Middle East - Anthony Ham [147]
The town is effectively built as an island, connected to the mainland by a bridge to the south and a causeway to the west.
Information
The main banks all have branches with ATMs in town, mostly along Sharia al-Gomhuriyya. Thomas Cook ( 322 7559; Sharia al-Gomhuriyya; 8am-4.30pm) sits where Sharia Orabi meets Sharia al-Gomhuriyya and will change travellers cheques and sell US dollars. If you urgently need to update your Facebook profile, try Compu.Net (per hr E£3; 9am-midnight), just opposite the main post office. The friendly tourist office ( 323 5289; 8 Sharia Palestine; 8am-6pm Sat-Thu, 9am-2pm Fri) is along the waterfront, near the ferry to Port Faud, and supplies maps of the town.
Sights & Activities
The National Museum ( 323 7419), at the top end of Sharia Palestine, was closed for renovation at the time of research. The small Military Museum ( 322 4657; Sharia 23rd of Jul; admission E£5; 9am-4pm Fri-Wed, 9am-10pm Thu) has some interesting relics from the 1956 Anglo-French War and the 1967 and 1973 wars with Israel.
The easiest way to explore the canal is to take the free public ferry from near the tourist office across to Port Fuad and back.
Sleeping
Hotel de la Poste ( /fax 322 4048; 42 Sharia al-Gomhuriyya; s E£37-52, d E£50-62; ) Though starting to show its considerable age, the rooms at this elegantly faded hotel are nonetheless scrubbed clean and decent value. Facilities vary room to room: the better ones offer satellite TV, balconies and air-con. Best of all, there’s a neat street-side café downstairs from where you can watch the hubbub of downtown.
Helnan Port Said ( 332 0890; www.helnan.com; Sharia Adef El Sadat; s/d US$120/150, ste from US$300; ) Based in a massive modern monolith of a building, this five-star establishment manages to feel stylish while reining in the sort of over-the-top glitz so popular in this hotel class. Comfortably luxurious rooms are very well finished and most have swell views over the canal and the Mediterranean. Breakfast costs E£30 to E£45 and there are some first-rate restaurants on site.
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SUEZ CANAL: FAST FACTS
Construction Begun 1859, completed 1869
Length 190km
Surface width 280-345m
Depth 22.5m
Speed limit 11-14kph
World trade passing through canal 14%
Vessels passing annually Over 20,000
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Eating & Drinking
There’s a swathe of fast-food establishments on the New Corniche up from the Helnan Port Said hotel. This is also where most of the night-time action is.
Pizza Pino ( 323 9949; cnr Sharias 23rd of Jul & al-Gomhuriyya; pasta E£10-25, pizza E£15-25) Moodily lit and decked out in comfy seats, it’s no wonder people linger here well after dinner is over. Friendly service, good Italian-influenced food, fresh juice and a wide range of ice-cream sundaes draws a packed crowd nightly – come early to get a seat.
Abou Essam ( 323 2776; Sharia Adef as-Sadat; meals E£20-30) Looking like a massive glass greenhouse, replete with draping foliage, this eatery does a great Egyptian salad buffet, as well as flavoursome meats, grilled fish and pastas to go with it.
There’s a popular terrace ahwa at the front of the Grand Albatross Building on the New Corniche where locals linger over sheeshas.
Getting There & Away
BOAT
For details of boats from Port Said to Cyprus and Israel, Click here and Click here.
Bus
The bus station is 3km from the centre of town.
Two companies travel to Cairo. East Delta Bus Co ( 372 9883) has buses (E£14 to E£16, three hours) nearly hourly between 6am and 10pm. Superjet buses (E£22, three hours) also leave hourly, between 7am and 8pm.
To Alexandria, East Delta Bus Co has six services (E£22 to E£25, four hours) between 7am and 7pm.
There are buses to Suez (E£11 to E£13, three hours) at 6am, 10am, 1pm and 4pm.
A taxi from the bus station into town costs between E£3 and E£5. Taxis within town cost E£2.
Service Taxi
These leave from an area in the bus station. Fares include