Port Said runs on a free ferry, a bargain clothing bazaar and a waterfront where 12% of world trade drifts past for nothing. Three days here cost less than one museum ticket in Cairo: koshary for 25 EGP, tea for 10, and canal views that never charge.
The Suez Canal Authority runs free passenger ferries between Port Said and Port Fouad every 10–15 minutes, around the clock. The six-minute crossing puts you metres from container ships waiting for the convoy — effectively a free canal cruise.
The 1901 headquarters with three green copper domes is the city's signature silhouette. Interiors are closed to visitors, but the promenade in front of it is public and free, and canal traffic slides past directly behind the building.
The grid behind Al Gomhoreya Street holds two- and three-storey timber houses whose carved balconies stack up like ship decks. Self-guided walking costs nothing; the densest facades sit between Al Gomhoreya, Al Nahda and Safeya Zaghloul streets.
Port Said's long municipal Mediterranean beach runs north of the centre. Access to the public stretches is free — you pay only if you rent a plastic chair and umbrella from a vendor, roughly 30–50 EGP. Sunset lines up behind the western breakwater.
The fish market trades the morning Mediterranean and Lake Manzala catch — sea bass, mullet, shrimp and blue crab. Grill kitchens beside the stalls cook whatever you buy for a small fee, the cheapest route to fresh seafood in the whole city.
Counters along Al Gomhoreya Street serve the rice-lentil-macaroni bowl with fried onion and tomato sauce for 20–35 EGP depending on size. The same stalls do ta'meya sandwiches at 5–10 EGP and a bowl of foul for around 10 EGP.
Port Said's duty-free legacy turned it into Egypt's clothing bazaar. The Afrangi market lanes sell jeans, jackets and shoes at prices Cairenes travel five hours for. Haggling is expected, payment is cash, and most items land between 50 and 300 EGP.
The pavement ahwas around El Borsa and Al Nasr Street charge 10–20 EGP for tea or Turkish coffee and 25–40 EGP for shisha, with backgammon boards free to borrow. Tables face the circle where the whole city's evening promenade passes.
Raised for the canal's opening, the 56-metre concrete tower was the first electric lighthouse in Africa. It sits inside a restricted zone with no public climb, but the fence line and the adjoining canal-mouth promenade give free sightlines to it.
Three halls on 23 July Street cover the 1956 Suez Crisis and the 1967–73 wars, backed by an outdoor yard of tanks, aircraft fragments and a landing craft. Tickets are among Egypt's cheapest at roughly 20 EGP, with a small extra fee for photography.
A compact public garden facing the canal beside the Authority building, planted with ficus and palms and lined with benches. Entry is a token fee, and it is the shadiest place in town to sit and count ships in the southbound convoy.
Across the water in Asia, Port Fouad's low-rise streets and the palm-lined corniche below the yacht basin stay quiet after dark. Reached on the free ferry; kiosks here sell tea for 10 EGP and grilled corn for about 15 EGP.