City Information                                Boka flygstol                       Queensway Travel
Airport
Al Nouzha Airport is 5 miles south-east of the city. Flight time from London is 5 hrs 15 minutes. Duty-free shopping, banking and exchange, restaurant, cafeteria, licensed bar, car hire. All services are 24 hours.
Transport from Airport to City Centre
Taxis are available outside the terminals day and night. Fares depend entirely on your bartering skills, but expect to pay between E£10 and E£20 for the 20-min trip into town. The airport coach commutes to the city centre and the major hotels every 10 mins, while buses Nos 303 and 310 run a fast service to Midan Orabi in the Ramla for 50pt one-way. To avoid hassles, take a fixed-price limousine. They’re outside the terminal. The taxi fare should be E£20-30. There are no airport coaches, and experts do not ride the overcrowded buses.
Orientation
Although Alexandria, population 4 million, has ancient origins, many of the classical sites have been destroyed or replaced by modern buildings. The centre is around Ras-al-Tin, the promontory that stretches between the two harbours. The western harbour is for commercial use, the eastern for pleasure and tourism. At the tip is the site of the famous Pharos Lighthouse, part of which was recently hauled out of the harbour by excavators. The tower originally stood on an island but thousands of years of silting created a causeway across the channel, thus effectively joining it with the mainland. 
From the Eastern Harbour, Alexandria sprawls east like an oil slick for over 22km to Abu Qir. Main roads follow the coast via a number of beaches, bays and inlets. The Corniche begins at the Eastern Harbour and hugs the shoreline to the Al-Montazah promontory and the beaches of Maamoura Bay. It begins life as 26 July St, then becomes Sharia Al-Geish as it progresses further west. Running virtually parallel is the tramway between Ramla Station and Masr Station. The hub of the city is Midan Saad Zaghloul, a large square off the Corniche. This is the site of the main bus terminals, tourist information centres and shopping streets. Off the midan (square), along the front, are several lively restaurants and nightclubs. To the east, behind the Post and Telephone Office, is Ramla Station, the hub of the city’s transit system. Leading south off the Ramla is the action-packed stretch of Safia Zaghloul St, Alexandria’s principal shopping thoroughfare. 
Excursions                                    - Biljett                               Queensway Travel
Marsa Matruh: A pleasant coastal town just 225km from the Libyan border. The town looks onto white sandy beaches and the sea is clean. The best hotels are lined along the corniche. The town has plenty of restaurants and interesting sites, including the Rommel Museum, which claims to possess Rommel’s greatcoat, and Rommel’s Beach, where he apparently used to take his daily swim! Service taxis make the 250km journey in 4-5 hours at a cost of £E15 one-way. 
El Alamein: The famous scene of Field Marshal Montgomery’s decisive victory over Rommel’s forces in WWII. Today, the area is a thriving oil shipping port, but there are still memories of the past, including the Commonwealth cemetery, where 7,000 of Monty’s ‘Desert Rats’ lie, as well as the War Museum. Service taxis will make the 2-hour trip for approximately £E15 return. El Alamein is 105km west of Alexandria.
Around the City
The best way to travel by far is via a hotel limousine with an English speaking chauffer, hired for a single journey or a period of up to a day. A good second best is a private taxi with an English speaking driver. The advantages of having someone you can understand and trust to help smooth your progress are worth the extra cost. If you do not take this option, metered taxis wait on ranks throughout the city and outside the major hotels. Fares within the city centre come in at around E£8-10 and should be negotiated in advance, despite the presence of meters. Service taxis and transit vans are used by locals for out-of-town trips and run to set fares according to destination. Likewise, buses and mini-buses leave from terminals at Ramla Station, Midan Orabi, Ras al-Tin and Masr Station. Most places in central Alexandria are accessible by tram but the network is desperately over-crowded, especially during rush hour, and generally not used by business visitors. The main terminal is Ramla Station. Blue trams head east, yellow trams west. Carriages are divided into first and second-class travel and one is usually reserved for women and children only.
What is Interesting
Despite the hideous tourist developments that have sprung up along the coast between the city and El Alamein, there are several beautiful beach resorts, which are also of considerable historical interest. Avoid the tacky tourist trappings of the half-dozen concrete resorts that serve the local Egyptians – the best of the beaches in Alexandria are at Maamoura Bay and Montazah. Like so many modern cities, Alexandria has built over rather than around its ancient sites. While the odd wall or pillar still survives and plinths or gates mark some ancient sites, the museums are the best places to inspect the Ptolemaic and Roman relics. 
Montazah Palace: Set on a low plateau at the eastern end of Al Gueish St, the palace comprises several buildings, the most important being the Al Salamlek, once King Farouk’s official summer residence and now a luxury hotel. 
The Greco-Roman Museum: Rare collections of Greek and Roman relics and coins from 3c BC to 7c AD. Star exhibits include the statues of Serapis and the famous black granite sculpture of Apis – the sacred bull worshipped by Egyptians. Open daily 0900-1630, except Fri 0900-1130 and 1330-1630. Admission E£16. 5 Al-Mathaf ar-Romani St. 
