A Full Alexandria Day Around ‘Secrets of the Sunken City’
Alexandria’s newest must-see exhibition has a built-in deadline
There is finally a strong new reason to plan an Alexandria cultural day out now rather than “sometime later”. Alexandria National Museum has opened “Secrets of the Sunken City”, a temporary exhibition of 86 artifacts that the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities says will remain on view for six months. The exhibition was inaugurated by Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy and Alexandria Governor Ahmed Khaled Hassan Saeed as part of Alexandria’s underwater cultural heritage activities. The objects come from Egypt’s submerged heritage in and around Abu Qir Bay, including finds linked to the drowned cities of Heracleion and Canopus.
That six-month run is what makes this ideal for the Day Trips & Getaways desk: it is local, it is time-sensitive, and it fits neatly into a walkable or short-taxi Alexandria itinerary full of museums, seafront views and classic city stops. If you want one high-value cultural day in Alex before the show closes, start here.
Why this exhibition matters
The headline draw is not just that the artifacts are ancient, but that they speak to a side of Alexandria and its coast that many Egyptians know in theory but rarely get to see presented together: the world that sank beneath the Mediterranean. The ministry says some of the underwater artifacts on display were uncovered at the Abu Qir excavation site in 2023. Ministry coverage and Egyptian press reports on the show also point to standout categories that include statues, ritual objects, pottery, lamps, weapons, amulets, coins and granite pieces, all helping reconstruct religious life and daily life in the vanished coastal settlements. Egyptian reporting on the exhibition highlighted examples such as a statue of Ptolemy III represented as Hermes, a statue of Psamtik II, a granite naos and offering-table pieces.
The museum itself is worth your time beyond the temporary show. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Alexandria National Museum occupies the former Italianate palace of Asaad Basili Pasha. The building was acquired in 1996 and opened as a museum in 2003, with displays that trace Alexandria and Egypt from prehistory through the modern era, alongside a dedicated section for underwater antiquities.
First stop: Alexandria National Museum in the morning
Begin your day at Alexandria National Museum while energy levels are high and galleries are quieter. Egyptian press coverage of the exhibition listed museum visiting hours as 9 am to 5 pm daily, including official holidays, and reported ticket prices at EGP 20 for Egyptian adults, EGP 5 for Egyptian students, EGP 220 for foreign adults and EGP 110 for foreign students, with payment handled through non-cash methods. Because ticketing and access rules can change, it is worth rechecking before you travel, but those are the published figures tied to the current show.
Give yourself at least 90 minutes here. The temporary exhibition is the reason you came, but do not rush past the museum’s permanent underwater section and the rest of its chronological galleries. This is one of the rare Alexandria sites where a visitor can move from pharaonic material to Greco-Roman, Coptic, Islamic and modern history in the same building.
What to look for inside
- The temporary exhibition itself: the 86-object “Secrets of the Sunken City” display from Alexandria’s submerged heritage.
- The existing underwater antiquities galleries: useful context before or after the temporary show.
- The setting: the palace architecture is part of the appeal, not just the cases.
Second stop: walk or ride toward Alexandria’s museum cluster
From the national museum, build the rest of the day around nearby cultural institutions rather than trying to crisscross the city. One smart option is to continue to the Graeco-Roman Museum, one of Alexandria’s strongest companion visits if the temporary show leaves you wanting more context on the Ptolemaic and Roman worlds connected to the coast. The ministry describes it as Egypt’s only museum fully dedicated to the civilization of Egypt during the Greek and Roman periods. It opens 9 am to 5 pm from Sunday to Thursday, with the ticket window closing at 4:30 pm, and extends to 8 pm on Friday and Saturday, with the ticket window closing at 7 pm. Published ticket prices are EGP 40 for المصري adults and EGP 20 for المصري students.
If your Alex day falls on a Friday or Saturday, that later closing time makes the Graeco-Roman Museum especially useful as an afternoon stop after lunch. Its collections help flesh out the cultural blend that defined ancient Alexandria, which in turn makes the sunken-city exhibition easier to read in historical context.
Third stop: the Bibliotheca Alexandrina waterfront stretch
Another natural pairing is the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (@bibalexofficial on Instagram), especially if you want your day trip to balance archaeology with architecture and sea views. The BA’s official visitor information says entry and ticketing vary by area, and that library admission tickets are issued from the booth on Port Said Street near the main entrance. The BA also notes free entry for Egyptians from 4 pm to 6 pm for the library area, while non-Egyptians need a library ticket during that time window. A visit page and public notices also show recent reception hours around 10 am to 6 pm Monday to Thursday and shorter hours on some weekend days, so checking the same day is sensible before heading over.
Even if you keep the BA stop short, the waterfront setting gives your itinerary breathing room after two museum interiors. This is where an Alexandria day trip starts feeling like Alexandria rather than a checklist: sea air, the Corniche, and one of the city’s signature contemporary landmarks.
How to structure the day
Option 1: museum-heavy itinerary
- 10 am: Alexandria National Museum and “Secrets of the Sunken City”.
- 12:30 pm: lunch nearby in central Alexandria.
- 2 pm: Graeco-Roman Museum.
- 5:30 pm onward: Corniche walk or coffee.
Option 2: lighter, more scenic itinerary
- 10 am: Alexandria National Museum.
- 12 pm: lunch in the city center.
- 2 pm: Bibliotheca Alexandrina and seafront time.
- Late afternoon: Raml Station area and the old tram district atmosphere.
If you want to use public transport for part of the day, Raml Station remains one of Alexandria’s best-known orientation points. Alexandria’s official portal notes that the city tram system centers on El Raml Station, historically one of the main hubs in the city.
What to eat and where to pause nearby
Because this is a day-trip feature rather than a restaurant review, the most useful advice is practical: keep lunch close to the museum belt so you do not lose an hour in traffic. Around central Alexandria, aim for a classic fish lunch, an easy café stop, or a quick sandwich before your second cultural stop. If your priority is maximizing museum time before closing hours, do lunch early and save your longer coffee or dessert stop for the Corniche afterward.
If you have extra time: add the sea-facing finale
For a more complete Alexandria finish, end the day on the western seafront at the Citadel of Qaitbay area rather than squeezing in another indoor venue. While the exact current ticketing should be rechecked before you go, the site remains one of the city’s most photographable historic endings to a day built around Alexandria’s relationship with the sea. It also creates a satisfying thematic arc: you begin with treasures raised from the Mediterranean, then finish looking back out across it. The broader underwater archaeology story around Alexandria’s coast and Eastern Harbor helps explain why this temporary exhibition feels so rooted in place.
The takeaway
“Secrets of the Sunken City” is not just another temporary museum show. It is one of the clearest excuses in months to plan a dedicated Alexandria day trip around a real deadline. With 86 artifacts on view for six months, a central location, and easy pairings with the Graeco-Roman Museum, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the Corniche, it offers a timely reason to revisit the city through its most distinctive lens: history that survives both on land and under water. If Alexandria has been on your list for “after summer” or “when things quiet down,” this is the sign to go before the exhibition’s run ends.