Cairo: 13 places to see, from the pyramids to Islamic Cairo

The Pyramids of Giza, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world still standing, dominate the plateau west of Cairo. The complex brings together the Great Pyramid of Khufu, those of Khafre and Menkaure, and the Great Sphinx, a colossal statue with a lion's body and a pharaoh's head. It is part of the UNESCO site 'Memphis and its Necropolis', inscribed in 1979.

The plateau entry ticket costs EGP 700 for a foreign adult (EGP 350 for students); going inside the Great Pyramid, the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure and the tomb of Meresankh III requires separate tickets. Card-payment machines complement the ticket offices and the ministry's online sales. Allow half a day, on foot, on horseback or by camel.

Inaugurated on 1 November 2025 at Giza, about 2 km from the pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is the world's largest archaeological museum devoted to a single civilisation. For the first time it houses the complete Tutankhamun collection, more than 5,000 objects including the gold mask and the gilded shrines, previously only partly shown at the Tahrir museum, as well as Khufu's solar boat.

The visit starts in the atrium with its colossal statue of Ramesses II, then climbs the grand staircase lined with statues up to the chronological galleries, with the pyramids as a backdrop behind the glass wall. Tickets are booked online on the official site visit-gem.com, with a timed entry slot.

The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, opened in 1902, is Egypt's oldest major antiquities museum. Since the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) opened at Giza, its most famous pieces have moved: the complete Tutankhamun collection is now displayed at the GEM, and the royal mummies moved to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Fustat during the 2021 'Pharaohs' Golden Parade'.

The Tahrir museum remains open and keeps a vast collection of pharaonic and Greco-Roman antiquities in the atmosphere of its historic pink-brick building. Ticketing has switched to electronic payment. Check before visiting which halls are open, as refurbishment continues.

Islamic Cairo is the medieval heart of the city, founded in 969 by the Fatimids and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979 as Historic Cairo. Its backbone is al-Muizz street, running one kilometre from the Bab al-Futuh gate in the north to Bab Zuweila in the south, lined with mosques, madrasas, fountains and Mamluk palaces: the Qalawun complex, al-Aqmar mosque, Beshtak palace, the sabil-kuttab of Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda.

Nearby stand al-Azhar mosque, founded in 970 and seat of one of the world's oldest universities, al-Hakim mosque against the city walls, and further south the Ibn Tulun mosque (9th century), Cairo's largest, with its external spiral minaret. The district is explored on foot; al-Muizz street is free to walk, the ticketed monuments are signposted.

Khan el-Khalili is the great bazaar of Islamic Cairo, established since the 14th century around al-Hussein mosque, a short walk from al-Azhar. Its covered lanes are lined with goldsmiths, coppersmiths and sellers of spices, perfumes, fabrics and lanterns, with a tourist-oriented section near al-Hussein square and more local streets towards al-Muizz street and the textile souk.

El Fishawy café, open since the 18th century and once frequented by Naguib Mahfouz, is the bazaar's institution. The district comes alive in the evening, when Cairenes come for mint tea or shisha; on Friday mornings many shops stay closed.

Founded by Saladin in 1176 on a spur of the Mokattam, the Citadel was the seat of power in Egypt for almost seven centuries, from the Ayyubids to the Ottomans and the dynasty of Mohammed Ali. It overlooks the whole of Islamic Cairo and, on a clear day, reveals the pyramids.

Its flagship monument is the Mohammed Ali Mosque, built between 1830 and 1848 on the model of the great Ottoman mosques of Istanbul, with cascading domes, two slender minarets and alabaster-clad walls. The enclosure also holds the Mamluk mosque of al-Nasir Mohammed (1318), the Gawhara Palace and the military museum. Entry costs EGP 550 for a foreign adult (EGP 275 for students); the site is open daily from 8am to 5pm.

