The 16-kilometre seafront road that runs from Qaitbay Citadel in the west to Montazah in the east. The corniche is the principal stage of Alexandrian public life — the seawall is lined day and night with anglers, families on evening walks, lovers parked on the iron railings, young men playing football on patches of sand, and old men reading newspapers on the benches.
The best stretches to walk are the older central sections from Qaitbay to Saad Zaghloul Square (about 3 km, an hour's stroll past the surviving 1930s-50s waterfront architecture), and from Stanley to Sidi Bishr (4 km, with curving bays and the iconic Stanley Bridge crossing one of them). Late afternoon into early evening is the prime time — the light is golden, the heat has eased, and the corniche fills with locals. The corniche tram runs alongside if your feet give out.