Alexandria rewards thin wallets: the harbour, its mosques and its markets charge nothing, the tram crosses the whole city for EGP 5, and a full ful-and-falafel breakfast lands under EGP 80. Three days here can cost less than one ticket at Giza.
Alexandria's largest mosque, completed 1945 over the tomb of a 13th-century Andalusian sufi. Free entry outside prayer times, best around 09:00-11:00. Cream Italian stone, eight granite columns, no ticket booth anywhere on site.
The 1477 fort stands on the foundations of the Pharos lighthouse. Skip the ticket and walk the free rock breakwater beside it, where fishermen cast all afternoon and the Eastern Harbour curves back toward the city skyline.
A warren of alleys south of Mansheya where dealers stack Ottoman brass, Belle Epoque mirrors and Farouk-era furniture floor to ceiling. Browsing is free and expected, and sellers pour tea without pressure to buy anything.
The 2001 bridge across Stanley Bay borrows the Italianate towers of Alexandria's old villas. Free to walk end to end, and the terraces of stacked wooden beach cabins below turn amber about twenty minutes before sunset.
An institution since 1957, serving ful, falafel, fried aubergine and tahina to office workers from 06:00. A full spread with baladi bread runs EGP 60-80; a single ful sandwich to take away is about EGP 15.
Ladies' Alley: a covered lane barely two metres wide crammed with fabric bolts, gold-plate jewellery, hairpins and household oddments. Almost nothing costs more than a few pounds and haggling is half the transaction.
Street griddles in the fishermen's quarter fry spiced Alexandrian liver with chilli, garlic and lime and push it into a baladi roll. EGP 25-35 a sandwich, eaten standing among the nets and dry-docked boats.
Opened 1929 and still roasting on the premises; you drink standing at marble counters beneath the original enamel signage. Turkish coffee is around EGP 25, espresso slightly more, and nobody moves you along.
A 27m column of red Aswan granite raised for Diocletian in 297 AD, standing over the ruined Serapeum with two granite sphinxes and an underground corridor. The cheapest of Alexandria's ticketed ancient sites by some margin.
Africa's oldest tram network has run since 1863. Board the blue line at Ramleh and ride east through Camp Caesar, Sporting and Cleopatra to Victoria for a flat EGP 5 — an hour of the city at window height.
The villa of the judge who became Egypt's best-known modernist painter, hung with his bathers and Alexandrian portraits, plus Seif and Adham Wanly canvases upstairs. Entry stays under EGP 50 and the rooms are usually yours alone.
150 acres of pine and palm around Farouk's Haramlik palace, with the Florentine Salamlek tower standing over its own bay. Gate entry is roughly EGP 50 and the seawall paths on the west side face the sunset directly.