Discover Alexandria: Day Trip from Cairo

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. The second attraction is Pompey's Pillar. Despite its name, this 30-meter red Aswan granite column has no link to Pompey. Crusaders mistakenly believed it marked his burial site, but it was erected around 300 AD for Emperor Diocletian. The site was originally the Serapeum, Alexandria's acropolis, dedicated to the god Serapis. In 391 AD, Christian patriarch Theophilus led a mob to destroy the Serapeum and other pagan symbols, possibly including the Great Library of Alexandria. Today, only the pillar remains of the once-grand temple. Visitors can explore nearby tunnels and see artifacts like a life-size black basalt bull and a golden plaque at the Greco-Roman Museum.

   2 h

2. Begin your day by meeting your guide at your hotel. Take a three-hour drive from Cairo to Alexandria. Upon arrival, your guide will introduce you to the city's rich history. Start with the necropolis of Kom El Shoqafa, featuring a blend of Pharaonic, Hellenistic, and Roman influences. Explore the catacombs with Roman, Greek, and Egyptian cultural elements, including statues and tombs. A circular staircase, used to transport deceased bodies, leads down into the tombs from the 2nd to the 4th century AD. The site was rediscovered in 1900 when a donkey fell into the access shaft. Three sarcophagi have been found to date.

   2 h

3. The third stop is the Citadel of Qaitbay, a 15th-century fortress on Alexandria's Mediterranean coast. Built in 1477 AD by Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qa'it Bay, it stands on the eastern side of Pharos Island at the mouth of the Eastern Harbour.

   2 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 4 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Cairo

• Its from-price is 13% below the median of the 10229 experiences we list in Cairo.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 2814 of 10229.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Cairo

Cairo is Egypt's sprawling capital on the Nile, where the Pyramids of Giza meet medieval mosques, busy bazaars and the treasures of the pharaohs.

On the western edge of the city, the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx rise from the desert plateau, with the step pyramid of Saqqara and the ruins of Memphis further south. Cairo's great museums, the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square and the vast Grand Egyptian Museum beside the plateau, hold artefacts spanning thousands of years.

Top-ranked sights in Cairo: Egyptian Museum (Museum of Egyptian Antiquities), Saqqara (Sakkara), Khan El-Khalili.

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