Alexandria

Updated October 2026

Overview and Things to Consider

Alexandria is Egypt's second city, about 5.4 million people strung along the Mediterranean for some 40 km, and it doesn't look or feel like Cairo. The light is softer, the air is wet, the buildings downtown are Italianate apartment blocks with peeling shutters, and the city's spine is a single seafront road, the Corniche, that runs from the Qaitbay Citadel in the west to Montaza in the east. Nearly everything a visitor wants sits in the first 5 or 6 km of it.

You'll like Alexandria if you enjoy cities more than monuments: old cafés, secondhand bookstalls, fish markets, long sea walks, the residue of a cosmopolitan past. You'll be disappointed if you came for pharaonic grandeur. The ancient city that made the name, the Library and the Lighthouse, is gone or underwater, and what's left from antiquity is mostly Roman and underground. If you've just done Luxor, the catacombs here will feel small.

The 2026 moment is construction. The blue-and-cream Raml tram, running since 1863, was fully suspended on 1 April 2026 for a rebuild contracted to finish by the end of 2027. The Abu Qir commuter line is being turned into a metro. Egypt's first high-speed line, Ain Sokhna to Marsa Matrouh via Alexandria's outskirts, is now targeted for July 2027. For a visitor this year, that means more taxis, more traffic and fewer of the slow rides that used to be the easiest way to see the city.

The beaches in town are overrated, crowded and littered in summer and shrinking as the road widens. What's underrated is a morning in the downtown grid around Raml Station, eating breakfast at a fuul counter and walking it off along Nabi Daniel Street.

How Alexandria Got Here

Alexander the Great founded the city in 331 BCE on a fishing village called Rhakotis, and under the Ptolemies it became the capital of Egypt and the intellectual center of the Mediterranean. They built the Pharos lighthouse, just over 100 m tall, one of the Seven Wonders, and a library that tried to collect every text in the known world. Earthquakes in 956, 1303 and 1323 wrecked the lighthouse, and in 1477 Sultan Qaitbay reused its stone for the fort that stands on the spot today. After the Arab conquest in 641, the capital moved inland to what became Cairo, and Alexandria slid into a long decline as a trading port.

The modern city is a 19th-century invention. Muhammad Ali reconnected it to the Nile with the Mahmoudiyah Canal in 1820, Greeks, Italians, Jews, Armenians and Levantines poured in, and the Raml tram and the Corniche followed. British warships bombarded the center in 1882. The cosmopolitan city of Cavafy, Forster and Durrell ended in the 1950s, when Nasser's nationalizations after the 1956 Suez Crisis pushed out nearly all the foreign communities, including a Greek population once around 150,000. What you see downtown, the Greek café names, the French street signs, the synagogue on Nabi Daniel Street, is what they left behind.

Getting There and Around

Most travelers arrive overland from Cairo, and the train is the way to do it. Since 2023 the best trains on the line have been Spanish-built Talgos, which leave Cairo's Ramses station at 08:00, 14:00 and 19:00 and reach Alexandria in two and a half hours, with VIP and plain express trains nearly as good on other departures. Foreigners pay dollar fares, in early 2026 $40 in second and $50 in first on the Talgo and $35 and $40 on the express trains, according to Seat61. The Egyptian National Railways app sells only Egyptian-price tickets, so buy at the Arab and Foreign reservation office at Ramses or through an agency. Your train will stop at Sidi Gaber, 3 km before the end of the line. Unless you're staying in the eastern districts, stay on to Misr Station downtown.

Alexandria's airport is now called Alexandria International (ALY), formerly Borg El Arab (HBE), about 40 km southwest of the center. The name and codes changed on 4 September 2025, and a new terminal took over operations on 1 January 2025. It has direct flights from Istanbul on Turkish Airlines and Pegasus, Athens on Aegean and Air Cairo, Rome on Wizz Air, and a long list of Gulf cities. There is no public transport into town, and Wikivoyage puts the taxi ride at 60 to 90 minutes. For most long-haul trips it's simpler to fly into Cairo and take the train.

