Sunken treasures
From Abu Qir Bay.
Papillus — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Summering2018 — CC0 · Amr F.Nagy — Public domain · Amr F.Nagy — Public domain · Summering2018 — CC0
A museum in an elegant Italian-style mansion on Tariq al-Horreya in central Alexandria, built in 1926 for a timber merchant and for years home to the United States consulate, before opening as a museum in 2003. It tells the story of Alexandria and Egypt through about eighteen hundred objects over three floors arranged by era: the Pharaonic period, with mummies in a reconstructed burial chamber; then the Greek and Roman eras, with pieces raised from the sunken cities of Abu Qir Bay; then the Coptic, Islamic and modern periods. The museum is medium-sized and clearly arranged by period, a good introduction to the city's history before visiting its sites. A foreign visitor's ticket costs about two hundred and twenty Egyptian pounds, and it opens from nine to five. It sits in the city centre close to the Graeco-Roman Museum and the Kom el-Dikka theatre, so make it the start of your day in old Alexandria.
From Abu Qir Bay.
A 1926 building.
From pharaohs to today.
Tariq al-Horreya, central Alexandria
Graeco-Roman MuseumAlexandria's oldest museum, founded in 1892 and opened in its present building w8 minutes walk
Bibliotheca AlexandrinaThe new Library of Alexandria, a revival of the memory of the ancient Library of12 minutes walk
Kom el-DikkaThe largest above-ground archaeological site in Alexandria, in the heart of the 13 minutes walk
Alexandria CornicheThe coastal road that curves along Alexandria's shore for some twenty kilometres14 minutes walkYes; it is medium-sized, needs an hour to an hour and a half, and gives a clear picture of the city's history before you visit its sites.