Alexandria Day Trip Guide to the Sunken City Exhibition
Why this Alexandria exhibition matters now
If you have been waiting for a reason to plan a museum-first Alexandria day trip, this is it. The Alexandria National Museum is currently hosting the temporary exhibition “Secrets of the Sunken City”, opened by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy and Alexandria Governor Ahmed Khaled Hassan Saeed as part of Alexandria’s underwater cultural heritage activities in August 2025. The show brings together 86 artefacts recovered from the ancient submerged cities of Canopus and Heracleion in Abu Qir Bay, east of Alexandria.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the exhibition runs for six months and includes pieces that illuminate daily life, beliefs, funerary traditions and ritual practices during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. That makes it more than a headline exhibition: it is a timely way to see underwater discoveries from Abu Qir on land, in a museum setting that is easy to visit in one day.
What you will see at “Secrets of the Sunken City”
The exhibition’s appeal is straightforward: these are not generic Alexandria antiquities, but a focused group of finds tied specifically to the famous underwater archaeological zone off Abu Qir. The Ministry says the displayed objects were uncovered at the Abu Qir excavation site, with some being shown publicly for the first time. Ahram Online’s coverage notes that the exhibition explores not only religion and burial customs, but also the everyday life of the communities connected to those long-submerged cities.
That context matters for Egyptian visitors because Abu Qir is not an abstract archaeological reference. It is part of Alexandria Governorate’s own wider heritage map, and these finds connect directly to ongoing state interest in marine archaeology. In May 2025, the Egyptian cabinet said officials were studying options for an underwater museum project in Abu Qir Bay, either through underwater visitor access or the recovery and land display of artefacts. In other words, this exhibition lands at a moment when Alexandria’s sunken heritage is being pushed to the front of the tourism conversation.
Start here: Alexandria National Museum practicals
For planning purposes, the Alexandria National Museum is the natural morning anchor. The museum is on Fouad Street, Bab Sharq, inside the former Italianate palace of Asaad Bassili Pasha, later used by the US consulate before being converted into a museum and opened in 2003.
Current official visiting information lists the museum’s opening hours as 9:00am to 5:00pm daily, with the ticket window closing at 4:00pm. Official ticket prices list EGP 20 for Egyptian adults and EGP 5 for Egyptian students. The museum site also lists free entry for Egyptians aged 60 and above, Egyptians with special needs, orphaned children, public-school primary and preparatory trips, and children under six.
Give yourself 90 minutes to two hours here. That allows enough time for the temporary underwater exhibition as well as the museum’s permanent chronological displays, which trace Alexandria through Pharaonic, Graeco-Roman, Coptic, Islamic and modern periods. The museum also now has a private library of more than 1,100 books, including volumes on Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Coptic, Islamic and modern history, as well as restoration and museology.
How to build the ideal culture-rich Alexandria day
Stop 1: Morning at Alexandria National Museum
Arrive early, ideally close to opening, so you can see “Secrets of the Sunken City” before the middle-of-day rush. This is the best point in the day for concentrated viewing because the exhibition asks for attention: you are looking at objects displaced by the sea, then recovered through archaeology, then reframed inside a museum story about Alexandria’s coastal past.
Stop 2: Late morning or lunch around central Alexandria
Because the museum sits on Fouad Street, you are well placed to keep the outing comfortably walkable by Alexandrian standards or finish the next transfer with a short taxi ride. For Egypt-based readers planning around comfort rather than speed, this is a good point to pause for coffee or lunch in central Alexandria before heading west toward the harbour and Anfoushi area.
Stop 3: Qaitbay Citadel for sea views and site context
From the museum, continue to Qaitbay Citadel, one of Alexandria’s most rewarding heritage stops because it gives the day an outdoor, coastal counterpoint after the museum galleries. The Ministry describes Qaitbay Fort as having been built by Sultan Al-Ashraf Abu Al-Nasr Qaitbay between 1477 and 1479 over the ruins of the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria.
Official ticket information lists Qaitbay Citadel at EGP 60 for Egyptian adults and EGP 30 for Egyptian students, with official opening hours listed as 9:00am to 8:00pm. That later closing time makes it the easiest place to schedule after the museum.
There is also a recent reason to prioritise it: the Ministry announced the opening of a visitor center inside the citadel’s main tower. Developed in cooperation with the French Center for Alexandrian Studies, it presents nine bilingual Arabic-English panels, maps, diagrams and a film covering the site of the ancient lighthouse, Alexandria’s fortifications, the Royal Port, Antirhodos Island, docks and shipyards. For anyone coming from the Abu Qir exhibition, this visitor center adds useful maritime and urban context.
Stop 4: Finish at the Graeco-Roman Museum
If you still have energy for a third major stop, make it the Graeco-Roman Museum. This is the smartest pairing with the underwater exhibition because it deepens the Ptolemaic and Roman material you just saw at the Alexandria National Museum. The Ministry describes it as Egypt’s only museum fully dedicated to the civilization of Egypt during the Greek and Roman periods.
The museum’s official hours are 9:00am to 5:00pm from Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday extended to 8:00pm; the ticket window closes at 4:30pm on regular days and 7:00pm on late days. Official ticket prices list EGP 40 for Egyptian adults and EGP 20 for Egyptian students.
The museum’s current display includes around 6,000 artefacts. If your visit to “Secrets of the Sunken City” leaves you wanting a broader picture of Alexandria’s Greek and Roman layers, this is where to get it.
Best nearby pairings if you want to stretch the day
- Kom Al-Dikka Roman Theatre: Official ticket listings show 9:00am to 5:00pm, with EGP 20 for Egyptian adults and EGP 10 for Egyptian students. Good if you want an open-air Roman stop.
- Pompey’s Pillar: Also officially listed at 9:00am to 5:00pm, with EGP 20 for Egyptian adults and EGP 5 for Egyptian students. A strong add-on for visitors interested in Alexandria’s monumental classical remains.
- Kom El-Shoqafa Catacombs: Best for travellers who want one more dramatic ancient site, though it can make the day heavier and less relaxed.
A smart one-day route for Egypt-based visitors
Best sequence: Alexandria National Museum in the morning, lunch nearby, Qaitbay Citadel in the afternoon, and the Graeco-Roman Museum either before closing on a weekday or as a later stop on Friday or Saturday when evening hours apply.
Best for families: Do the museum plus Qaitbay only.
Best for heritage enthusiasts: Do all three major stops and add Kom Al-Dikka if you start early.
Best reason to go now: the temporary exhibition is time-limited, while the combination of the new Abu Qir finds, the newly equipped library at Alexandria National Museum, and the recently opened Qaitbay visitor center gives this itinerary an unusually fresh feel.
The takeaway
Alexandria has no shortage of famous landmarks, but this itinerary works because it links them through a real story: the city on the shore, the city under the sea, and the city preserved in museums. “Secrets of the Sunken City” is the trigger, but the richer experience comes from pairing those 86 Abu Qir finds with the waterfront setting of Qaitbay Citadel and the historical depth of the Graeco-Roman Museum. For readers in Egypt looking for a culture-rich coastal day trip that feels current rather than routine, this is one of Alexandria’s strongest museum circuits right now.