King Farouk Palace: Montaza in Alexandria and His Palaces in Cairo

The King Farouk Palace that most travellers look for is the Montaza Palace (Al Haramlek) in Alexandria, the seaside summer residence of Egypt's last reigning king. You can walk in its large gardens and along its beaches, but the palace building itself is generally closed to visitors. In Cairo, the Farouk places you can actually enter are Abdeen Palace, the official royal palace, and the Farouk Corner Museum, his Nile rest house in Helwan.

Farouk (born 1920, king from 1936 to 1952) used many residences, and the name "King Farouk palace" is used for several of them. Below we explain each one, what is open, and how our guides fit them into a day in Alexandria or Cairo.

History

The Montaza estate lies on the eastern edge of Alexandria, about 18 km from the city centre, on a bay of the Mediterranean. Khedive Abbas II built the first palace there, the Salamlek, in 1892 as a hunting lodge. King Fuad I, Farouk's father, added the much larger Haramlek palace in 1932, in a mix of Ottoman and Florentine styles with a tall tower that you can see from far along the Corniche. Farouk inherited the estate in 1936 and made Montaza the family's summer home. The royal gardens around it cover about 120 hectares (around 300 acres).

After the 1952 revolution the estate passed to the state. The Haramlek was used for official guests, and the gardens were opened to the public. The Salamlek was turned into a hotel.

Visiting Montaza today

• What you can see: the gardens with their palms and pines, the outside of the Haramlek and its tower, the small bridge to the islet in the bay, and the beaches. The interior of the Haramlek is not part of a normal visit.
• Tickets: a small entrance fee is paid at the gate in Egyptian pounds; foreigners pay more than Egyptians. Fees are not published officially, so ask your guide or carry some cash.
• Hours: the gardens open in the morning and close around sunset.
• Time needed: 1 to 1.5 hours for a walk; longer if you stay for the beach or lunch.
• Crowds: very busy on Fridays and on Egyptian public holidays, when Alexandrian families come for picnics. Weekday mornings are calm.

Our tip: go late in the afternoon, walk to the bridge and the bay for the light on the water, then drive back along the Corniche to the fish restaurants of Anfushi for dinner.

Ras El Tin, on the western harbour of Alexandria, was built for Muhammad Ali in the first half of the 19th century and rebuilt under King Fuad. It was here that Farouk signed his abdication on 26 July 1952, three days after the revolution, before sailing into exile on the royal yacht El Mahrousa. The palace is still used by the state and cannot be visited, but you see it from the sea road near the Citadel of Qaitbay. Our article on Ras El Tin Palace tells the full story.

Abdeen Palace

Built by Khedive Ismail and finished in 1874, Abdeen was the official palace of Egypt's rulers and Farouk's seat of government. Part of it is open as a museum, with collections of weapons, silver, gifts to the royal family and presidential gifts. Read our Abdeen Palace Museum guide before you go; the visit takes about 1.5 hours.

The Farouk Corner Museum (Rokn Farouk), Helwan

This is the most personal of Farouk's houses. The king bought the plot on the Nile at Helwan in the 1930s and opened the rest house on 5 September 1942. The building is shaped like a boat moored on the river, and the garden still has mango trees brought from Albania. Inside you see royal furniture, gifts, photographs and paintings, and replicas of Tutankhamun's furniture that once stood in the rest house at the pyramids. The museum reopened in 2016 after restoration.

Prices and hours from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, checked on 4 November 2026. Helwan is about 45 minutes to an hour south of downtown Cairo by car, so combine it with a day in Maadi or with Saqqara and Memphis on the west bank.

The King Farouk Rest House at the pyramids

Beside the Giza pyramids, east of the Great Pyramid, stands the rest house built for Farouk in the 1940s. It has been closed for decades. The Egyptian press has reported plans to restore it for a new use, but at the time of writing it cannot be visited. You see it from the outside on the way into the plateau.

Farouk I became king of Egypt and Sudan in 1936 at the age of 16, after the death of his father Fuad I. He was popular at first, but his reign was marked by British influence, the Second World War, the defeat in Palestine in 1948 and stories of his lavish life: his collections of coins, stamps, cars and watches became famous. On 23 July 1952 the Free Officers took power; Farouk abdicated in favour of his infant son and left for Italy, where he died in Rome in 1965. He was the last reigning king of the Muhammad Ali dynasty, which had ruled Egypt since 1805.

• In Alexandria: Montaza fits at the end of a city day after the Library, Qaitbay Citadel and the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa. See our guide on what to see in one day in Alexandria.
• In Cairo: Abdeen is in the city centre and combines well with downtown and the Egyptian Museum; Rokn Farouk needs its own half day.
• Royal palaces lovers: add the Manial Palace of Prince Mohamed Ali, Farouk's uncle and heir presumptive, on Roda Island in Cairo.

Our Alexandria day tours can include a walk in the Montaza gardens, and the 5 days Cairo and Alexandria tour gives you time for the royal palaces of both cities.

Can you go inside the King Farouk palace in Alexandria?

Not normally. The Montaza gardens are open to visitors, but the Haramlek palace building is generally closed. Ras El Tin Palace is also closed (state use).

Where did King Farouk live?

His official palace was Abdeen in Cairo. He spent summers at Montaza and Ras El Tin in Alexandria and also had rest houses at Helwan and at the Giza pyramids.

Which King Farouk palace can I visit in Cairo?

Abdeen Palace Museum in central Cairo and the Farouk Corner Museum (Rokn Farouk) in Helwan.