Best of Alexandria

Set along the Mediterranean, Alexandria is steeped in history. Egypt’s second largest city was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE and grew into an important center of Hellenistic civilization, and its architecture, wealth and civic life once rivaled that of Athens and Rome. While many travelers visit on day trips from Cairo (a 2.5-hour drive to the southeast), Alexandria has some excellent hotels (including historic and seaside options) and restaurants, as well as plenty of daytime activities (museums, beach walks, scuba diving.

You can see vestiges of the past on guided tours through Alexandria’s most important sites. Local Egyptologists lead enlightening excursions into the Catacombs of Kom Ash Shuqqafa, the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt. At the Alexandria National Museum, you can explore ancient artwork, mythology and spiritual beliefs amid exhibitions that date from the Pharaonic period through Greco-Roman times and up to the Byzantine era. There’s also a 15th-century defensive fortress known as Fort Qaitbay and the massive Bibliotheca Alexandrina, home to a modern library, several museums and a planetarium.