and the yellow trams

Things to do

  • Bibliotheca Alexandrina and its museumsMorning · 2h 30m
  • Citadel of QaitbayAfternoon · 1h 30m
  • Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa and Pompey's PillarMorning · 2h
  • Corniche walk and seafood dinnerEvening · 2h 30m
  • Montaza Palace gardensAfternoon · 2h

Tours & tickets

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When to go

Best time: April – October

Heads up

Ramadan: Shorter Hours

Ramadan falls about February to March in 2027 (the dates move about 11 days earlier each year). Museums, sites, shops and offices keep shorter hours, many local restaurants open only after sunset, traffic jams just before the evening meal, and the evenings are lively. Tourist hotels and resorts serve food and drink as usual; eat and drink discreetly in public by day.

Heads up

Egyptian Summer Holidays

July and August are Alexandria's high season, when Egyptian families escape Cairo's heat: beaches and the Corniche are packed, rooms cost more and traffic along the seafront crawls.

  • Ramadan — The fasting month: many cafés and restaurants outside the tourist hotels close by day, sites and offices keep shorter hours, and the streets come alive after the sunset meal (iftar), with lanterns (fanous) and late-night crowds in Islamic Cairo. Eat and drink discreetly in public by day. It falls about February to March in 2027.
  • Eid al-Fitr — Three days of holiday at the end of Ramadan: Egyptian families head for Alexandria, the Red Sea and Sinai, so beach hotels, trains and buses fill and prices rise. Banks and offices close.
  • Eid al-Adha — The feast of the sacrifice, a four-day holiday: sheep are slaughtered in the streets on the first morning, and the beaches and trains fill with Egyptian holidaymakers. About May in 2027.
  • Sham el-Nessim — An ancient spring festival on the Monday after Coptic Easter: all Egypt picnics in parks, on the Nile banks and at the Giza plateau, with salted fish (feseekh) and coloured eggs. Expect crowds at every green space and Nile felucca stand.