Cairo, the Pyramids and the river

The Pyramids and the new museum

The Pyramids of Giza are the oldest of the Seven Wonders and the only one still standing; the Great Pyramid was built for Khufu in the Fourth Dynasty. They now have a new neighbour: the Grand Egyptian Museum, where Tutankhamun’s treasures are shown together, its galleries open daily and late on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Giza & the Pyramids →

A thousand minarets

Historic Cairo is the medieval city of the Fatimids and the Mamluks: Al-Azhar from the 10th century, Ibn Tulun from the 9th, Sultan Hassan from the 14th, and the Citadel above them all. Walk Al-Muizz Street from gate to gate and end in the lamplight of Khan el-Khalili.

Islamic Cairo →

Churches, a synagogue and the kings

Inside the walls of Roman Babylon, the Hanging Church, the Coptic Museum and the Ben Ezra Synagogue keep the city’s Christian and Jewish past; beyond, at Fustat, the Royal Mummies Hall of NMEC holds the kings and queens of the New Kingdom.

The Khedivial city

Downtown was laid out in the 19th century on Parisian lines. The Egyptian Museum has stood on Tahrir Square since 1902, Groppi and Café Riche keep their old names, and the restored Kodak Passage and Cinema Radio show the city coming back to its belle-époque streets.

The grand hotels of the Nile

The Nile is Cairo’s great promenade. Mena House stands at the foot of the Pyramids; the Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton, the St. Regis, the Kempinski and Fairmont line the Corniche; and on Gezira, the Cairo Marriott keeps its 19th-century palace. Take a drink on a rooftop as the feluccas sail at dusk.

Where to stay in Cairo →

Up the Nile

Cairo is the start of the great journey south: the overnight sleeper to Luxor’s temples and the Valley of the Kings, then on to Aswan, Philae and Abu Simbel, with the Winter Palace and the Old Cataract waiting at the end of each day.

Luxor →   Aswan & Abu Simbel →   ULTIMATE Dubai →

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