The new library of Alexandria is a modern attraction in an ancient city

A new establishment has been built to replace the ancient centre, destroyed in 48 BC

People taking solo holidays to Egypt may be forgiven for concentrating solely on the magnificent ancient attractions in the country. However, people travelling to Alexandria should stop off at a modern wonder.

That is because the city of Alexandria has recently opened a brand new library - the New Bibliotheca Alexandrina - that holds millions of books.

However, the library is much more than just that: it houses four museums, an internet archive, a planetarium and six specialised libraries, including one for the visually impaired.

Visitors are offered a multi-lingual audio guide to the four museums, dedicated to antiquities, old manuscripts, former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and the history of science.

The name of the establishment pays homage to the original library of Alexandria, which is widely thought of as one of the most brilliant fonts of knowledge in the ancient world.

This ancient library, which was the working place of integral early thinkers such as Euclid, Archimedes and Eratosthenes, was accidentally burnt down by Julius Caesar in 48 BC.