Alexandria is a city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana

Rapides Parish, Louisiana

-Military Installations:*Camp Beauregard *Esler Airfield *England Air Force Base *Camp Claiborne *Camp Livingston -Demographics:...

, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River

Red River (Mississippi watershed)

The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...

 in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area (population 153,922) which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant

Grant Parish, Louisiana

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 18,698 people, 7,073 households, and 5,276 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 people per square mile . There were 8,531 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...

 parishes. Its neighboring city is Pineville

Pineville, Louisiana

Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....

. In 2010, the population was 47,723, according to an official estimate by the College of Business Population Estimates Program at Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...

.
The city of Alexandria, located along the Red River, was originally home to a community supporting activities of the adjacent Spanish outpost of Post du Rapides.