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Museums and galleries in Alexandria

10 museums and galleries in Alexandria, from the big collections to small independent spaces.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Museums and galleries in Alexandria

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    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-4:30PMEGP 100, students EGP 50

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    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.

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    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-2PMEGP 150 for foreigners and EGP 10 for Egyptians - buy tickets from the office on Dr. Abd Al Hamid Dayed St. facing the university

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    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.

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    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-8PMCitadel EGP 150 for foreigners and EGP 60 for Egyptians and Arabs

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    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-5PMEGP 150 for foreigners and EGP 40 for Arabs and Egyptians

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    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.

    DailyEGP 150 for foreigners

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    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

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    Royal Jewelry Museum

    Royal jewelry from the Egyptian monarchy of 1805 to 1952 displayed in the former palace of Princess Fatma Al-Zahra'.

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    Museum of Fine Arts

    Mostly modern and Orientalist paintings

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Alexandria (CC BY-SA 4.0).