Alexandria

Abou Shakra

Popular Egyptian chain for shwarms, similar grills and set meals of kebab, kofta, fries and salad.

Daily 10AM-midnight

Alexandria National Museum

Small but absorbing, well-presented museum with more than 1800 archaeological pieces. The basement is devoted to Prehistoric and Pharonic times, first floor to the Graeco-Roman period, second floor to the Coptic and Islamic era. Especially interesting are artefacts raised during underwater excavations: there's a sense of a new window opening on history.

Daily 9AM-4:30PM·EGP 100, students EGP 50

Alexandria Naval Unknown Soldier Memorial

Ismail Monument

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honoring its military. Besides its meaning it is a picturesque neoclassical monument worth a photo during the day or when illuminated in the evening. The structure was built in 1927 to 1938 as a memorial to Khedive Ismail. After the revolution its dedication was changed.

Alexandria Sporting Club

Built in 1898 and used during the British occupation, the Alexandria Sporting Club is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Egypt. Today, the golf course stands on 97 feddans, 97 percent of which constitutes the total club area. It is a flat course with tricky bunkers and can be played by beginners as well as experts. The club also features four restaurants, the Club House Restaurant being the most luxurious, and the Happy Land restaurant serving the children's playground. It also offers party catering.

Arabic Calligraphy Museum

The museum was inaugurated in 2015. On two levels with three rooms each the museum presents manuscripts, but also paintings, ceramics, sculptures and miniatures with calligraphic scripts.

Athineos

The "Mermaid of Alexandria" is a local legend frequented by both Durrell and Cavafy, but alas, it has fallen far since its glory days. The views are still amazing, and the Greek motifs in the gilded friezes and stenciled frescoes give some character, but the food is, despite the Greek names on the menu, almost entirely Arabized: order souvlaki and you'll get kebab.

24 hrs

Balbaa

Popular place for Egyptian meat and seafood. Their outlet at Carrefour City Center has closed.

Daily 10AM-4PM

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Alexandrina

A huge modern library and research centre constructed on the site of the ancient Library of Alexandria. Wonderful display of ancient texts of the Middle East. Includes four museum areas, exhibition space, and a planetarium. Regular tours in English and other languages. The Antiquities Museum costs (EGP 100 extra and is particularly well worth visiting if you're into artefacts from the Pharonic to the Islamic period.

Sun-Thu 9:30AM-5PM, Sat 10AM-2PM·EGP 150 for foreigners and EGP 10 for Egyptians - buy tickets from the office on Dr. Abd Al Hamid Dayed St. facing the university

Carrefour City Center

If this is "city centre", you'll need camels to reach "edge of town". It's a big mall with huge hypermarket, coffee shops and cinemas. Take a taxi to get here.

Daily 10AM-midnight

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

These catacombs were probably carved out to be a single wealthy family's mausoleum, and later expanded to take other elite funerals, from the 2nd to 4th century CE. The name "Kom el-Shoqafa" means "mound of shards" as people brought offerings to the dead here in earthenware bowls, then smashed the empties before returning home. They are composed of a ground level construction that probably served as a funerary chapel, a deep spiral stairway and three underground levels (the lowest now flooded by groundwater) for the funeral rituals and entombment. The place was discovered in 1900 when the ground gave way under a donkey. Built as a separate (and older) catacomb, the Hall of Caracalla became linked when energetic tomb-robbers tunnelled through. It seems to have been a burial place for the Roman emperor's horses, as horse bones predominate. No, not the donkey's. The catacombs are interesting for their plan and for their decoration, as the last of the pharonic burials transitioned into Grecian and Roman styles. But if you've seen the richly decorated burial chambers around Luxor, this one will suffer by comparison.

Daily 9AM-4PM·EGP 150 for foreigners and EGP 30 for Egyptians

Cavafy Museum

Museum in the house of the poet Cavafy (1863–1933) where he spent the last 25 years of his life. Closed as of 02/2024.

Chez Gaby au Ritrovo

Possibly the best Italian restaurant in town, serving pizza and pasta since 1979.

Tue-Sun 2PM-midnight

Chicken Tikka

Tikka Grill

Delicious Egyptian food, with views of the harbour and Fort Qait Bey. Try the shish kebab and the wara' el enab (stuffed vine leaves). There is a second restaurant of this chain in 426 El-Gaish Rd., Luran.

Daily 11AM-2AM

Citadel of Qaitbay

Set on the tip of the Anfushi/Pharos promontory, looking back over the eastern harbour and downtown Corniche. It was built by Mameluke Sultan Abdul-Nasser Qa'it Bay in 1477 CE, by re-cycling the stone of the ruined lighthouse. It tried (with limited success) to defend the city against invaders, from crusaders to Napoleon, and was in military use as late as 1882, when the British bombarded it. There are two entrances and admissions. West, facing your approach along the Harbour mall, is the ground-floor Maritime Museum, which is of little interest. (Its collection continues in a building on the mall.) Come round to the south flank facing the Corniche for the main entrance into the Citadel. There's a fortified courtyard, then a 4-storey bastion.

