Alexandria is one of the must-visit cities in Egypt.
To make sure you had the best in your Egypt tour, you have to prepare for a special one to Alexandria city. You will enjoy many things starting from the interesting historical sites to the adventurous activities that you didn’t try before.
A trip in the Egyptian way to Alexandria is on the top of your destinations and here are things you can do during your visit to this beautiful city of Alexandria
If you search for a relaxing place to enjoy the beauty of mother nature, Montazah Park is the perfect destination to do so.
This place is like an oasis full of tall palm trees and colorful flowers, here you can restore your energy from the city crowds and enjoy the calm atmosphere. These royal gardens are located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Beside these gardens, you can find palaces that were the residence of the Egyptian monarchy, the first palace is the Salamlek palace which was built in 1892 for a hunting purpose for Khedive Abbas II, and the second palace was the Haramlik palace for his sister, which was built by King Fuad in 1932.
These palaces are not available for public visits, but you have free access to the whole gardens to enjoy the sea and the green views. There are also some restaurants and cafes at the park to enjoy the Egyptian food. The most interesting is that there is a little island where you can reach it through a bridge from the Montazah.
Egypt is considered as a wonder land and it hosts three of the world’s ancient seven wonders, Alexandria had 2 of them which were the lighthouse and the ancient Library of Alexandria. This was many years ago, but now the only existing wonder is the Great Pyramids and the Library of Alexandria get rebuilt in the modern design in 2002 after getting destroyed during the Roman conquest of Egypt.
This amazing history of the Bibliotheca has made a big motive to visit such a place plus the great spirit of knowledge and learning you can gain from this huge Library. While visiting the Bibliotheca you will find there the main library and about 4 museums beside a big planetarium, and also there are six specialized libraries, permanent and temporary exhibitions, 4 art galleries and 12 research centers.
If you’re interested to know more about the Bibliotheca Alexandrina you can visit their official website from here (https://www.bibalex.org/en/Default).
Alexandria is a coastal city with a wide waterfront road that became one of the beautiful monuments called “Corniche”. You can enjoy the sea view by walking down the corniche and enjoy the ancient and modern buildings along the corniche.
There are many hotels in Alexandria has the sea view and some of them are built some meters inside the water, this will create an amazing experience during your stay in Alexandria
During your walk beside the Corniche you will enjoy watching the fishing men experiencing their patience and lots of walking snacks sellers that provide local Egyptian snacks like Freska, Homos Sham, Termes, and much more to try.
The Alexandria Corniche is a separate experience, you should try it yourself.
If you like discovering the city streets we will recommend you walking inside the Fouad Street, this street is a historical one with many ancient buildings made during the era when Alexandria hosts many nationalities Italian, French, Greek, Armenian and Egyptian. This interesting culture mix has made the art and shops more special, even the food as it gained all the different cultural experiences in their cuisines.
We guarantee you will have a special experience while visiting Fouad Street, you will eat, dring, and walk in a beautiful street full of amazing architectural buildings.
The real locals use the Alexandrian tram as their usual transportation. This Tram was made in 1860 as the first means of transport in the whole of Africa and to be the oldest tram systems in the world.
Nowadays the Tram is the cheapest and coolest transportation in Alexandria, this is because it’s very slow so you can enjoy the whole city while moving from place to another, you will enjoy a great adventure in the oldest tram in the world.
Alexandria is known for its delicious food and entertaining old cafes, once you’re in Alexandria you have to try its patisserie in more than one cafe. What is interesting about Alexandria’s cafes is that they are dating back to more than 100 years.
As an example of these interesting cafes, Trianon near El Raml Station where you will enjoy delicious patisserie and chocolatier that used to be made by a Greek-owner. Also cafe Délices which is still owned by Greek wonders from 1922 until now, you will find there the most delicious patisserie and bakery beside the sharming sea view.
There are more and more of Alexandria patisseries, we only recommended two of them and the rest you have to discover it yourself.
One of the main monuments of Alexandria is the Stanley Bridge, this amazing bridge is made in a perfect spot on the sea that will help you to enjoy the most beautiful views of the Mediterranean sea, this is because it is 400 meters in length.
Beside this incredible bridge you will find many hotels and restaurants where you can enjoy their delicious food or stay with the bridge dramatical view.
Diving is a special activity in Alexandria, this is not because Egypt has the most beautiful diving spots in the world but because Alexandria offers more than a colorful coral reefs or just a solid experience under the sea, You will enjoy diving around ancient underwater ruins from ancient Egypt.
