Cavafy Museum

Alexandria


The Alexandrian-Greek poet Constantine Cavafy spent his last 25 years in an apartment above a brothel on the former Rue Lepsius, a flat now preserved as the Cavafy Museum, with two of the six rooms arranged as Cavafy kept them. Editions of the poet’s publications and photocopies of his manuscripts, notebooks and correspondence lie spread out on tables throughout the other rooms. A collection of portraits and paintings of the poet adorns the walls of the last room.

With a Greek church (St Saba) around the corner and a hospital opposite, Cavafy thought this was the ideal place to live; somewhere to cater for the flesh, somewhere to provide forgiveness for sins, and a place in which to die. For those who love Cavafy's poetry this is almost a place of pilgrimage.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Alexandria attractions

1. Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue

0.13 MILES

Among the largest synagogues in the Middle East, this magnificent Italian-built structure served Alexandria’s once-thriving and cosmopolitan Jewish…

2. Kom Al Dikka

0.28 MILES

Kom Al Dikka was a well-off residential area in Graeco-Roman times, with lovely villas, bathhouses and a theatre. The area was known at the time as the…

3. Mosque of Al Qaid Ibrahim

0.42 MILES

This massive mosque, built in the 1940s, is a major landmark. It played an important role in the 2011 revolution as a gathering point for many of the city…

4. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

0.48 MILES

This neoclassical monument is a tribute to the Egyptians who lost their lives in the 1967 and 1973 wars with Israel.

5. Statue of Mohammed Ali

0.5 MILES

This statue of Mohammed Ali, Egypt's modernising 19th-century ruler, presides over Midan Tahrir.

6. Jewish Cemetery

0.57 MILES

This intimate walled Jewish cemetery has largely escaped vandalism and is pretty well kept. The many graves stand as lonely reminders of Alexandria's once…

7. Alexandria National Museum

0.74 MILES

This excellent museum sets a high benchmark with its summary of Alexandria’s past. Housed in a beautifully restored Italianate villa, the small but…

8. Museum of Modern Art

0.79 MILES

This wonderful and little-visited collection of 16th- to 20th-century paintings reflecting the city's cosmopolitan flair is housed in an old villa. Some…