14 of the best · Cairo, Egypt
The Pyramids and the Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Al-Azhar and Khan el-Khalili, the Citadel and Sultan Hassan, Ibn Tulun, the Hanging Church, Cairo Tower and the Baron Empain Palace.
Our 14 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
Browse by type
Three places we would send a friend to first, chosen by people who know Cairo well.
The last wonder
The Great Pyramid of Khufu, the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure and the Sphinx, on the desert edge of the city.
Tutankhamun’s treasures
The museum beside the Pyramids, home to the treasures of Tutankhamun, with galleries open daily.
The old souk
The great bazaar of medieval Cairo: brass, lanterns, spices and silver in a maze of lanes.
Our long reads on this side of Cairo.
The back story
The Pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum, the mosques and gates of Historic Cairo, the churches of Coptic Cairo and the Nile between them.
The Pyramids and the GEM.
Tutankhamun’s treasures
The museum beside the Pyramids, home to the treasures of Tutankhamun, with galleries open daily.
The last wonder
The Great Pyramid of Khufu, the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure and the Sphinx, on the desert edge of the city.
The medieval city.
Founded in the 10th century
The Fatimid mosque of the 10th century, at the heart of Historic Cairo.
Fatimid gate
The 11th-century southern gate of Fatimid Cairo, with two minarets on its towers.
The old souk
The great bazaar of medieval Cairo: brass, lanterns, spices and silver in a maze of lanes.
Below the Citadel
The great 14th-century mosque-madrasa of Sultan Hassan and its neighbour, Al-Rifa’i, below the Citadel.
Begun in the 12th century
The hilltop fortress begun by Salah al-Din, crowned by the 19th-century Mosque of Muhammad Ali.
Completed in the 9th century
One of the oldest mosques in Cairo, with a vast courtyard and a spiral minaret.
Churches and a synagogue.
The Cairo Geniza
The synagogue of Fustat, where the Cairo Geniza manuscripts were found.
Above the Roman gate
The Coptic church built above the gatehouse of the Roman fortress of Babylon.
Palaces and the tower.
The Hindu palace
The early-20th-century palace of the founder of Heliopolis, inspired by the temples of India and Cambodia, restored and open.
Over the Nile
The lattice tower on Gezira, for the whole city from its observation deck.
On Roda Island
The palace of Prince Mohamed Ali on Roda Island, with its gardens and halls of tilework.
