Photo : Néfermaât (Wikimedia Commons) — CC BY-SA 2.5
Alexandria · Smouha
Antoniadis Gardens
The garden of a nineteenth-century Greek villa: ruled walks, marble statues, old palms.
The estate is named after John Antoniadis, a merchant of Alexandria's Greek trading elite, who had a French-style garden laid out around his villa: straight walks, staircases, basins and marble statues in the antique manner. It later passed to the city and has been a public garden ever since, adjoining the Nouzha garden and the zoo, south of the centre. The palms and the big trees are what came through the century best; the villa itself is not necessarily open to visitors. Successive restoration campaigns mean that what is open one year may not be the next.
The extra bit
Start with Antoniadis, where the design does the work, then work down to Nouzha and the zoo if you have children with you; the other way round, the walks lose their effect. Ask at the window whether you can pass between the gardens without going out to the street.
Know before you go
Entry is cheap. The ticket may be charged separately for each garden: ask when you buy it, before doing two in a row. On Fridays and public holidays the lawns belong to Alexandrian families and wedding photographers; on weekdays it is quiet without being empty. Some of the marble is damaged and works come round regularly: a walk or a basin may well be closed on the day you visit. There is nothing serious to eat on site: bring your own water.
