Must-see attractions in Alexandria

  • Top Choice
    Bibliotheca Alexandrina

    Alexandria’s ancient library was one of the greatest of all classical institutions, and while replacing it might seem a Herculean task, the new…

  • Top Choice
    Alexandria National Museum

    This excellent museum sets a high benchmark with its summary of Alexandria’s past. Housed in a beautifully restored Italianate villa, the small but…

  • M
    Top Choice
    Mahmoud Said Museum

    Mahmoud Said (1897–1964) was one of Egypt’s finest 20th-century artists, even though he is little known outside his country. A judge by profession, he…

  • C
    Catacombs of Kom Ash Shuqqafa

    Discovered accidentally in 1900 when a donkey disappeared through the ground, these catacombs make up the largest-known Roman burial site in Egypt and one…

  • K
    Kom Al Dikka

    Kom Al Dikka was a well-off residential area in Graeco-Roman times, with lovely villas, bathhouses and a theatre. The area was known at the time as the…

  • F
    Fort Qaitbey

    The Eastern Harbour is dominated by the bulky walls of Fort Qaitbey, built on a narrow peninsula over the remains of the legendary Pharos lighthouse by…

  • M
    Mosque of Abu Abbas Al Mursi

    This stately mosque was built over the tomb of a revered 13th-century Sufi saint, Abu Abbas Al Mursi, from Murcia in Spain. Several successive mosques…

  • C
    Cavafy Museum

    The Alexandrian-Greek poet Constantine Cavafy spent his last 25 years in an apartment above a brothel on the former Rue Lepsius, a flat now preserved as…

  • M
    Mamoura Beach

    About 1km east of Montazah, Mamoura is the ‘beachiest’ of Alexandria’s beaches. There’s a cobblestone boardwalk with a few ice cream shops and food stalls…

  • A
    Antiquities Museum

    The Antiquities Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina has a well-curated exhibition of artefacts that romp from the Pharaonic, through the Greek and Roman…

  • M
    Museum of Modern Art

    This wonderful and little-visited collection of 16th- to 20th-century paintings reflecting the city's cosmopolitan flair is housed in an old villa. Some…

  • T
    Terbana Mosque

    The beautiful little Terbana Mosque stands at the junction of Sharia Faransa and Wekalet Al Limon. This entire quarter, known as Gumruk, is located on…

  • S
    Shipyards

    Where northern Anfushi hits the sea, you can wander among huge wooden vessels in various states of construction. In small workshops, craftspeople make…

  • M
    Montazah Palace Gardens

    The 19th-century Montazah palace is off-limits, but the surrounding lush gardens are prime strolling territory. There’s an attractive sandy cove here with…

  • E
    Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue

    Among the largest synagogues in the Middle East, this magnificent Italian-built structure served Alexandria’s once-thriving and cosmopolitan Jewish…

  • H
    Herakleion-Thonis

    For archaeologists the discovery of the port of Herakleion-Thonis in Aboukir has been a triumph. Excavations have revealed a huge amount of treasure…

  • C
    Cleopatra's Palace

    This royal-quarter area in the Eastern Harbour has yielded some of Alexandria's most interesting underwater antiquities. Today divers can see a couple of…

  • P
    Pharos Island

    This site, just offshore from Fort Qaitbey, contains sphinxes, columns, capitals and statues dating from the Pharaonic, Greek and Roman eras as well as…

  • W
    World of Shadi Abdel Salam

    The World of Shadi Abdel Salam, named for the late cult-film director, painter, script writer and set designer born in Alexandria in 1930, shows a display…