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Planning the Best Alexandria Day Trip

05/19/20 | Africa, Alexandria, Egypt, Palaces, Travel

When visiting a new place we always like to see the best of what that city or country has to offer so before we dove into Ancient Egypt and the desert we headed the opposite direction and drove north out of Cairo to the Mediterranean Sea and Alexandria. our Alexandria Day Trip has four stops and I’ll walk you through each one of them! 

The Montazah Gardens is located in the city limits of Alexandria but being in the Montaza district the 15 kilometres on a straight road from the Bibliotheca, will take you almost an hour with the Egyptian Traffic.   With the drive and the visit this will take at least two hours of your Alexandria day trip but I think it is worth it, especially once the palace renovations are done and you can go in. The Montazah Gardens is home to sprawling gardens, hundreds of palm trees and the Montazah Palace. The palace was originally built by King Fuad I in 1932, as a summer palace but is now used by the President and is being renovated into an official presidential residence. Take a look: .
 
Montaza Palace Gates in Alexandria EgyptView from The Red Bridge of Al-Montazah PalaceView of the Montaza Palace - Egypt Royal PalaceOriginal Location of the Library of AlexandriaGarden of Montaza PalaceMontaza Palace in Alexandria
 
Another spot you have may have heard of that we got to visit – the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.  The ancient library of Alexandria? Yeah, I bet you’ve heard of it. But did you know that Caesar and the Romans burning it down in the year 48 AD? Me neither, lol. But when visiting Alexandria we had the chance to see the ruins of the library on the bank of the Mediterranean. Across the street from the ruins is the new library which was built in the late 90’s and officially opened in 2002.   It is a massive space that we were able to go inside and it is crazy that they have space for eight million books – that is a lot of reading! 
 
Alexandria Day Trip - Walls of the Library of AlexandriaComputers in Library of AlexandriaPrinting Press at Library of AlexandriaAlexandria Day Trip - Travel Blogger at Library of Alexandria
 

The city of Alexandria is filled with so much history and the Fort Qaitbey Citadel might have to be.  While you may have never heard of it is it s built from the stones of the world famous Alexandria Lighthouse. It was beautifully restored and you really feel as if it is a stronghold that could protect the city with it’s double walls,  dozens of rooms for guards, and mass storehouses for weapons. 

Alexandria Fortress from the Walls Inside the FortressApproaching the Citadel of QaitbayTravel Blogger Kelly Donlin at the Citadel of Qaitbay

Lastly, the Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa which I recommend visiting early in the morning before the big busses arrive.   The catacombs were the smallest of the attractions we visited and this ancient site already got it’s own post. I do have to say again here though, I love that this labyrinth of tombs underground was found by a donkey falling down one of the main shafts and we visited many of them.

Tickets to Alexandria CatacombsThe Hall of Caracalla in the Catacombs of Kom el-ShuqafaTravel Blogger with Clusters of Tombs in the Catacombs of Kom el-ShuqafaEntrance to the Triclinium in the Alexandra Catacombs

 

A few of you will ask how we did this and it was with a tour we found on the Internet but due to logistical issues I DO NOT recommend the tour we took but the sites are definitely worth seeing!

Would you want to go on an Alexandria day trip? 

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Comments

  1. Suzie says

    May 20, 2020 at 8:02 am

    You sure did have spectacular weather when you were there. The color of the sky in the backdrop of many of your photos looks like it came out of a travel magazine. Breathtaking.

    What a pretty citadel too. Much nicer that the ones we have in America and that library looks so modern and appreciate the nod to history with the old machines that were there.

  2. Liza says

    May 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    Did you get claustrophobic in the catacombs? I have always wanted to do a tour to see what it was like but not sure if I would get freaked out.

    Looks really cool though so if you have any tips, would appreciate them!

  3. Margo says

    May 19, 2020 at 11:31 am

    Your fantastic travels posts have kept me busy living vicariously through your travels.

    Spending some of my free time now working on travels spots and reevaluating the order of my list.

    What a picturesque city.

  4. Jessie says

    May 19, 2020 at 10:09 am

    I have been there and you certainly did hit all the major hot spots.

    Such a pretty place and so much to see that I was really happy that we made the venture up from Cairo. I would have been really sad had I missed these gorgeous and interesting sights.

Hi, I am Kelly and welcome to Sparkles and Shoes, a fashion, travel, and lifestyle blog founded in 2012.  After six years of living in London I am back in New York with my husband and two littles! 

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