Alexandria, Egypt
Alexandria, Egypt: the Mediterranean city founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC.
Best Time to Visit
October to April
Region
Lower Egypt
Recommended Duration
3-5 days
Difficulty
Easy
Discover Alexandria, Egypt
Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC and became the ancient world's wealthiest, most cosmopolitan city, home to the Great Library and the legendary Lighthouse. Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic layers still define its streets today. Facing the Mediterranean rather than the Nile, Alexandria feels unlike anywhere else in Egypt.
Alexandria, Egypt Highlights
Explore the treasures that make Alexandria, Egypt one of Egypt's most captivating destinations.
Qaitbay Citadel
Qaitbay Citadel, built in 1477 on the site of the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria, rises directly from the Mediterranean as the city's most iconic landmark.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, opened in 2002 as a bold reimagining of the ancient Great Library, crowns the Mediterranean shore with its iconic tilted disc roof.
Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa
The Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, carved into Alexandria's bedrock in the 2nd century AD, form Egypt's largest Roman funerary complex and a Wonder of the Middle Ages.
Pompey's Pillar
Pompey's Pillar, a single 27-meter column of red Aswan granite erected in 297 AD, once stood within Alexandria's magnificent ancient Serapeum temple complex.
Alexandria National Museum
The Alexandria National Museum, set within a restored Italian-style palace, traces the city's pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic history across three curated floors.
Greco-Roman Museum
The Greco-Roman Museum, founded in 1892, holds over 40,000 objects revealing Alexandria's Hellenistic and Roman-era cultural fusion.
Royal Jewelry Museum
The Royal Jewelry Museum, housed in a Belle Époque palace once home to Princess Fatima al-Zahra, displays Egypt's royal family jewels from Mohamed Ali Pasha to King Farouk.
Kom el-Dikka (Roman Amphitheatre)
Kom el-Dikka, discovered by accident in the 1960s, preserves Egypt's only well-known Roman amphitheater alongside villas, baths, and mosaics from the 2nd century AD.
Abu Abbas al-Mursi Mosque
The Abu Abbas al-Mursi Mosque, built in 1943 over a 13th-century Sufi saint's tomb, crowns Alexandria's Anfushi waterfront with four soaring Andalusian-style minarets.
St. Mark's Cathedral
St. Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria, founded by tradition in 48 AD, stands as the mother church of the Coptic Orthodox Church and one of Christianity's oldest sites.
Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue
The Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, built in 1354 and restored in the 19th century, reflects Alexandria's once-thriving Jewish community through marble columns and crystal chandeliers.
Montazah Palace & Gardens
Montazah Palace, built by Khedive Abbas II in 1892 on a Mediterranean headland, anchors 150 acres of royal gardens, pine forests, and sea-facing promenades.
Cavafy Museum (Constantine Cavafy's Apartment)
The Cavafy Museum preserves the Lepsius Street apartment where poet Constantine Cavafy lived and wrote for 25 years, restored with period furniture and manuscripts.
Serapeum Site
The Serapeum of Alexandria once housed a subsidiary library of the Great Library and a monumental statue of Serapis within one of antiquity's greatest temple complexes.
Ras El-Tin Palace
Ras El-Tin Palace, built on the ruins of a historic fort along Alexandria's western harbor, served as a royal residence and the site of King Farouk's 1952 abdication.
Alexandria Fine Arts Museum
The Alexandria Fine Arts Museum, housed in an early 20th-century neoclassical building, preserves Egyptian and international art from the city's cosmopolitan golden age.
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