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Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Alexandria Library)

Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt

The outside of the Alexandria Library

The Alexandria Library is a fairly new library that was meant to be a cultural center for the area, and commemorate the ancient Alexandria Library. It is everything you would expect from a new modern library, and was quite neat to visit. The architecture and design of the building were impressive.

The library itself is quite large, and charges a nominal entrance fee for foreign visitors. Inside, in addition to lots of books, there are also a number of art pieces and different artifacts (making it somewhat of a museum). There is also a copy of the Internet Archive here. The server room is visible through a glass wall.

The library offers free 30-minute guided tours at a number of times during the day, in a variety of different languages. The tour was pretty interesting, and not a big time commitment. An English tour just left when we arrived, so we just leeched onto that group.

Cost

Foreign visitors pay 10 LE per person to visit. Cameras are allowed for no additional fee, however you are not allowed to bring in any bags except small purses.

Estimated Visiting Time

Inside the Alexandria Library

The library is quite nice. Expect to spend an hour here, if you decide to take the guided tour. (If you just want to walk around, 20-30 minutes is probably sufficient).