Bars
Portuguese Club, Roushdy - Watering hole for expats. In Roushdy so frequented by many expats living in that area. Regular theme nights on Thursdays, Women's group Monday mornings and occasional darts competitions. Good selection of food, but the Heineken Draught is locally made (i.e. not the really good stuff). Hard to find without someone escorting you as there are no sign posts: Start at fruit shop on Kafa Abdou / Horreya St junction, take first right, half way down the road there are white metal gates. Ring the bell and wait. 10LE entrance charge, unless you're a member: good membership rates for teachers.
Spitfire Club, Downtown - Small expat watering hole in the downtown area.
Sofitel Cecil Bar - A French guy I knows recommends it. Hotel Cecil, as originally known, was made famous by the likes of Coward and Churchill. Not quite as grand as it used to be, but still pleasant.
Places of Historical Interest
Amphitheatre - Interesting archaeological site. Give the guard a few LE and he'll take you around the back of the amphitheatre (this part is not supposed to be open to the public, but everyone goes round). If it's open the Villa of birds has a few ancient mosaics to look at.
Fort Qaitbey - Old fort on West of Corniche. Lots of local children running wild inside during holidays.
Pompey's pillar - Interesting little place with a few other artefacts lying around, on the west side of Alex, past down town area.
Catacombs - Worth a quick visit once just to go on the Been There Done That list.
Other
Aquarium - Is this the smallest pay aquarium in the world? Let me know. Although the entrance fee is so low you won't really mind. If you visit, make sure you go to the fake aquarium (across the road, next to the fort).
British Council, Kafa Abdou - Quite small, but decent selection of kiddie books and DVDs.
American Cultural Centre, Pharaana Street in Azarita - The centre contains a large library as well as information related to American history and culture. .
Erm? - Surely there must be more than this?
Extra info
-Hands, Alex City Center: across the street from Carrefour, next to Lagoon Resort. A good place to take kids. It’s divided into different workshops for painting, crafts, even bread baking. Kids and their parents can spend the whole day here. Entry is free, with a small fee for the workshops (around 15LE). There is a small restaurant (slow service) as well as a peaceful garden. Highly recommended.
-Tram, citywide: Discover the 25 piastre thrill-ride that is the Alex tram. Especially good for women since the 2nd car is only for women and kids and no one hassles you. It’s an easy way to get to the Sporting Club, and the best way to go to downtown if time is not an issue. Tends to get uncomfortably crowded during rush hour, but fun for the kids since it goes slow enough to catch the scenery. And watch out for pick-pockets! The lines that go from Sidi Bashir to Raml station downtown are the best since the Anfushi (yellow) tram goes into very slow, congested and not-very-picturesque areas. If you happen to see the occasional one-car vintage “Victoria” tram, get on! It’ll cost more (1LE), but the interior is all wood and beautiful and you can stand right behind the conductor!
Movie Theatres Update
-Green Plaza: 10-20 LE depending on seat location. Call 4209154 to find out what’s on (if you can get someone who speaks English!) Clean, comfortable, modern, and showing the best of English language movies, many of them kid-friendly. Recent screenings include Harry Potter and Ratatouille. Strangely, they have abrupt “intermissions”, even if there’s only 30 minutes left! Can’t Egyptians go 90 minutes without a snack or bathroom break? Movie snacks, by the way, are quite good here.
-Renaissance City Center, Carrefour Mall: 20-25 LE; Call 3970156 to find out what’s playing.
-Also San Stefano Mall Cinemas, but I find their selection to be mainly Arabic movies or horrible US action films. 15-25 LE, Call 4690056.
*** Most of these theatres are so small that there really aren’t any “bad” seats, so just buy the cheapest one that’s not way up in front and you should be fine ***
A good way to check out what’s playing where is to go to Yallabina.com and pull down the menu for Alex. The Movies section is updated often, and they do a good job trying to find cultural events and music gigs to list.
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