It had a population of 530,000 in 2024, making it the seventh most populous city in Egypt. The city is located between Cairo and Alexandria: 94 km (58 mi) north of Cairo and 130 km (81 mi) southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia Governorate, Tanta is a center for the cotton-ginning industry.
Getting to Tanta
There are frequent daily connections from Alexandria, Cairo, and Port Said.
- 01Tanta
Minibuses and Peugeot shared taxis abound in other cities.
Worth seeing
The Ahmad Al-Badawi mosque and Al Azher schools were founded hundreds of years back. The sayed al-Badawi mosque is spectacular and can get very very crowded during the festival seasons. Gold and crystal chandeliers, impressive tile work, painted wood, and stained glass decorate this holy place in Tanta's downtown. You can certainly walk there from the train station, it's probably less than 1 km.
- 01Ahmad Al-Badawi Mosque
- 02Tanta Museum
Where to eat
Near the Mosque of Sayed al-Badawi, on one of the streets to the right side if you're facing the mosque, is a fuul and ta'amiya restaurant called Abu Sina. It's packed with locals eating the delicious fuul. For LE
Getting around Tanta the local way
- Get inMinibuses and Peugeot shared taxis abound in other cities.
- Get aroundAnother option is to take one of the public minibuses.
From Wikivoyage: Tanta, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.