Alexandria

Introduction

Sunset in Alexandria

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In the whole world are about 44 cities with the name of Alexandria but Alexandria in Egypt is the oldest and biggest. It is the mother for all the other Alexandrias. Before Alexander the Great came to Egypt it was a small Egyptian village but now about 5 million people live here. Two years ago it was chosen as the most beautiful Arab city, and sometimes it is called the second capital of Egypt.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Events and Festivals

Weather

Alexandria has roughly 150 mm of rain a year, still quite dry to support crops but one of the wettest cities in the country.
Most of the rain here falls between November and February, during the cooler months. Temperatures are still around 20 °C during the day and slightly above 10 °C at night. In summer, temperatures are roughly 10 degrees higher, both during the day and night. With southern winds though temperatures can reach 44 °C in summer as well. These high temperatures (also in Cairo) mainly occur during spring and early summer when hot, dry and dusty winds (Khamsin) blows from the Sahara.

Getting There

By Plane

By Train

Alexandria is about two and a half hours from Cairo by train and you can take the train in the morning and go back to Cair in the afternoon. Check the Egyptian National Railways website for more details about prices and schedules.

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

Egypt Post is the national postal service in Egypt. Services are generally reliable, affordable though pretty slow, even if you send post domestically. International letters and postcards take days, if not weeks if send to the US or Australia. They do have express mail services though, but these are relatively expensive. Opening hours of post officies are mostly from 8:30am to 2:00pm or 3:00pm daily except Friday, when all of them are closed. The central ones might keep longer hours, generally until 8:00pm. You can buy stamps here, or at certain newspaper kiosks. In touristic areas, these are available at many shops as well. For parcels, it's much better to use international courier services such as DHL, TNT or UPS.