Instagram Gold: 15 Most Photo-Worthy Spots in Alexandria!

The Salt-Crusted Lens: Why Alexandria Isn’t What You See on TikTok

I’ve been waking up to the sound of foghorns and the smell of roasting chickpeas for four months now. Most people come to Alexandria for twenty-four hours. They take a blurry photo of the Citadel of Qaitbay, eat a piece of overpriced grilled fish, and scurry back to Cairo before the humidity ruins their hair. They’re missing the point. To really capture this city—to find that “Instagram Gold”—you have to stop looking for monuments and start looking for the decay. Alexandria is a city of layers: Greek ghosts, Italian architecture, and a very modern, very gritty Egyptian hustle. It is beautiful because it is falling apart.

If you’re here to “disappear,” you’ve picked the right place. In Cairo, you’re an object of curiosity. In Alexandria, as long as you have a coffee in your hand and a slightly annoyed expression, you’re just another soul wandering the Corniche. But before we get to the shots, let’s talk about how to actually live here without losing your mind.

The Nomad’s Survival Kit: WiFi, Laundry, and Iron

You can’t take photos if your laptop is dead and your clothes smell like the Mediterranean harbor. If you need fast WiFi, stop trying to find it in your Airbnb. The infrastructure in the old buildings is trash. Head to V-Hub in Kafr Abdou or Fluid Co-working Space. Expect to pay about 150 EGP for a day pass. The internet is stable enough for Zoom calls, which is a miracle in this zip code.

For laundry, avoid the “Dry Clean” signs in the fancy malls. Find a local “Moghasla” (laundry shop) in the side streets of Ibrahimia. There’s a guy named Hany near the tram line who will wash, dry, and press a week’s worth of clothes for the price of a Starbucks latte. He uses an iron that looks like it belongs in a museum—a heavy slab of metal heated by a gas flame—but your shirts will have creases sharp enough to cut glass.