🇪🇬 Cairo
The pyramids sit at the end of a metro line — few cities put antiquity this close.
Overview
Cairo is Egypt's capital and the largest city in the Arab world, with roughly 10 million people in the city and over 22 million across the metropolitan area. It sits where the Nile fans out into its delta, and it has been continuously important for a thousand years — founded in 969, though Giza's pyramids on its western edge predate that by well over three millennia. Egyptians call it Umm al-Dunya, 'mother of the world', without much modesty and with some justification.
At a glance
Capital of Egypt
Climate through the year (long-term averages)
Best months to visit
Safety
Fine for visitors who stay aware. Stick to well-travelled areas at night and use registered taxis or ride apps.
What it costs
Hotel, meals and local transport. Flights below.
Ancient Egypt & museums
- The Pyramids of Giza — The last surviving wonder of the ancient world, on the city's western edge rather than deep in a desert — the suburbs now reach the plateau. Go at opening to beat both heat and crowds.
- The Egyptian Museum collections — Tutankhamun's gold mask and thousands of years of artefacts. Note the collection has been moving to the vast new Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza — check which site holds what before you go.
- Islamic Cairo — A UNESCO-listed quarter of medieval mosques, madrasas and gates. Climb the minarets of Bab Zuweila for a rooftop view over a thousand years of architecture.
Things to do
- Khan el-Khalili — A market since the 14th century: lanterns, spices, silver and a great deal of enthusiastic selling. Haggling is expected and friendly. Stop for mint tea at one of the old cafés inside.
- The Nile at sunset — A felucca — the traditional sailboat — for an hour as the light goes is the calmest thing available in a very loud city. Agree the price before you board.
- Coptic Cairo — The old Christian quarter holds the Hanging Church, a synagogue and Roman fortress walls within a few quiet streets — a different, much older layer of the city.
Gastronomy
Koshari
The national dish and the best cheap meal in Egypt: rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas, fried onions and tomato sauce in one bowl. Dedicated koshari shops do nothing else, which is how you know.
Ful and taameya
Breakfast is slow-cooked fava beans with oil and cumin, plus Egyptian falafel made from fava rather than chickpeas — greener inside and, many argue, better.
Tea, shisha and street life
The ahwa — the traditional coffeehouse — is the city's living room, open late, loud with backgammon and football. Sweet black tea is the default order.