About thirty kilometres south of Giza, Saqqara is the necropolis of Memphis, the first capital of unified Egypt. Here stands the Step Pyramid of Djoser, raised around 2650 BC by the architect Imhotep: the world's oldest large stone monument, a century older than the Giza pyramids. Its restored enclosure can be visited together with the burial chamber.

Around it lie the pyramid of Unas with its Pyramid Texts, the mastabas of Ti and Kagemni with remarkably preserved reliefs, the Serapeum with its sarcophagi of Apis bulls, and the Imhotep Museum. At Memphis itself, the open-air museum keeps the recumbent colossus of Ramesses II and an alabaster sphinx. The site belongs to the UNESCO property 'Memphis and its Necropolis'.

Coptic Cairo occupies the site of the Roman fortress of Babylon, in the south of the city, where the Nile flowed before shifting westwards. Inside the enclosure stand the Hanging Church (al-Muallaqa), built over the towers of the Roman gate, the church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, whose crypt is linked to the Holy Family's stay in Egypt, the church of Saint Barbara and the Greek monastery of Saint George.

The Ben Ezra synagogue, where the famous Cairo Geniza was discovered, and the Coptic Museum, home to the world's richest collection of Coptic art, complete the visit. The district is served directly by the metro and takes two to three hours to explore.

Al-Azhar Park, opened in 2005, covers 30 hectares of a former rubbish dump on Darassa hill, between Islamic Cairo and the City of the Dead. The project, funded by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, also uncovered and restored a 1.5 km stretch of the 12th-century Ayyubid wall that borders the park to the west.

Palm-lined walks, pools and channels inspired by Islamic gardens, lawns and two restaurants; from the terraces the view takes in the Citadel, the minarets of al-Azhar and, on a clear day, the pyramids. It is one of the few large green spaces in the centre, popular with Cairo families at weekends.

In Cairo, a Nile outing is mostly an evening affair: a felucca sail at sunset, or a restaurant boat with dinner, music and a dance show. Feluccas moor along the corniche, between Garden City and Zamalek; an hour on the water is enough to watch the city light up.

Not to be confused with the multi-day cruises past the temples of Luxor, Karnak, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan: those take place in Upper Egypt, more than 500 km to the south, and are reached from Cairo by plane or night train.

The City of the Dead, al-Qarafa in Arabic, is the vast necropolis stretching at the foot of the Mokattam hills, east of Islamic Cairo, between the Citadel and the al-Azhar district. Its domed Mamluk mausoleums, including those of Sultan Qaitbay and Barquq in the Northern Cemetery, rank among the finest monuments of Islamic architecture in Cairo and belong to the UNESCO site of Historic Cairo.

What makes the place unusual: families have lived here for generations, in the funerary enclosures and caretakers' houses, making it an inhabited district as much as a cemetery. Road-building works have led to demolitions in several sectors since 2020; the Northern Cemetery and its great mausoleums remain accessible.

Manial Palace, on Roda island, was built between 1899 and 1929 by Prince Mohammed Ali Tewfik, uncle of King Farouk and for a time heir to the throne. The prince mixed, to his own taste, Ottoman, Persian, Moorish and Andalusian styles: a throne room, a reception hall with gilded ceilings, a private mosque, a clock tower and a hunting museum full of stuffed trophies.

The botanical garden surrounding the pavilions, planted with rare species, is one of Cairo's few historic green spaces. The palace is run by the Ministry of Antiquities and takes about an hour and a half to visit; it remains uncrowded.

Cairo Tower stands on Gezira island, in the Zamalek district, in the middle of the Nile. Designed by Egyptian architect Naoum Chebib and completed in 1961, it is 187 metres tall: its reinforced-concrete structure is clad in an openwork lattice evoking the lotus stem, the emblematic plant of ancient Egypt.

At the top, an observation deck gives a 360-degree view over the city, from the Giza plateau to the Mokattam hills; a revolving restaurant occupies the floor below. Lit up at night, the tower remains the most convenient viewpoint over the Nile and downtown.