Daily 9AM-8PM·Citadel EGP 150 for foreigners and EGP 60 for Egyptians and Arabs

Clay Cafe

Coffee and stuff are only just okay for the price, you come for the laidback atmosphere and the wi-fi.

Daily 11AM-midnight

Club21

Friendly inexpensive place for food and drink, plus shisha in the garden.

Daily 9AM to 1AM

Deeb Mall

Mid-range shopping mall, mostly clothing but with IT section. Plus cinema and food court.

10:30AM-10:30PM

Double decker bus ride along the Corniche

The Corniche stretches from the Citadel in the west about 30 km along the seaside to the east. Its core is a 15 km promenade along the bay dotted with restaurants, markets and historic sights. Take one of the red double decker buses that start from Al-Anfushi Bus station and enjoy the ride along the promenade.

EGP 25

El-Mursi Abul-Abbas Mosque

Built in 1775 by Algerians, the mosque was built over the tomb of the famous 13th century Sufi saint, Ahmed Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi. The walls of the mosque are dressed in artificial stone, while the minaret, on the south side, stands at 73 m.

Foul Mohamed Ahmed

Legendary joint for fuul and falafel, clean, friendly and inexpensive. According to a personal memory by an Alexandrian lady it was in Jewish ownership and called Binyamin before the Revolution of 1952.

Graeco-Roman Museum

A history museum with a vast collection mostly dating from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century CE, spanning the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The square in front of it is a popular place for taking marriage pictures and as a hang-out for young people in the evenings.

Daily 9AM-5PM·EGP 150 for foreigners and EGP 40 for Arabs and Egyptians

Ibn El-Balad Gleem

Two-storey restaurant, now part of THM chain. First floor has grilled meats featuring their famous Ibn al-Balad fattah. The second floor serves seafood. Both get great scores for food, service and ambiance.

24 hours

Kom el-Dikka

Roman amphitheatre

"Kom el-Dikka" means "pile of rubble" - so much for the grandeur of the Roman Empire. In Ptolemaic times this area was the Park of Pan, a pleasure garden surrounded by villas and baths. Highlights built in the 2nd century CE are the Villa of the Birds, with fine mosaics, and Egypt's only Roman amphitheatre. This has 13 semicircular tiers made of white and grey marble, with seats for up to 800 spectators, galleries and sections of mosaic-flooring. Excavations continue, and in 2010 a Ptolemaic temple was unearthed. You can see the amphitheatre well enough just by peering through the railings, but you'll have to pay to get inside to see the mosaics and other small artefacts.

Daily·EGP 150 for foreigners

La Veranda

Very central downtown, near the Metropole, Cecil and Sofitel hotels. Within, most of the floor space is the cafe-patisserie Jardin Delices. About a quarter is La Veranda restaurant, with good European/East Med cuisine. Serves alcohol. Atmospheric with the old posters, but nowadays not a spy or dilapidated duchess to be found.

Maamoura Plaza Mall

Small mall in the tract east of Montazah, has some restaurants.

24 hours

Mermaid Bar

Little and nice bar with good view to the sea. Prices on beer are moderate; hard liquor is more expensive. At night the upper floor has a dance floor featuring Western and Arabic music. The bar is frequented by foreign (particularly American) Arabic language students at the Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL) Center at Alexandria University.

Montaza Palace

Built in 1892 by Abbas II of Egypt Abbas Hilmi Pasha, the last khedive (Ottoman viceroy) of Egypt. One of the palace buildings, the Haramlek, now contains a casino on the ground floor and a museum of royal relics on the upper levels, while the Salamlek has been converted into a luxury hotel (see Sleep). Parts of the extensive gardens (over 80 ha/200 acres) are open to the public. There is an entrance fee for the park.

EGP 25

Montazah Royal Gardens

Though the gardens are a part of the more than three hundred and fifty acre grounds (61 ha) of the large royal home known as the Muntazah Palace, the Montazah Royal Gardens take up more than half of the property. Montazah Royal Gardens are situated along the shore as well, which means access to the lovely beaches and warm Mediterranean Sea waters nearby. The Montazah Royal Gardens are a bit unique where city parks and public spaces are concerned as they are rigorously landscaped, and well-stocked with benches and wading or swimming pools that are open for the public to enjoy.

Mostafa Kamel Necropolis

Mustafa Kamel Cemetery/Tombs

The cemetery includes four tombs dating from the 2nd century BC, all of which are in excellent condition and beautifully decorated. The cemetery bears the name of Mostafa Kamel, one of 20th century Egyptian politics' greatest legends. It was he who pronounced the famous phrase: "If I were not born an Egyptian, I would like to be an Egyptian." As of October 2025, the site is closed for renovations.

Ole Cafe

A reasonably priced restaurant with Spanish cuisine. Try the Beef Madrid.

Daily 8AM-10PM