Pompey’s Pillar and Serapeum: Originally part of the Serapeum which once supported an acropolis, this 25m-high granite monolith is all that remains intact from the Christian raids of the late 4c. Also visible are the remains of the Temple of Isis, several sphinxes, a nilometer and underground chambers. The pillar was placed within the Serapeum in 297 to honour Emperor Diocletian – not Pompey, as once thought. 
Kom Al Shogafa Catacombs: Ancient Roman burial site, constructed in the 2c as a family crypt. These catacombs consist of tombs and chambers on three levels, between 30ft and 100ft below the surface. Beneath them is a banqueting hall used by the grieving to honour the departed. Parts of the complex contain both Egyptian and Greek artefacts. Close to both Pompeii’s Pillar and the Serapeum.
Ras al-Tin Palace and Al-Anfushi Necropolis: The handsome 300-room palace is sadly not open to the public. However, the gardens can be toured, as can the necropolis nearby. The palace was constructed by Mohammed Ali in the late 19c and the state rooms are still used to entertain foreign dignitaries. The necropolis contains eight tombs from 250BC. 
Fort Qaitbey and site of Pharos Lighthouse: Magnificent 15c fort built on the northern tip of the Eastern Harbour on the site of the Pharos Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake in the 14c and its foundations and stone were used to build the fort. Today, three rooms house the Naval Museum, a collection of French republican coins and some weapons from the Ottoman era. Diving archaeologists recently raised some 30 statues and monuments from the waters around the point now known to be the remains of the lighthouse. 
Roman Amphitheatre, Kom Al Dikka (behind Cinema Amir): This magnificent theatre, the only one of its kind in Egypt, is still undergoing excavation. The site also houses the remains of third century buildings, baths and streets. 
Royal Jewellery Museum: A stunning collection of jewellery, paintings and statues from the time of Mohammed Ali to King Farouk displayed in an elegant villa. 
The Alexandria Library: Founded by Ptolemy II in the 3c BC, the Alexandria Library was once the seat of Greek scholars. Totally destroyed in the lc BC, it is currently being rebuilt under the supervision of UNESCO. Capable of housing four million books, it will open with a much smaller number of volumes, including 76,000 rare documents in Arabic, Persian and Turkish preserved on microfilm.
Shopping                                    Resebyrå                         Queensway Travel
All the large hotels have shopping arcades that sell both locally crafted goods and internationally renowned labels. Shopping centres and stores are found throughout the city centre, particularly around Ramla and Midan Tahrir. In November 1998, a 4-storey mall was opened. Zahran Mall in Semouha, which consists of 4 All the large hotels have shopping arcades that sell both locally crafted goods and internationally renowned labels. Shopping centres and stores are found throughout the city centre, particularly around Ramla and Midan Tahrir. In Nov 1998, a 4-storey mall was opened. Zahran Mall in Semouha, which consists of 4 cinemas, a huge supermarket and a variety of other shops, is one of the most modern malls in Alexandria. Even newer is the Montazah Mall near the Sheraton, which is just opening up at the time of writing. There are several public sector chain stores with branches throughout Egypt, such as Omar Effendi, Hannaux and Benzione.
Where to walk
Walk across the square from Midan Tahrir and through some small side streets to Midan Orabi. Leaving the square at its north-west corner, cross the tram line and walk onto the 26th of July St, effectively the seafront. You should join the Corniche near the French Consulate, at which point turn right and walk in a westerly direction for about 400m to midan Saad Zaghloul, the main square. Stop and enjoy a Turkish coffee or lemonade at one of the many cafés and restaurants before continuing down Safia Zaghloul St, past the many shops and eateries, to the Al Mustaqbal book store. This is a fascinating place to browse and people-watch. At the end of the road, take a right into Tariq Al Horreya and walk along to An Nabi Daniel St. Take another right and walk down into the Ramla, the generic name for this whole area, stopping for a moment to inspect the handsome synagogue on the right just before the junction with Saad Zaghloul St. The information centre, where you can get maps etc, is the other side of Saad Zaghloul, a block down on the left. The Imperial Restaurant is a coffee shop further down on the left, just off the Ramla, is a popular stop with the more adventurous traveller. 

At a glance
When the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1798 the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphs had been lost. The importance of the Stone to scholars was that it held a clue to deciphering them because it had been a ‘notice board’ with the same decree written three times – in the Greek language, in old Egyptian hieroglyphic text, and in ‘demotic’, a cursive Egyptian script. By guessing that the hieroglyphs in some incised cartouches (or ovals) spelt the name of the Greek king, Ptolemy, Jean-François Champollion compared the Greek letters with the hieroglyphics, and finally cracked the problem. But it had taken him, and other scholars, 22 years.
Egyptians are taking the protection of the environment seriously. The Ras Mohammed coral reef is now part of a national marine park. Cruise liners must be careful in approaching the port of Sharm al-Sheikh. If they damage the reef, as Cunard’s Royal Viking Sun once did, they will have to pay heavy fines. Egyptians like the cinema and now they have Hollywood in Egypt! A mammoth film studio – the Media Production City – has been built on a 10-acre site 27km south of Cairo on the Cairo-Alexandria highway. Trade with the UK has shot up. British families like the taste of Egyptian potatoes. They ate 100,000 kg of them last year. Egyptian Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize in 1988 for literature for The Cairo Trilogy. Mahfouz has more than 40 novels and 30 screenplays to his name.