Alexander the Great founded this city in 331 BCE, and for centuries it was the intellectual capital of the ancient world. The Great Library of Alexandria held 700,000 scrolls. The Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders, guided ships from 100 kilometers away. Cleopatra ruled from a palace whose foundations now lie beneath the harbor. The city she inhabited is largely gone — swallowed by the sea or buried under 2,000 years of building — but Alexandria today is still a beautiful, atmospheric Mediterranean city with a story like no other in Africa.
Egypt Day Tours offers private Alexandria day tours from Cairo (about 2.5 hours by road or express train) and private tours within the city itself.
The modern Library of Alexandria opened in 2002 as a tribute to the ancient one. The building is spectacular — a tilted disc of Aswan granite, angled toward the sea. Inside, the main reading room holds 2,000 readers at a time under a sloping glass ceiling. The complex also contains museums, galleries, and a planetarium that your guide can walk you through.
Cut three stories deep into the rock in the 2nd century CE, these catacombs are the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt. The burial chambers blend Egyptian and Greco-Roman art in a style found nowhere else in the world. Your guide explains the remarkable hybrid iconography — Anubis wearing Roman military dress, Medusa flanking Egyptian sacred eyes.
Built in 1477 CE on the exact spot where the ancient Lighthouse once stood, the Citadel of Qaitbay guards the Eastern Harbor of Alexandria. Blocks of granite from the collapsed Lighthouse are incorporated into its foundations. From the ramparts, you see the entire curve of Alexandria’s seafront.
Three floors of artifacts spanning Alexandria’s Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic periods. The underwater antiquities room displays objects recovered from the sunken royal quarter of ancient Alexandria — statues, sphinxes, and column capitals that once surrounded Cleopatra’s palace.
Alexandria is about 220 kilometers from Cairo — roughly 2.5 hours by private car or express train. Egypt Day Tours includes transport in all Alexandria day tours from Cairo, leaving your hotel early and returning after dinner if you wish.
One full day covers the highlights: the Catacombs, the Citadel, the Corniche, and the Bibliotheca. Two days allow you to visit the National Museum, the Roman Amphitheatre, and take a proper seafood lunch by the harbor.
Yes. Egypt Day Tours’ most popular Alexandria tour leaves Cairo early in the morning and returns late in the evening. You get a full 8 to 9 hours in the city with a private guide who specializes in the Greco-Roman period.
Yes, genuinely. Alexandria is Egypt’s most Mediterranean city, with a distinct character and a history entirely different from the pharaonic story you see in Cairo and Luxor. It is a powerful contrast and a strong addition to any Egypt itinerary.
Your guide will take you to the right place based on your location and preferences. The harbor area near the Citadel has excellent fish restaurants where you choose your fish by weight from the display. It is one of the best lunches in Egypt.
Ready to explore Alexandria? Book your private Alexandria tour today and discover the city where East met West for a thousand years.
