Alexandria National Museum
From Pharaohs to Ptolemies
In a quiet Italian-style mansion near the heart of the city, Alexandria gathers its memories. The Alexandria National Museum is not vast like Cairo’s, nor ancient like the monuments along the Nile—but within its walls the whole story of the city unfolds. From pharaohs and Ptolemies to Romans, Byzantines, and beyond, it is a place where Alexandria tells its tale through the treasures it has kept.
On the ground floor, Egypt’s ancient roots rise again: statues of gods and kings, reliefs carved in granite, and artifacts pulled from the depths of the sea where parts of Alexandria’s old harbor still lie. Here, pharaonic grandeur meets the world of Alexander, Cleopatra, and the dynasty that transformed a small settlement into a global capital.
Experience It
Climb the stairs, and the Roman and Byzantine eras reveal themselves—mosaics, coins, and glasswork that shimmer with color. These pieces speak of a city that once rivaled Rome itself, where emperors and scholars walked the same streets, and temples stood beside churches.
On the upper floors, the story continues with Islamic art and Coptic icons, intricate woodwork, and treasures of Egypt’s more recent rulers. Together they show a city that has always been layered—shaped and reshaped by every age, yet never losing its spirit of exchange and renewal.
The museum itself, housed in a restored villa, feels intimate. Its rooms are filled not only with objects, but with voices—echoes of scholars, merchants, queens, and pilgrims who passed through Alexandria. It is less a collection than a narrative, a city’s memory kept safe in stone, glass, and gold.
Experience all of Alexandria in one place.