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Stories from Cairo, Egypt

Every story, long read and guide in the ULTIMATE Cairo City Guide, in one place.

Areas

Cairo by area

From Tahrir Square and the island of Zamalek to the medieval city, Coptic Cairo, Giza and the Pyramids, Heliopolis, Maadi and New Cairo: each area has its own guide.

The three pyramids of Giza with the queens’ pyramids in front, across the desert under a clear skyArea guideDowntownTahrir and the Khedivial cityThe Nile waterfront walk at Zamalek in the evening lightArea guideZamalek & GeziraThe island in the NileThe Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza tower in late sunArea guideGarden City & the CornicheVillas by the riverThe minarets and dome of the Qalawun complex on Al-Muizz StreetArea guideIslamic CairoThe medieval cityThe nave of the Hanging Church, with its carved screen and chandeliersArea guideCoptic Cairo & FustatChurches and the royal mummies

Getting about

Metro line 1 links Downtown (Sadat, for Tahrir Square) with Coptic Cairo (Mar Girgis) and Maadi: keep a car for Giza and the Citadel.

  1. Area guideGiza & the PyramidsThe Pyramids and the GEM
  2. Area guideHeliopolisThe garden city of 1905
  3. Area guideMaadiGreen and residential
  4. Area guideNew CairoThe city in the east

Practical

Plan your trip

The practical things to know before you go: the e-visa, two airports, the metro and the sleeper trains, and itineraries for a first visit and the journey up the Nile.

The Nile at Zamalek, with the riverside walk and a bridgeBefore you goCairo essentialsThe e-visa, money, dress and the numbers to callThe ticket barriers of a Cairo Metro stationGetting aroundGetting around CairoTwo airports, the metro and the trainsThe Pyramid of Khafre seen past the Great Pyramid and the Khufu boat-pit museum on the Giza PlateauItineraryThree days in CairoThe classic first visitThe lobby lounge of The St. Regis Cairo under its chandeliersLuxury guideLUX LivingThe finest addressesThe gardens of Marriott Mena House at dusk, with the floodlit Great Pyramid beyondItineraryThe Gold weekendMena House, Khufu’s and the GEM
  1. ItineraryUp the NileCairo, Luxor and Aswan

Our advice

Giza at opening time

Arrive at the Giza Plateau when it opens, through the new entrance on the Cairo–Fayoum road, and keep the afternoon for the Grand Egyptian Museum, which stays open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Giza & the Pyramids

Day trips

Beyond the city

Saqqara and the first pyramids, Alexandria on the Mediterranean, the temples of Luxor and Aswan, and the reefs of the Red Sea.

The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara under a blue skyBeyond the citySaqqara, Memphis & DahshurThe first pyramidsAlexandria’s Eastern Harbour and seafront, seen from the Citadel of QaitbayBeyond the cityAlexandriaThe city on the seaThe avenue of ram-headed sphinxes at KarnakBeyond the cityLuxorAncient ThebesA felucca sailing on the Nile at AswanBeyond the cityAswan & Abu SimbelFeluccas and templesThe marina buildings of El Gouna on the Red SeaBeyond the cityThe Red SeaReefs and lagoons

Our advice

Take the sleeper south

The overnight sleeper trains run from Cairo and Giza to Luxor and Aswan: go south by train and fly back, and give each bank of the Nile at Luxor its own day. Luxor from Cairo

In depth

In depth: the stories of Cairo

The city of a thousand minarets, its museums and crafts, its table, its hotels, its cars and trains, and where to buy a home: the stories behind Cairo.

A desert fox in the shade of a rock at Wadi Al-Hitan, the Valley of the WhalesIn depth: nature & wildlifeWild CairoDesert valleys and fossil whalesFeatureCairo, the Pyramids and the riverFive thousand years along the NileA marble fountain floor and carved stone doorway in the Museum of Islamic ArtThe back storyMuseums, music and craftsFrom Tahrir to Fustat

At the mosques

Cover shoulders and knees, take off your shoes and, for women, carry a scarf; avoid Friday midday prayers.

  1. The back storyEating in CairoKoshary to Khufu’s
  2. The back storyThe hotelsFrom Mena House to the Corniche
  3. The back storyCars and driversWhy most visitors take a driver
  4. The back storyGetting aroundMetro, monorail and the sleeper
  5. The back storyBuying in CairoThe districts and the first steps

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