#1. Port Said
In its late-19th-century raffish heyday, Port Said was Egypt’s city of vice and sin. The boozing seafarers and packed brothels may have long since been scrubbed away, but this louche period is evoked still in the waterfront’s muddle of once-grand architecture slowly going to seed.
While the yesteryear allure of the centre is enough to prompt a visit, the main attraction, and the reason for the town’s establishment, is the Suez Canal. The raised pedestrian-only boardwalk running along the waterfront provides up-close views over the canal’s northern entry point, allowing travellers to admire the passing supertanker traffic up close.
The free ferry that crosses the canal to the languid suburb of Port Fuad is the only opportunity for casual visitors to ride the waters of this marvel of construction.