Alexandria

Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt, extending about 20 miles along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country.

The Corniche is the lively seafront boulevard. On one side are public beaches and a stone citadel called Qaitbay Fort that dates back to 1480 AD. Alexandria Fort is built on the remains of the legendary Pharos lighthouse.

Collections of shabby and chic buildings line the other side of the boulevard. Here, you'll find restaurants, coffee houses and hotels.

Bibliotheca Alexandrina the beautifully styled library has space for 8 million books. The Alexandria National Museum chronicles the city's history from ancient to modern times. The museum has 3 floors of original artefacts featuring names such as Nefertiti, King Tut and Alexander the Great and a room devoted to the mummification process.

Souvenir shopping usually includes camel toys, pyramid paper weights, religious icons, spices, tobacco and water pipes, features of local coffee houses. For more serious shopping, head to the two main commercial streets - Sharia Saad Zaghloul and Sharia Safiyya Zaghloul, located near the historic Cecil Hotel.

Further afield is a trip to Cairo to visit the archaeological site in Giza for an external view of the magnificent pyramids, Valley Temple and the Sphinx.

Seafood is popular on menus, choose from red snapper, silver bream, lobster, sole, shrimp or clams. Salads, hummus with tahina, baba ganoush and traditional bread (hearty and thick Eish Masri)
are usual accompaniments. For non seafood lovers, grilled meat dishes are also widely available.

Ships dock right at the passenger marine terminal. There are many stalls of souvenir sellers at the dock. You'll need your passport to exit the port and Egypt does require a visa, which is handled in advance onboard your ship.

It is possible to walk to The Corniche, the city's waterfront boulevard in around 30-40 minutes but there is usually plenty of taxis available as you undock. Agree a price beforehand but don't be surprised if this has gone up by the end of the journey.