//
Northernmost region of Egypt
Photo: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lower Egypt (Arabic: دلتا مصر delta màSr) is the northern part of Egypt, containing the Nile Delta, Cairo and Alexandria. It's not a defined region or province, just a convenient grouping for travel purposes, and with a high proportion of Egypt's top sights.
Flying between Alex and Cairo takes longer than ground transport, what with the check-in periods, security and distance between airports and downtown.
Read in the guideChoose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Al Jiza · International · SPX
Loading places around the airport…
Cairo (pronounced KY-roh; Arabic: القاهرة al-Qāhirah) is the capital of Egypt (until the New Administrative Capital is completed) and, with a total population of Greater Cairo metropolitan area in excess of 16 million people, one of the largest cities in both Africa and the Middle East (the regions which it conveniently straddles). It is also the 19th largest city in the world, and among the world's most densely populated cities.
Abu Kabir (or Abu Kebir, أبو كبير , كفرصقر ) is in Lower Egypt.
Abusir (also spelt Abu Sir) is the name given to an Egyptian archaeological locality on the desert plateau (and its neighbouring village in the valley) 10 km (7 miles) south of Giza and 8 km north of Saqqara. About 35 km south of the Egyptian capital Cairo, Abusir is the site of a compact pyramid field, with pyramids and funerary temples dating mainly from the 5th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom.
Alexandria (pronounced al-ig-ZAN-dree-uh ; Arabic: الإسكندرية / اسكندرية al-Iskandariyya / Eskendereyya ) is Egypt's second largest city (5.2 million people in 2018), its largest seaport, and the country's window onto the Mediterranean Sea. The city is a faded shadow of its former glorious cosmopolitan self, but still worth a visit for its many cultural attractions – particularly the new Library of Alexandria – and still-palpable glimpses of its past.
Banha is a city of 182,000 people (2021) in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt. It is on the east bank of the Damietta Branch of the Nile River in the rich farmland of the southern part of the river's delta.
Dahshur (Arabic دهشور Dahšūr, often rendered in English as Dashur) is an Egyptian archaeological locality some 10 km to the south of Saqqara and therefore 35 km south of the Egyptian capital Cairo. Travellers from Cairo will often combine a visit to Dahshur with a visit to Saqqara on the same day.
Damanhur is in Lower Egypt.
Desouk (دسوق) is a city in Lower Egypt with 150,000 people (2021). Desouk is renowned for the presence of Ibrahim El Desouki Mosque, which attracts over a million visitors annually on average.
Dumyat (دمياط, also known as Damietta in English) is a city in Lower Egypt with about 1.1 million inhabitants in the larger metro area.
El Alamein (العلمين) is a city on the north coast of Egypt, famous as the site of major battles between British and German forces during the Second World War (see World War II in Africa). This article also includes the adjacent areas of New Alamein, Marina el Alamein and Leukaspis.
Ismailia is a city in Lower Egypt.
Marsa Matruth (also spelled: Mersa...; Arabic: مرسى مطروح marsa màTrūH) is a coastal town in the western part of Lower Egypt.
Mansoura is a town in Lower Egypt. This Nile delta town is virtually unknown to tourists.
Although very little remains to be seen on the surface, Memphis features a great sculpture museum.
Yet unnamed, this city is set to become the new capital of Egypt and house 6½ million people, now mostly a building site.
Port Said (Arabic: بورسعيد bōr sa`īd) is Egypt's third largest city (603,787 people), its second largest seaport and the entry point of the Suez Canal by the Mediterranean.
Rosetta (Egyptian Arabic: رشيد) is a town in Lower Egypt.
Saqqara is the name given both to a village 32 km to the south of the Egyptian capital of Cairo and (more particularly) to the extensive ancient necropolis on the plateau above the Nile Valley, the location of tombs and pyramids dating to the Predynastic, Old Kingdom, New Kingdom and Late Periods of ancient Egyptian history. Travellers from Cairo often combine a visit with a trip to Dahshur and Memphis on the same day.
Tanta (طنطا) is the 5th largest city in Egypt.
Wadi El Natrun is a valley in Lower Egypt. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, salt deposits, salt marshes and freshwater marshes.
Zagazig (Arabic: الزقازيق, romanized: az-Zaqāzīq) is a town of about 430,000 people (2021) in Lower Egypt, on the Muweis Canal.
The Nile (Arabic: النيل, an-Nīl), is Africa's longest river, and by most definitions the longest in the world at 6,695 kilometers (4,132 miles) from its source White Nile in Burundi/Rwanda to its mouth at the Egyptian city of Rosetta (Rasheed) on the Mediterranean Sea. Its drainage basin contains territory of Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of the Sudan, and Egypt.
Articles and travel topics about Lower Egypt and Egypt.
ItinerariesPlan your 7-day Egypt itinerary for 2026. Explore Cairo's Pyramids, Luxor's temples, and Aswan with domestic flights, Nile tips, and real costs.
7 min read
Travel tipsDiscover the best time to visit Egypt. Compare mild winter Nile cruises, desert heatwaves, the 2027 solar eclipse in Luxor, and Red Sea coral diving.
8 min read
InspirationExplore the best places to visit in November across autumn foliage, mild desert warmth, southern spring blooms, and off-peak travel bargains.
6 min read
Travel tipsIs it safe to travel to Egypt right now? Compare safety in Cairo, Luxor Nile cruises, and Red Sea resorts with official travel advice and scam tips.
6 min read
Every section of the guide. Open one to read it in full.