Entry is the same as anywhere in Egypt. US, UK, EU, Canadian and Australian passport holders need a visa, either an e-visa from the official visa2egypt portal, which asks you to apply at least seven days ahead, or a 30-day visa on arrival at airport kiosks for $30, cash only, according to the UK Foreign Office. Your passport needs six months' validity. A Cabinet decision raises the single-entry visa to $33 from 1 January 2027.

Inside the city, plan on taxis and ride-hailing. Alexandria's black-and-yellow cabs don't use meters, so agree the price before you get in, or use Uber or Careem, both of which operate here. The Raml tram is suspended until the end of 2027, with replacement buses and minibuses running along Gamal Abdel Nasser Street and the Corniche every three to five minutes. Microbuses run the Corniche constantly and cost almost nothing, but drivers rarely speak English and routes change without the signs changing. Walking works well downtown, from Raml Station to Qaitbay is about 2.5 km along the water, but crossing the Corniche is a test of nerve, since drivers do not yield to pedestrians.

What's Changed Since 2016

December 2022: Egypt began charging foreigners dollar prices for train tickets, and the Talgo trains arrived on the Cairo line soon after. The foreign fare on the Cairo line now runs $35 to $50 one way, and the Egyptian fare on the same train is far lower. It's still the best way to arrive, but it is no longer the bargain older guidebooks describe.

October 2023: the Graeco-Roman Museum reopened after being closed since 2005, with about 10,000 objects in 25 galleries covering the city from Alexander to the Arab conquest. For most of the 2000s and 2010s, visitors couldn't see it at all. It's now the best single museum in the city, at EGP 400 for a foreign adult.

January to September 2025: the airport moved into its new Terminal 2 on 1 January, then dropped the Borg El Arab name on 4 September and took the code ALY, which used to belong to El Nouzha, the old city airport closed to traffic since January 2012.

February to April 2026: the Raml tram ran its last regular trips. A trial suspension between Victoria and Mostafa Kamel started on 1 February, partial closure on 11 February, and full suspension on 1 April. The rebuilt line, with 30 new Hyundai Rotem trams and track that rises above street level for part of the route, is meant to cut the end-to-end trip from 60 minutes to 35. The Abu Qir commuter railway is closed too, being converted into a 21.7 km metro line from Misr Station to Abu Qir.

August 2026 onward: a digital visa on arrival started at Cairo airport on 1 August for $36, including a $6 service fee, and the base single-entry fee rises to $33 on 1 January 2027. The UK Foreign Office's Egypt advice, updated 4 August 2026, also updated its section on regional tensions, noting strikes across the region against US targets from 8 July.

What the Usual Advice Gets Wrong

"Fly into Borg El Arab (HBE), and don't confuse it with Alexandria's ALY airport." That advice flipped in September 2025. Borg El Arab is now Alexandria International Airport, code ALY, and the old El Nouzha airport that used to carry that code has been closed to flights since 2012. Search fares under ALY.

"Ride the historic double-decker tram along the coast for a few pounds." The Raml line, the one with the double-deckers that ran parallel to the sea, has been fully suspended since 1 April 2026, with completion of its replacement contracted for the end of 2027. Replacement buses and minibuses cover the route. Reuters reported in January 2026 that the separate yellow City Line had not yet been slated for renovation.

"The Cairo to Alexandria train is a cheap local ride, just buy a ticket on the app." Foreigners have paid dollar fares since December 2022, $35 to $50 one way in early 2026, and the national railways app only sells Egyptian-price tickets. If cost matters more than comfort, intercity buses run from Cairo for roughly EGP 100 to 300 and shared minibuses from beside Ramses Station for about EGP 140.

