Montaza Palace Gardens

Khedive Abbas II built a hunting lodge here in 1892 and King Fuad added the main Haramlik palace in the 1930s, a curious building that mixes Florentine Renaissance with Ottoman detail and carries a tower said to be modelled on the Palazzo Vecchio. The palace interiors are not open, so the park is the visit: around fifty hectares of pine, palm and eucalyptus running down to a rocky shore with small sandy coves, a curved bridge out to a tea island, and long walks under trees that are rare on this coast. It was the royal summer retreat until 1952 and then became a public park with hotels in part of the grounds. Alexandrians use it constantly, and on Fridays and holidays it is packed.

History

The first palace in the grounds was the Salamlek, built in 1892 by Khedive Abbas II, the last ruler of the Muhammad Ali dynasty to hold the title of khedive, as a hunting lodge. King Fuad I added the larger Haramlek palace and the royal gardens in 1932 as a summer palace, in a mixture of Ottoman and Florentine styles, with long arcades facing the sea on every floor and two towers, one rising high with Italian Renaissance detail (Wikipedia, Montaza Palace).

Highlights

• The Haramlik palace exterior - Florentine tower over Ottoman detail.
• Fifty hectares of mature trees - pine and eucalyptus down to the sea.
• Coves and rocky shore - small beaches below the park.
• The bridge to the tea island - the park's best-known walk.

When to go

April to November. Weekday mornings are calm; Fridays, holidays and summer evenings bring large crowds. Half a day for the walk and a swim. Sunset from the shore path is the local ritual.

Good to know

The palace itself cannot be entered, which surprises many visitors. Beach access within the park sometimes carries an extra charge through hotel gates. It gets very crowded and littered in high summer. The gardens are pleasant rather than botanically notable.

Nearby

The Corniche runs west into the city; Abu Qir lies further east along the coast.