Alexandria travel, tours and Vacations.

A short guide about Alexandria

When travelling through Egypt one must be sure to visit the coastal city of Alexandria; a faded shade of its former glorious cosmopolitan self, it has many cultural attractions and glimpses of its past. Today it is Egypt's second largest city and provides the country's window onto the Mediterranean Sea containing its largest seaport.

Alexandria has many museums, historical monuments and religious sites to explore – so depending on the length of your tour – be sure to visit such monuments as the Citadel of Qait Bey; this iconic fortress overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and was built to protect the city from the ‘Crusaders’ who used to attack by sea.

Visit the Cemetery of Mostafa Kamel that includes four tombs dating from the 2nd century BC; all of which are in excellent condition and beautifully decorated. Tour the stunning set of Roman Catacombs with a fascinating mix of Roman and Egyptian iconography, and crane your neck to view the ancient Pompey's Pillar; a 25-metre-high granite column constructed in honour of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 297.

Imagine the days of the Roman Theatre; built in the 2nd century AD it is made of marble and seats up to 800 spectators, in Ptolemaic times it held the Park of Pan; a pleasure garden surrounded by villas and baths. Now one must visit the Montaza Palace with its extensive gardens open to the public, its Haramlek Palace contains a casino and museum of royal relics.

A visit of Alexandria’s museums will take you to the Alexandria National Museum, and the History Museum with more than 1800 archaeological pieces exhibited chronologically, and highlights artifacts raised during recent underwater excavations. The Museum of Fine Arts contains the precious royal jewels, and the National Institute for Oceanography and Fisheries has an excellent Aquarium.

The city’s religious sites include the Attarine Mosque, and the Abu el Abbas al Mursi Mosque ; built in 1775 by Algerians it was built over the tomb of the 13th century Sufi Saint Andalusan Murcia. There is also the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral.

Tourabout has quite a variety of vacation packages to Alexandria provided by our tour suppliers who would also like to show you Modern Alexandria as well – so take the time to visit the Bibliotheca Alexandrina; a huge modern library and research centre that contains a planetarium, or walk the Corniche; a glorious 15km boardwalk along the harbour dotted with restaurants, markets and historic sights.