"Visit the site of the ancient Library and the Pharos Lighthouse." Nothing of either survives above ground. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a 2002 building near the ancient library's presumed location, and Qaitbay Citadel was built from the lighthouse's fallen stone. The lighthouse's remains lie on the seabed, and the closest you'll get on land is the underwater finds in the National Museum and the Bibliotheca's Antiquities Museum.

"Hail a taxi and ask for the meter." Alexandria's taxis refuse to use meters because the rates haven't been updated in years. Agree a price before you get in, or use Uber or Careem, which saves the argument. Canada's advisory also tells women not to sit in the front seat.

Ideas to Consider for Your Visit

Have you thought about spending real time inside the Bibliotheca Alexandrina instead of photographing it from the Corniche? The main reading room drops down eleven terraced levels under a 32 m tilted glass roof, and the outer granite wall is carved with characters from 120 scripts. A foreigner's ticket is EGP 150, or EGP 300 for the inclusive ticket that adds the Antiquities Museum and the Manuscripts Museum. English guided tours run several times a day Sunday to Thursday, and the Antiquities Museum is where you'll see the objects raised from the harbor floor.

Do the western end on foot. Start at Qaitbay Citadel, built from 1477 to 1479 on the lighthouse site, open 9am to 8pm and EGP 200 for foreigners. Climb the keep for the view back across the Eastern Harbor, then walk back through Anfushi and Bahary past the fishing boats. Stop at the Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque, built over the tomb of a 13th-century Sufi saint, and get Alexandrian ice cream, slightly stretchy, at one of the Bahary shops such as Azza or El Sheikh Wafik.

Give the Roman city a half day. The Graeco-Roman Museum reopened in 2023 and is open 9am to 5pm Sunday to Thursday and until 8pm on Friday and Saturday. Kom el-Dikka, just north of Misr Station, has Egypt's only Roman amphitheater, 13 marble tiers seating about 800, and the mosaics of the Villa of the Birds. South in Karmouz, the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa were found in 1900 when a donkey fell through the ground, and their carved tombs blend Egyptian gods with Roman dress. Pompey's Pillar, a 25 m granite column from 297 CE, is nearby.

Eat the way the city does. Breakfast is fuul and falafel at Mohamed Ahmed on Shakour Street, off Saad Zaghloul Street. Lunch can be koshary topped with kibda Iskandarani, liver fried with cumin, onion and hot peppers. For grilled fish, try places like Shaaban out in El Max or the White and Blue terrace at the Greek Club beside Qaitbay. Have om ali at Trianon, the café that has been on Saad Zaghloul Square since 1905.

Ride out to El Alamein, 120 km west, where the 1942 battles turned the North African war. Trains for the coast leave from Moharam Bek station, 4 km south of the main station, not from Misr Station, and there are hourly buses too. The Commonwealth War Cemetery holds 7,367 graves, the military museum is 300 m west of its gate, and the German and Italian memorials are about 10 km further on. It makes a long day out.

Rosetta, 65 km east where a branch of the Nile meets the sea, is where the Rosetta Stone turned up in 1799, at Fort Julien, then held by Napoleon's army. The stone itself is in the British Museum, but the town keeps a center of Ottoman merchant houses, and few other visitors. Pair it with Abu Qir, 23 km northeast of Alexandria, where Nelson fought the Battle of the Nile in 1798, beside the ruins of ancient Canopus.

The Part Most Guides Miss

Nabi Daniel Street, the pedestrian market street that runs from Misr Station up toward the Corniche, is the best walk in the city and almost no guide sells it as one. It's lined with booksellers with titles in several languages, and further inland stalls sell plug adapters and electrical parts. At number 69 is the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, completed in 1850 and rededicated in January 2020 after a government restoration, with three Jews at the ceremony. Number 30 is the Institut Français, whose courtyard café is one of the quietest places downtown to sit. Walk it slowly from the station north toward the sea, and you'll pass most of what's left of cosmopolitan Alexandria in about 15 minutes.

