Travelling to Cairo?
Cairo is Africa’s biggest city and the pyramids sit literally on its edge: Giza is a district, not a day trip. Between the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir and the new Grand Museum by the pyramids, the pharaohs take up two days.
CAI
What to see in Cairo
8 ROUTESOur routes, not a list of everything. Places that have been there for centuries: no opening times or prices, which go stale.
- 01
Cairo in a day: the pyramids
9 hIf you only have one day, this is it: Giza in the morning, the Grand Museum next door, the Citadel to close. The rest can wait.The Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx · The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) · The Citadel and the Alabaster Mosque · Khan el-Khalili at duskRead the full guide - 02
Cairo in a weekend
48 hOne day of pharaohs, one of Islamic and Coptic Cairo. Five thousand years of history in 48 hours, with material left over.Saturday: Giza and the Grand Museum · Saturday night: a felucca on the Nile · Sunday: Islamic Cairo · Sunday afternoon: Coptic CairoRead the full guide - 03
Islamic and Coptic Cairo
6 hA thousand years of medieval mosques and Egypt’s oldest Christian churches. All World Heritage, and almost no tourists.Al-Muizz Street · The Ibn Tulun Mosque · The Coptic quarter · Khan el-Khalili and El FishawiRead the full guide - 04
Eating in Cairo: koshari and the street
2 hThe national dish costs what a coffee does and puts pasta, rice and lentils in one bowl. Sounds odd. It’s superb.The koshari · Ful, taameya and breakfast · Tea and shisha in Khan el-Khalili · The water, and your stomachRead the full guide - 05
The neighbourhoods of Cairo
5 hA leafy Nile island, the faded belle époque downtown, the medieval maze, and the pyramids at the end of the avenue.Zamalek · Downtown and Tahrir Square · Islamic Cairo · GizaRead the full guide - 06
Day trips from Cairo
8 hThe step pyramid where it all began, the pharaohs’ capital, and Alexandria, which faces the Mediterranean, not the desert.Saqqara and the Step Pyramid · Dahshur: the Bent and the Red · AlexandriaRead the full guide - 07
Cairo airport to the centre
1 hThe metro doesn’t reach the airport, whatever you’re told. That leaves the bus, the taxi and the apps, and traffic beats them all.The ride-hailing apps: the easiest · Taxi: a fixed price at arrivals · The Mwasalat Misr coach · The metro, only with a changeRead the full guide - 08
Cairo: practical tips
1 hVisa on arrival, bottled water, tips for everything, and traffic that will change your plans. What you need to know.The visa · Baksheesh: tipping is a system · The heat, and the sun · Persistence, not danger · Data on your phoneRead the full guide
Airport to city centre
3 OPTIONSThe real options, with what actually decides it: which terminal it leaves from and where it drops you. Fares and timetables live with the operator, who keeps them current.
- TaxiDowntown · GizaTwo good routes: the prepaid counter at arrivals, which gives you a set fare by zone, a receipt and a marked white cab, or the apps, Uber and Careem work here with signed pick-up points, which remove the haggling, the real problem in this city.·Fares and timesAeropuerto de El Cairo
- Bus111 (y 356 / 400)Abdel Moneim Riad (Tahrir)The airport express is the 111, air-conditioned, ending at Abdel Moneim Riad, next to Tahrir and the Egyptian Museum. The 356, which calls at Ramses, and the 400 also get there. They aren’t 24h: in the small hours, take a taxi.·Fares and timesMwasalat Misr
- MetroL3 (vía Adly Mansour)Attaba · NasserThe metro does NOT reach the airport: take the BRT first to Adly Mansour, the terminus of Line 3. From there, Attaba drops you in the heart of downtown (interchange with L2) and Nasser is one stop from Sadat and Tahrir Square (interchange with L1).·Fares and timesCairo Metro
VIP lounges in Cairo
7Before you fly, or on the layover. Pay per visit, whatever airline.