Best Things to Do in Alexandria (2026 Guide)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you book or buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and hours change — always confirm current rates on official sources before you book.

Last updated: 7 August 2026

Alexandria is Egypt’s great outlier — a Mediterranean city founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, home to the ancient world’s most famous library, and about as far from the Nile Valley temple circuit as Egypt gets. Where Cairo is dense and ochre-colored and Luxor is all sun-baked temples, Alexandria is breezy and salt-air blue, lined with belle-époque apartment blocks and a two-mile seafront promenade. It has its own catacombs, its own Roman amphitheater, a 15th-century seafront fort built from the stones of the vanished Pharos lighthouse, and a strikingly modern library built to honor the ancient one the world lost. This is the first Egypt guide on Trip My Journey — after building out Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan, we’re adding Cairo, Luxor, Hurghada, and Alexandria to the map.

One honest note before you plan: Alexandria has its own small airport, Borg El Arab International Airport (HBE), but its international routes are limited — mostly regional connections to the Gulf, Turkey, and a handful of European charters, via carriers like EgyptAir, Air Cairo, Turkish Airlines, and Wizz Air Malta. The great majority of visitors instead fly into Cairo International Airport (CAI) and travel overland to Alexandria. That is also why Alexandria tours and day trips on Klook are sold as “day trip from Cairo” products rather than as standalone Alexandria listings — there is not yet a separate Alexandria tour marketplace on the platform. We have kept that framing honest throughout this guide rather than pretend otherwise.

Please read before you book: Prices below were checked on 7 August 2026 from official sources (Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s own site and Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities fee list). Museum and site fees in Egypt change periodically and almost all sites now require card payment on-site — treat this table as a planning baseline and confirm the live price before you go. EGP–USD figures use the 7 August 2026 rate of 1 USD ≈ 49.79 EGP.

Book Alexandria Day Tours from Cairo

Alexandria does not have its own city listing on Klook yet — every Alexandria tour is sold under Cairo Governorate, departing Cairo for the day. The live widget below pulls current Cairo-area tours and day trips, Alexandria included:

Getting to Alexandria: Airport, Train, Bus, or Private Car

By air: Borg El Arab Airport (HBE), about 25 km southwest of the city, has EgyptAir and Air Cairo domestic links plus a growing set of regional routes (Gulf cities, Turkey, occasional European charters). If your international flight only connects through Cairo, HBE will not help you — you will still land at CAI.

By train: This is the classic way to do it. Egyptian National Railways (enr.gov.eg) runs dozens of daily trains between Cairo’s Ramses Station and Alexandria’s Misr Station, including modern air-conditioned Talgo and VIP Express services with assigned 1st and 2nd class seating. Journey time is roughly 2.5–3 hours. Foreign-tourist fares run in the ballpark of $25–$30 one-way depending on class; book online at enr.gov.eg, through the station ticket counters, or via a travel agent, and buy a day or two ahead in peak season.

By bus: Companies including West Delta, Super Jet, and Go Bus run frequent coaches from Cairo (Turgoman/Almaza terminals) to Alexandria, taking about 2.5–3 hours depending on traffic and route. Fares vary widely by operator and comfort class, roughly EGP 297–1,364 (≈ $6–$27).

By private car or day tour: The most flexible option, and the one Klook lists (see the widget above) — a private car or driver-guide covers the roughly 220 km/2.5–3 hour drive along the Cairo–Alexandria Desert Road, with hotel pickup and drop-off, so you can see the Bibliotheca, Qaitbay Citadel, and the catacombs in a single long day without touching public transport.

Top Sights in Alexandria

Bibliotheca AlexandrinaQaitbay CitadelCatacombs of Kom El ShoqafaPompey’s PillarThe Corniche

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

The ancient Library of Alexandria — the greatest repository of knowledge in the classical world, lost to fire, war, and neglect over centuries — is gone, but its modern successor is one of the most striking library buildings on Earth. Opened in 2002 on the city’s eastern harbor, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a vast tilted disc of granite and glass, its roof set with windows shaped like an eye open to the sky. Inside, a single cascading reading room spreads across eleven split levels and can hold up to eight million books. A Main Library ticket (EGP 150 / ≈ $3.0 for non-Egyptians) includes a guided tour, the Culturama panoramic show, the Sadat Museum, and rotating exhibitions; the Inclusive ticket (EGP 300 / ≈ $6.0) adds the Antiquities Museum and the Manuscripts Museum, both worth the extra visit if you have the time. The complex also holds a planetarium and a small archaeology museum with pieces recovered from Alexandria’s sunken royal quarters. Give it at least two hours.

Qaitbay Citadel

At the very tip of the harbor peninsula stands Qaitbay Citadel, a squat 15th-century fortress built in 1477 by Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay to guard against Ottoman naval attack. Its real significance goes back further: this exact spot once held the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, which stood for some 1,600 years before earthquakes toppled it in the 14th century. Some of the lighthouse’s own masonry and granite blocks were reused in the citadel’s foundations. Inside, you can walk the ramparts, the old mosque hall, and the small naval museum, but the real draw is the setting — blue water on three sides and long views back along the Corniche. Entry is EGP 200 (≈ $4.0) for foreign visitors.

Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa

Discovered by accident in 1900 when a donkey fell through the ground, the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa (“Mound of Shards”) are the largest known Roman-era burial site in Egypt and one of the Middle Ages’ own Seven Wonders lists. Cut into bedrock across three descending levels, the tombs blend Egyptian, Greek, and Roman styles in a way found almost nowhere else — Anubis dressed as a Roman legionary, sphinxes beside classical columns, funerary niches designed to hold hundreds of bodies. The lowest level is flooded and closed to visitors, but the upper two are open, cool, and genuinely eerie. Entry is EGP 200 (≈ $4.0) for foreign visitors; bring a light jacket, as it is noticeably cooler underground.

Pompey’s Pillar

A single soaring column of polished red Aswan granite, nearly 27 meters tall, Pompey’s Pillar is Alexandria’s tallest ancient monument — and its name is a total misnomer. It has nothing to do with the Roman general Pompey; it was actually raised around 297 AD to honor the Roman emperor Diocletian, and medieval travelers simply mislabeled it centuries later. The pillar stands amid the ruins of the Serapeum of Alexandria, a temple to the god Serapis that some scholars believe once held an overflow annex of the ancient Great Library itself. Look for the pair of granite sphinxes at the base and the underground galleries nearby, once used to store sacred texts. One ticket (EGP 200 / ≈ $4.0 for foreign visitors) covers the whole site, and it pairs naturally with Kom El Shoqafa — the two sit about ten minutes apart on foot.

The Corniche

The Corniche is Alexandria’s soul as much as its skyline — a roughly 20-kilometer seafront road and promenade that curls along the Mediterranean from the harbor near Qaitbay Citadel, past the twin-towered Stanley Bridge, out toward the eastern suburbs. Locals fish off the seawall at dawn, families picnic on the rocks at sunset, and the tea-and-shisha cafés along the water fill up after dark. There is no admission fee and no set itinerary — simply walk it, or flag down one of the bright yellow-and-black taxis for a longer stretch. If you only have one free hour in Alexandria between sights, spend it here.

Where to Stay

Most first-time visitors base themselves near the eastern harbor and the Corniche, within walking distance of Stanley Bridge and a short taxi from Qaitbay Citadel and the Bibliotheca — this stretch has the widest choice of mid-range and upscale sea-view hotels. If you would rather stay closer to Kom El Shoqafa and Pompey’s Pillar, the downtown area around Raml Station and Attarine puts you nearer the old city’s markets and colonial-era streets, with easy tram access back to the harbor. We do not have a live Alexandria hotel widget on this page yet, so we would rather point you toward a neighborhood than guess at hotel names or rates — check current listings and reviews directly when you book.

FAQs About Visiting Alexandria

Can I fly directly into Alexandria?

Yes, technically — Borg El Arab Airport (HBE) has domestic and some regional international routes. But most travelers arriving from outside Egypt will land at Cairo International Airport (CAI) and travel on to Alexandria by train, bus, or private car, since CAI has far more international connections.

Is Alexandria worth visiting as a day trip from Cairo?

Yes, if your time is limited. A private car or organized day trip (see the widget above) covers the roughly 2.5–3 hour drive each way, and you can realistically fit the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Qaitbay Citadel, and either the catacombs or Pompey’s Pillar into one long day. For a more relaxed pace, stay one night.

How do I get from Cairo to Alexandria without a tour?

The train is the easiest independent option — frequent daily departures from Ramses Station to Alexandria’s Misr Station, about 2.5–3 hours, book via enr.gov.eg or at the station. Buses (West Delta, Super Jet, Go Bus) are cheaper and run just as often from Cairo’s main coach terminals.

What currency should I bring, and can I pay by card?

Egypt uses the Egyptian Pound (EGP). As of 7 August 2026, 1 USD ≈ 49.79 EGP. Most major attractions in Egypt, including Alexandria’s main sites, now require card payment for tickets rather than cash, so bring an international debit or credit card in addition to some EGP cash for taxis, tips, and small vendors.

How many days do I need in Alexandria?

One full day covers the highlights (Bibliotheca, Qaitbay, and one of the ancient sites); two days lets you add the Corniche at a slower pace, the Graeco-Roman Museum, and the downtown markets without rushing.

Final Word

Alexandria rewards travelers who come with reasonable expectations: this is not Luxor’s wall-to-wall temple circuit, and its greatest ancient landmark — the Library — survives only in spirit and in its striking modern successor. What you get instead is a genuinely different Egyptian city: Mediterranean light, a real seafront, Greco-Roman ruins mixed with Ottoman and colonial layers, and a slower pace than Cairo. Whether you come for a single long day trip or settle in for two nights on the Corniche, it is a worthwhile detour from the Nile Valley circuit — and a fitting first stop for Trip My Journey’s move into Egypt.

Related Guides: Cairo, Luxor, and Hurghada guides are coming soon to Trip My Journey as we continue building out Egypt coverage.