Where to Base Yourself

Raml Station and Mansheya. The old downtown around Saad Zaghloul Square is where to stay on a short trip. You can walk to the Bibliotheca, Qaitbay, the museums and Misr Station, and the budget hotels on El Ghorfa El Togaria Street and the Ithaka hostels, dorms from about $12 on Hostelworld, are here. So are the grand old hotels, the Steigenberger Cecil and Le Metropole. The catch is noise, from Corniche traffic and wedding parties, and buildings that are atmospheric in the brochure sense and tired in person.

Stanley, Roushdy and San Stefano. The eastern seafront districts are where middle-class Alexandria lives, eats and shops, around Stanley Bridge, the cafés of Roushdy and the San Stefano Grand Plaza mall with the Four Seasons. They suit longer stays and people who'd rather eat out than sightsee. The catch in 2026 is distance. These neighborhoods were tied to downtown by the Raml tram, and without it you're relying on taxis and replacement buses for a ride of 5 to 8 km in heavy traffic.

Montaza. At the far eastern end, the Montaza palace grounds give you gardens, sea and the Helnan Palestine and Salamlek hotels, and in summer it's where Egyptian families come for the beach. It suits a couple of days of quiet, not sightseeing, since downtown is about 15 km away. Also, Rixos signed a deal in 2024 to develop the palace itself into a hotel, so the palace itself may be under works.

Realities to Be Aware Of

At about EGP 52.3 to the dollar in 2026, a budget traveler can manage on $25 to $35 a day with a dorm bed from $5.50 to $12, fuul, koshary and microbuses, and one paid site. A mid-range day of $70 to $120 buys a private room, taxis or Uber, sit-down fish dinners and two or three sites. Comfortable travel at $200 and up means the Cecil or the Four Seasons. Entry fees are small, EGP 200 to 400 for the main sites, but the train from Cairo at $35 to $50 each way is often the single biggest cost.

Safety needs a real paragraph. Everyday crime is low, but foreigners have been targeted here. In October 2023 a policeman shot dead two Israeli tourists and their Egyptian guide at Pompey's Pillar, and the UK Foreign Office lists the killing of an Israeli-Canadian in the city in 2024. In August 2026 the UK updated its section on regional tensions, noting strikes against US targets across the region since 8 July. Neither the UK nor Canada advises against travel to Alexandria, but read your government's advice before you go and check it again on the way.

Alexandria is conservative. Women should cover shoulders, midriff and legs, and should expect staring, comments and sometimes groping, especially walking alone and on public holidays. Ignoring it is the usual advice. Canada advises men not to wear shorts outside tourist areas. Same-sex relationships aren't explicitly criminalized, but Canada warns that police use dating apps to set up arrests, so LGBTQ+ travelers should be very discreet. Don't photograph police, military sites or government buildings, don't bring a drone, which needs prior Defence Ministry permission, and don't post political criticism of Egypt online.

Carry cash in small notes. You can bring in at most EGP 5,000, and many shops only take cash or add a fee for cards. Cover your head entering mosques, and note that the coolest months are also the wettest. Summer is the crowded season. From late June to August the city fills with Egyptians escaping Cairo's heat, and the beaches are packed.

If Alexandria Is Part of a Longer Trip

Alexandria fits as the Mediterranean end of an Egypt loop rather than a stop of its own. Cairo is two and a half hours away by Talgo, and Luxor and Aswan are reached by changing trains in Cairo, where the night sleepers leave. A common sequence is to fly into Cairo, give Alexandria three nights, come back to Cairo, then head south. If you're adding the Red Sea, Sharm el-Sheikh has seasonal flights from Alexandria on Air Cairo and Egyptair. Coming the other way in 2027, the high-speed line is due to link Cairo and the coast at up to 250 km per hour, though its Alexandria stations are planned for the city's outskirts.

