Alexander the Great founded the city in 331 BC, and it became the Hellenistic world's centre of scholarship, home to the ancient Library and the Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, later toppled by earthquakes. Egypt's second city and main seaport stretches 40km along a Mediterranean coast, with a genuinely different climate from Cairo's desert: winter rain actually falls here. The modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina, opened 2002, anchors a Corniche lined with architecture from the city's cosmopolitan Greek and Italian era. Ten-plus submarine cables land near the city, backhauled to Cairo, making it one of Africa's busiest internet chokepoints.
Nights sit around 24°C and afternoons around 31°C.
Alexandria has real seasons: summer afternoons sit around 31°C, winter ones around 20°C.
Some winter nights drop to 7°C.
Rain is hardly part of the picture: about 212 mm a year, with January the wettest month at just 61 mm. Dry, bright months are the norm.
Wind is rarely an issue; most months sit between calm and a light breeze. Air quality is worth watching: March averages an AQI of 69, while October clears to 58.
Days stretch to about 14.0 hours of light in June and shrink to 10.0 in December — something to weigh if you work to a fixed timezone.
For what you're after, the best months in Alexandria are May – October. Expect decent internet (28.6 Mbps) and a low cost of living (about €600 a month).
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