Alexandria was and still is the dazzling jewel of the Mediterranean, home to the Great Library of Alexandria and the colossal Pharos Lighthouse – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
More than any other major city in Egypt Alexandria has a romantic atmosphere, and history lovers should not miss a visit either.
So, plan your trip by checking out the list of top tourist attractions in this city below.
Distinctive tourist attractions in Alexandria
Alexandria Library
This exquisitely designed cultural centre houses a collection of museums, as well as one of the most ambitious libraries in the modern world.
Its design (shaped like a giant sun disc) overlooks the waterfront promenade, while inside, the massive reading room can hold eight million volumes.
Under the main library, visitors can explore a beautifully curated collection of exhibits.
The Manuscript Museum, with its impressive collection of ancient texts and manuscripts, and the Archaeology Museum, with its Greco-Roman antiquities and statues found during underwater excavations in the harbour, are also major attractions.
Alexandria Library
Alexandria National Museum
The Alexandria National Museum is a must-visit if you want to learn about the vast history of this famous city.
Inside, the collection will take you from the Pharaonic era, to the height of the Hellenistic period when Alexandria and Egypt were ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty started by Alexander the Great, up to the Byzantine and Islamic eras.
In addition to the displays, statues and antiquities discovered in and around the city (including finds in the marine area), there are excellent drawings and maps depicting what Alexandria once looked like, helping visitors understand the changing face of this city.
Alexandria National Museum
Qaitbay Citadel
Walk along the long Corniche road facing the beach heading west, and at the end you will reach the Citadel of Qaitbey.
It may be a poor substitute for what was previously a great site. To the Pharos Lighthouse The Great - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - but this innovative fortress has been guarding Alexandria's eastern harbour since 1480.
The Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay built this castle in an attempt to fortify this important Egyptian port from attack, and the rubble from the destroyed lighthouse was used in its construction.
Inside, you can explore a series of stone-walled rooms and climb to the roof to see the expanse of Mediterranean Sea The vastness before your eyes.
Qaitbay Citadel
The Corniche
The wide waterfront road in downtown Alexandria is as much a symbol of the city as any of its monuments.
Here you will really get a feel for what made this city special in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Many architectural structures from this era still stand along the Corniche, although many of them are these days very dilapidated and could fall at any moment.
The Corniche
Pompey's column
To the southwest of the city is a hill strewn with remains of ancient walls, architectural fragments and rubble on which the only ancient monument in Alexandria remains.
Where Pompey's Pillar rises from the ruins of the ancient and famous Temple of Serapeion (Temple of Serapis), which was once used to store surplus manuscripts from the Great Library of Alexandria.
This column made of red granite rises about 27 metres.
It was built in 292 AD in honor of Diocletian, who provided food for the starving population after the siege of the city.
Pompey's column
Park Gardens
The park is an oasis of calm on the eastern edge of the city.
It is a lush haven of tall palm trees, manicured lawns and flowers that was previously off-limits to all but members of the royal court.
It was built by Khedive Abbas Hilmi as a hunting lodge in the 1890s, and then greatly expanded by King Fuad.
The whimsically designed Park Palace, with its ornate Florentine-inspired towers and Rococo flourishes, is not open to the public today.
If you need a dose of calm, a trip to the park is the way to go.
Park Gardens
Abu Abbas Al-Mursi Mosque
Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque is one of the main landmarks in Alexandria.
It was built in 1796 over the tomb of the 13th century Sufi cleric Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi.
The giant cream-coloured mosque has a magnificent facade with distinctive Islamic designs and decorations.
Abu Abbas Al-Mursi Mosque
Ras El Tin Palace
The opulent Ras el-Tin Palace was once the summer retreat of Egypt's sultans.
It is also the famous site where King Farouk, the last king of Egypt, officially abdicated in 1952 before sailing from the port of Alexandria into exile in Italy.
Today, the palace is used by the Egyptian Navy.
Which means its magnificent interiors are not open to the public, but seeing its massive white facade from the outside is enough.
Ras El Tin Palace
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