Not only the land of Egypt is rich in history but also the water of Egypt covers a lot.
Along the Corniche at Eastern Harbour you can find the Citadel of Qaitbay in a unique spot beside the sea. Mamluk Sultan Qaitbey is the one who built the Fort Qaitbey in 1480. This great building was made from the ruins of the old lighthouse of Alexandria which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World after getting destroyed in 1303 by an earthquake.
This fort was the most important defensive stronghold throughout history to secure Egypt and Alexandria in specific. But today this fort will provide you with unforgettable views of the Mediterranean sea. You will have an amazing experience by visiting part of Alexandria great history and enjoy this beautiful view of the sea.
This Roman Theatre is a ruins of a very old Roman theatrical and residential complex that was discovered in 1960 while removing the rubble in order to build a governmental building, this monument is also named Kom el-Dikka. This is the only Roman amphitheater known in Egypt and it is in a very good condition so you can clearly see its features.
This Theatre was built in the traditional Greek style in the shape of a stage in the middle with low level and surrounded by rows to be the audience seats. The most interesting thing about this monument is that if you watch the ruins closely you can see the Roman numerals carved on the audience seats very clearly. The discovery at this site has shown lecture halls, small villages, Roman baths, and a large house with many amazing mosaics arts. All these discoveries made the Kom El Dikka site come to life and attract lots of visitors.
Alexandria has one of the Middle Ages seven wonders which is the catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, these catacombs architecture is a mix of Egyptian, Greek and Roman style and dates back to 1900 AD.
We discovered that these catacombs contain 3 levels under the ground made of rocks, the deepest level are completely covered in water. This monument has a fun discovery story, they could find it when a donkey fell by accident in the entrance hall for the ground level.
The second level of the catacombs is described as “eerily alive” due to all the sculptures there. It’s believed that it was originally intended as a tomb for a single family, but bones of other individuals and horses were also found there.
All these interesting things are in only one site at Alexandria city, you can easily discover this amazing place during your visits in Alexandria.
In the old days there was a complete city called Hellenistic but now this city is lost under the water and the Archaeologists are searching to find its treasures. They could find only a scant of the city and it’s now displayed in Alexandria’s museums but the rest of the city’s amazing monuments are still under the water and everyone can dive and visit it. Actually this is more fun than an ordinary visit.
One of the discovered monuments was “Cleopatra’s Palace” which include many ancient statues and columns like sphinxes which will provide you with a fascinating journey under the ancient water.
Alexandria is a very rich city with many and many different cultures and history, so for you to not get confused you can visit the Alexandrian National Museum that will help you sort Alexandria’s history. This Museum was made in a restored Italian palace and reopened in 2003, you will find there more than 1,800 artifacts that cover all Alexandria history.
Inside the museum you can find it divided into eras to organize the information, the eras by order are pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Christian, Islamic and modern. The museum can’t dismiss the underwater monuments so you will find a special corner for the discovered monuments (the ones they could bring out the water). There are also a great collection of ancient objects like coins, jewels, and weapons.
For the lovers of the royalty and the jewels, you definitely have to visit the Royal Jewelry Museum which made inside the palace of Princess Fatma El Zahraa, this palace was built in 1919-1923 especially in Zizenia neighborhood
This amazing palace hosts a huge jewelry collection that contains around 11,000 pieces, a big part of this collection belongs to the Mohammed Ali era since 1805.
Plus the jewelries you can find inside the museum some ancient centuries coins, watches, portraits for the royal family with golden frames, golden clocks, and charming crowns. This is beside the King Farouk’s walking stick which was made from ebony and gold
Your visit inside this valuable museum will be around one hour, you will enjoy the royal feeling while learning a lot about the royal family history. This place will be a masterpiece for you if you’re in love with arts and history.
Cavafy Museum is made to tribute the life of Alexandria’s most famous sons, Constantine Cavafy who lived in from 1863 till 1933. He was a Greek Alexandrian poet that got famous for his great writing special after his death. This museum is made in his flat at Sharm el-Sheikh Street in Alexandria and all the visitors enjoy visiting such a memorable museum.
Cavafy used to work as a journalist and no one recognized him at that time, he had amazing poetries talking about the rich history of Alexandria specially its Hellenistic origins until he became one of the most important figures in the city. By visiting this museum you will discover lots of Cavafy’s original manuscripts and correspondence.
Visiting Alexandria is a special journey you can have during your stay in Egypt, you will have a fun summer vacation beside a rich historical trip through Alexandria history. Get prepared for such an adventure and we guarantee you will never forget The city of Alexandria.
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