West along the coast, El Alamein is an easy day and Marsa Matruh is further on, reached by slow ordinary trains from Moharam Bek, plus an air-conditioned express from June to September. From Matruh it's 300 km of desert road to Siwa oasis, but the UK advises against all but essential travel to the Western Desert outside a few listed areas, and Siwa is not one of them, while Canada says to use only the Matruh road. Don't plan to cross into Libya. The border area is off limits, and the UK advises against all travel within 20 km of it.

For onward flights, Alexandria has direct connections to Athens on Aegean and Air Cairo, Istanbul on Turkish and Pegasus, Amman on Air Arabia and Air Cairo, and Gulf hubs including Doha and Dubai. That makes it a useful open-jaw point. Arrive in Cairo, leave from Alexandria for Athens or Istanbul, and skip the backtrack. If you're stringing several countries together, AirTreks can build a multi-stop ticket around that kind of routing.

Yearly Things to Consider

The sea drives everything here. Summer, late June through August, is high season for Egyptians, with highs around 88°F (31°C), heavy humidity, and packed beaches. For a foreign visitor, the best months are April to early June and late September to November, warm, dry and quiet. Winter is mild at 65°F (18°C) in January, but it is one of Egypt's two wettest places, and a December or January visit can mean storms, flooded streets and grey seas.

Counterintuitively, the months Egyptians pick for Alexandria are the ones a foreign visitor should avoid. July and August are its peak, warm, humid and crowded with families from Cairo, while April, May and October are quiet, dry and still warm enough to sit out on the Corniche at night. Plan around Ramadan too. Canada expects the 2027 fast to begin around 7 February, which shortens site hours and moves the city's eating to after sunset.

Ideas for Itineraries

3 Days in Alexandria

Day one, downtown and the Romans: fuul at Mohamed Ahmed, the Graeco-Roman Museum when it opens at 9, Kom el-Dikka's amphitheater, then a taxi to the Kom el-Shoqafa catacombs and Pompey's Pillar. End with coffee at Brazilian Coffee Stores on Saad Zaghloul Street and om ali at Trianon. Day two, the waterfront: the Bibliotheca in the morning with an English tour, then the walk along the Eastern Harbor to Qaitbay for late afternoon light, back through Anfushi for grilled fish and Bahary ice cream. Day three, Nabi Daniel Street, the National Museum on Tariq el-Horreyya, and an evening drink at the Cap d'Or, one of the city's oldest bars.

5 Days in Alexandria

Take the three days above at a slower pace, then use day four for El Alamein by train from Moharam Bek station, with the Commonwealth cemetery, the military museum and the German and Italian memorials, or for Rosetta and Abu Qir to the east by hired car. On day five, go east to Stanley and Roushdy for lunch with the locals, walk the seafront by Stanley Bridge, and finish in the Montaza gardens before sunset.

1 Week in Alexandria

A week lets you build Alexandria into a loop. Arrive by Talgo from Cairo, spend four nights downtown doing the city at walking pace, with one whole day for the Bibliotheca, its Antiquities and Manuscripts Museums and the planetarium. Then add two days on the coast, a night in El Alamein or Marsa Matruh, before heading back to Cairo. A week also leaves room for an evening at the Institut Français and a second, slower morning in the Graeco-Roman Museum.

2 Weeks or More in Alexandria

For a longer stay, rent an apartment by the week in Roushdy, Stanley or the streets just inland from Raml Station, and look at it in the late afternoon before you pay, to check the light and the roaches. Alexandria is one of the better places in Egypt to study Arabic, with one-to-one teaching at Ahlan Egypt near Mansheya Square and the TAFL Center at Alexandria University, and French, German and Spanish cultural institutes for evenings out. Weekends work for Cairo by train, El Alamein and the coast, or Rosetta, and the Bibliotheca's reading room is a good place to spend weekdays.

Sources

What this guide is built on. Every page below was read for this guide; prices and rules were checked in October 2026.

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