By late afternoon the Corniche fills with walkers, families and couples taking the sea air, and the red double-decker buses run their route along the waterfront past restaurants and markets. As the light goes, attention shifts inland to the downtown streets and squares, where cafes stay busy late into the evening.
Alexandria's nightlife is quieter and more scattered than that of a dedicated party city. Much of it is built around eating, coffee, shisha and the waterfront rather than around clubs, and the bar scene is now mostly confined to hotels, with few free-standing bars remaining. That makes the city well suited to visitors who want a long dinner, a cafe with backgammon or dominoes, and a stroll by the sea, and less suited to those looking for a dense strip of late-night venues.
Where to go out in Alexandria
1. The Corniche
The Corniche runs from the Citadel in the west for roughly 30 km along the seaside, with its core a 15 km promenade along the bay dotted with restaurants, markets and historic sights. A double-decker bus ride along it, starting from Al-Anfushi Bus Station at the corner of Al Geish Road and Al Captain Abd Al Qader Koura Street, is a straightforward way to see the waterfront at dusk.
It suits an unhurried evening: a long walk by the Mediterranean, with stops for food along the way. Note that the bus ride is a paid trip, so have cash ready.
2. Raml Station and downtown
This is the most practical base for an evening out, with cafes and bars within a short walk of each other. Cafe de la Paix on El Geish is a relaxing place on the waterfront and is open around the clock, while Trianon 1905 on Saad Zaghlul Square, in the Metropole Hotel building, is a posh cafe and dessert restaurant where you are paying for the ambiance.
For a drink rather than a coffee, Spitfire Bar on Old Borsa Street in Mansheya, off Saad Zaghloul Street, is a cheerful bar with food a short block off the main downtown street; the building looks derelict, so persevere. Mermaid Bar at Mahatat el Raml has a good view of the sea, moderate beer prices and more expensive hard liquor, and its upper floor has a dance floor with Western and Arabic music at night. It is frequented by foreign Arabic language students. Sheikh Ali, on Adib Bek Ishak Street off Sa'ad Zaghloul, is better known among travellers as the Cap d'Or and is one of Alexandria's oldest bars.
3. Saad Zaghloul Street
This downtown street is a good anchor for a low-key evening. Brazilian Coffee Stores has its best-known branch at 44 Saad Zaghloul St. in Raml Station, next to Délices Patisserie and La Veranda, open daily from 7AM to 11PM. Drinkie's, a chain of liquor stores, has its most central branch on Saad Zaghloul Square, open daily from noon to 2AM.
It suits a night that starts with coffee and ends with a drink, without moving far between them.
4. Traditional ahwas
Traditional coffee shops, or ahwa, serve coffee, tea and shisha water pipes. You can play a little backgammon or dominoes and watch the world pass by. They remain a male bastion, which is worth knowing before you plan an evening around one.
This is the cheapest and most local kind of night out, best for a slow hour rather than a whole evening.
5. Rooftops and garden cafes
Lail is a spacious cafe and restaurant on a rooftop offering shishas, open from 10AM to 4AM, which makes it one of the later options for a relaxed night. Clay Cafe on Omar Lotfy Street, near Small Sporting Tram station, is open daily from 11AM to midnight; the coffee is only just okay for the price, and you come for the laidback atmosphere and the wi-fi. Club21 on Mo'askar Elroumany St in Roushdy is a friendly, inexpensive place for food and drink with shisha in the garden, open daily from 9AM to 1AM.
These suit groups who want to sit for hours rather than move between venues.
6. Hotel bars and clubs
With free-standing bars now few, hotels carry much of the city's late-night drinking. San Giovanni Club, within its hotel, has live music, singers and oriental dancers until late. This is the most reliable option if you want entertainment with your drinks rather than just a seat.
It suits visitors who prefer a known quantity and a venue that is easy to reach from a hotel.
7. Cultural venues
The city is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Alexandria Opera House, the Alexandria Museum of Fine Arts and the Alexandria National Museum. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina hosts the annual Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival.
An evening built around a performance or a museum visit is a reasonable alternative to a bar crawl, particularly if you are travelling with people who do not drink.
8. Montazah and the eastern shore
Further east, the Montazah Royal Gardens sit along the shore, with access to beaches and rigorously landscaped grounds stocked with benches and wading or swimming pools open to the public. In summer the beaches are packed with Egyptian tourists, parasols and plastic chairs, and there is a charge to get in; at that time the sand and water may have some throwaway plastic floating around.
This is a daytime and early-evening destination rather than a late-night one, and it suits a slow end to an afternoon by the water.
How a night out unfolds
In Alexandria, an evening tends to start with the waterfront: the Corniche is busiest in the late afternoon and early evening, when people walk, take the double-decker bus and stop at cafes and restaurants along the bay. Cafes and ahwas run through the evening, with some open until midnight and a few, such as Lail, until 4AM. Bars generally keep shorter hours than cafes, and several open in the afternoon rather than at lunchtime, so a night that begins with coffee and moves to a bar later fits the city better than the reverse. The sources do not describe a single fixed hour at which Alexandrians eat dinner or go out, so treat the above as the shape of the evening rather than a schedule.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- The annual Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival, held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The sources do not give a month or season.
- Ramadan, with its start tentatively dated in February in the sources, followed by Eid el Fitr and its holidays in March. Dates for these are tentative and shift from year to year.
- Coptic Christmas Day in January, and Coptic Maundy Thursday and Coptic Good Friday in April.
- Armed Forces Day in October, and Revolution Day on 25 January, both of which are public holidays with associated days off.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a legal drinking age I should know about?
The sources do not state a legal drinking age or other rules around alcohol in Alexandria, so check locally before you go out.
Where can I drink if most bars are in hotels?
Hotel bars and clubs carry much of the city's late-night drinking, and San Giovanni Club within its hotel has live music, singers and oriental dancers until late. A few free-standing bars remain, including Spitfire Bar in Mansheya, Mermaid Bar at Mahatat el Raml and Sheikh Ali off Sa'ad Zaghloul.
Can I buy alcohol to take back to where I am staying?
Drinkie's is a chain of liquor stores with a dozen city branches; the most central branch, on Saad Zaghloul Square, is open daily from noon to 2AM.
What can I do in the evening if I do not drink?
Cafes and ahwas serve coffee, tea and shisha, and you can play backgammon or dominoes; Lail stays open until 4AM. The city's cultural venues, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Alexandria Opera House and the Alexandria Museum of Fine Arts, offer another kind of evening.
Decide whether your evening is for the waterfront, a cafe or a bar, check the hours of the places you have in mind, and plan your route along the Corniche before the light goes.