Totally Cairo
Things to Do in Cairo
Cairo has more packed into it than most people expect: five millennia of monuments, one of the world's great bazaars, a river that built a civilization, and a food scene most visitors never get past their hotel buffet to try. Here's how it all fits together.
How to think about Cairo's sights
Most first-time visitors try to cram the Pyramids, the Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili and Islamic Cairo into a single overwhelming day. It's doable, but it's better split across two or three days so you're not rushing the Great Pyramid at 4pm with everyone else who did the same thing.
Broadly, Cairo's sights fall into four clusters: the Giza Plateau and its museums to the west, Islamic and Coptic Old Cairo to the south of downtown, the modern center around Tahrir Square and the Nile islands, and everything reachable as a day trip — Saqqara, Dahshur, Alexandria. Group your days by geography, not by a checklist, and you'll save hours of Cairo traffic.
Guides in this section
The Pyramids of Giza & the Great Sphinx
The last surviving Wonder of the Ancient World, still standing where it was built 4,500 years ago, on the edge of a…
Read the guideThe Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)
The largest archaeological museum in the world, built specifically to house Egypt's Pharaonic collection — including,…
Read the guideThe Egyptian Museum, Tahrir Square
The pink neoclassical building that introduced generations of visitors to ancient Egypt, still open in the heart of…
Read the guideKhan el-Khalili Bazaar
A working market since the 14th century, still selling spices, gold, lanterns and souvenirs down narrow lanes that open…
Read the guideThe Cairo Citadel
An 800-year-old fortress on a hill above the city, crowned by the Ottoman-era Mosque of Muhammad Ali and some of the…
Read the guideIslamic Cairo & Coptic Cairo
Two of the oldest continuously inhabited parts of the city, a few kilometers apart — one built around medieval mosques…
Read the guideCairo Tower
A 187-meter lattice tower shaped like a stylized lotus plant, standing on its own island in the Nile since 1961 — still…
Read the guideCairo Pyramids Tours
The Giza Plateau, Saqqara and the Egyptian Museum can all be visited independently or as part of an organized tour —…
Read the guideWhat to Eat in Cairo
Egyptian food is hearty, largely plant-and-grain based at its everyday core, and best eaten where Cairenes actually eat…
Read the guideWhere to Eat in Cairo
Beyond the street food covered in our general food guide, these are specific, well-established places worth planning a…
Read the guideFelucca Rides & Nile Dinner Cruises
The Nile built Cairo, and getting out onto it — quietly under sail, or with dinner and a floor show — is one of the…
Read the guideCairo with Family
Cairo is more family-friendly than its reputation suggests — the trick is pacing the big sights around kids' patience…
Read the guideRomantic Things to Do in Cairo
Cairo isn't the first city people think of for romance, which is exactly why its quieter, river-facing side feels like…
Read the guideShopping in Cairo
Cairo's shopping runs from a centuries-old covered bazaar to glossy modern malls with the same international brands as…
Read the guideCairo Nightlife
Not a clubbing capital, and it doesn't try to be — Cairo's evening scene is quieter and more low-key than Western…
Read the guideThe Pyramids Sound & Light Show
An open-air evening show where the Sphinx 'narrates' the story of Giza while colored floodlights sweep across the three…
Read the guideAlexandria Day Trip from Cairo
A different Egypt entirely — Mediterranean, Greco-Roman, and built around a curving corniche instead of the Nile. A…
Read the guideSaqqara & Dahshur
The pyramid fields south of Giza, with fewer crowds and, in some ways, more interesting monuments — including the very…
Read the guideZamalek
An island in the Nile, ten minutes from Downtown, with tree-lined streets, embassies, independent cafes and some of…
Read the guideA 3-Day Cairo Itinerary
Enough time to see Cairo's essentials properly, grouped by geography so you're not crossing the city back and…
Read the guideCommon questions
How many days do you need in Cairo?
Three full days covers the essentials comfortably: one for Giza and Saqqara, one for Islamic and Coptic Old Cairo plus Khan el-Khalili, and one for the Egyptian Museum and a Nile felucca ride. Add a fourth day for a trip to Alexandria or to slow the pace down.
What's the single most important thing to do in Cairo?
The Giza Plateau — the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, the Sphinx and now the Grand Egyptian Museum right beside it. Everything else is genuinely worthwhile, but this is the one nobody skips.
Is Cairo walkable?
Parts of it. Downtown, Islamic Cairo and Zamalek are enjoyable on foot in short stretches, but the city is huge and traffic-heavy, so plan on taxis, Uber/Careem or the metro between areas rather than walking across town.