Five thousand years, all at once
An independent guide to Cairo — 27 landmarks, museums, parks, venues and neighborhoods, walked and written up first-hand.
The ones you came for
The Pyramids of Giza
The only surviving wonder of the ancient world, on a plateau at the edge of the suburbs, with a hard sell attached.
The Citadel of Saladin
Eight hundred years of fortification on a spur above the city, crowned by an Ottoman mosque that looks like it wandered in from Istanbul.
Khan el-Khalili
A bazaar since 1382, half of it selling alabaster cats to visitors and half of it selling gold and spices to Cairo.
The Mosque of Ibn Tulun
The oldest mosque in Cairo surviving in its original form, from 879, with a spiral minaret and almost nobody in it.
The Grand Egyptian Museum
Two decades late, a kilometre from the pyramids, and holding the complete Tutankhamun collection for the first time.
Coptic Cairo
A walled compound inside a Roman fortress holding a church on stilts, a synagogue, and a crypt where the Holy Family is said to have sheltered.
Cairo by category
Day-by-day itineraries
Neighborhoods
The essentials
How to get in from all three airports, how the subway and the ferries actually fit together, and the history that explains what you're standing in front of.
From the guide
A Thousand Years of Capitals
Cairo is not one city but five, founded one after another along the same stretch of river, and all of them are still there.
Cairo Airport to the City
Three terminals, no rail link that reaches them yet, and a taxi rank with a long tradition of creative pricing.
Eating in Cairo
Fava beans for breakfast, four starches in one bowl for lunch, and pigeon stuffed with rice if you are feeling brave.