Luxury hotels in Cairo

Cairo guide

The Pyramids of Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum

The last wonder of the ancient world and the new museum beside it, timed to avoid the heat and the crowds.

The Pyramids of Giza are the only one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world still standing, and they top every list for Cairo. Arrive at opening with a private Egyptologist, see the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx before the coaches, and return at the end of the day for the desert light.

The Grand Egyptian Museum, beside the plateau, now holds the treasures of Tutankhamun and is best visited on a separate day. Add Islamic Cairo and the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, and travel between October and April, when the days are warm rather than hot.

Islamic Cairo and the Khan el-Khalili

Historic Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the city's most cited areas: the Citadel of Saladin with the Muhammad Ali Mosque, the Sultan Hassan Mosque and Al-Azhar, and the medieval street of Al-Muizz lined with madrasas and palaces.

The Khan el-Khalili bazaar, dating from the fourteenth century, sells spices, lamps and silver, and El Fishawi café has served tea for more than two centuries. Coptic Cairo, with the Hanging Church, shows the city's Christian heritage.

Saqqara and the Nile by felucca

Saqqara, about forty minutes south of central Cairo, is home to the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the oldest monumental stone building in the world, and to tombs with beautifully preserved reliefs; it is one of the most cited excursions after Giza and far quieter. Dahshur, nearby, has the Bent and Red Pyramids.

Back in the city, a sail on the Nile in a felucca, the traditional wooden sailboat, at sunset is a classic Cairo moment. Dinner cruises and the riverside restaurants of Zamalek complete the evening.