• Alexandria Corniche

    Our favourite

    The whole city's evening walk: grilled corn, salted lupins, anglers on the parapet.

    AlexandriaEastern Harbour

    BudgetSea view
  • Cairo's Nile after dark

    The walk Cairenes actually take after dark: Qasr el-Nil bridge on foot, its lions, a glass of tea.

    CairoCorniche el-Nil

    BudgetNile view
  • The Ramadan lanterns

    The fanous market, a few weeks a year: cut tin, coloured glass, and a street that stays up.

    CairoSayyida Zeinab

    BudgetHandmade
  • Luxor after dark

    The temple stands floodlit gold at the roadside, and people sit out on the Corniche until late.

    LuxorCorniche

    BudgetNile view
  • Aswan's corniche after dark

    Black water, moored feluccas, and headlights sliding along the parapet.

    AswanCorniche

    BudgetNile view
  • A wooden king and pawns on a chessboard, a game under way.

    El Horreya

    A vast room with bare walls where tea and beer have been served at the same tables for decades.

    CairoBab el-Louk, Downtown

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • El Sawy Culturewheel

    A cultural centre under a bridge, where young Cairo goes to gigs without alcohol.

    CairoZamalek

    BudgetFamily-friendly
  • A brass darbuka drum alone against a black background.

    Makan — Egyptian Center for Culture and Arts

    Our favourite

    Zar and Nubian music nights, in a small Downtown room.

    CairoDowntown

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • Zawya

    Cairo's arthouse cinema, in a historic Downtown auditorium.

    CairoDowntown

    BudgetPaid entry
  • A folk dance troupe in colourful costumes on a lit stage.

    The Balloon Theatre

    The national folk troupes — tanoura, Upper Egyptian dances, Nubian songs.

    CairoAgouza

    BudgetFamily-friendly
  • A rattan table and armchairs on a rooftop terrace, lanterns lit at dusk.

    The Odeon rooftop

    A Downtown rooftop that serves at any hour, including when everything else is shut.

    CairoDowntown

    BudgetRooftop
  • Grilled squid and a prawn, with a roasted lemon wedge.

    Cap d'Or

    Our favourite

    An Art Nouveau tavern serving beer and prawns for a century.

    AlexandriaCity centre, Alexandria

    BudgetHistoric venue
  • Spitfire Bar

    Alexandria's sailors' bar, walls covered in stickers and badges from all over the world.

    AlexandriaCity centre, Alexandria

    BudgetHistoric venue
  • The taverns of central Alexandria

    The city's last Greek and Italian bars, within three streets of each other.

    AlexandriaCity centre, Alexandria

    BudgetHistoric venue
  • A wood fire on the sand at night, hands held out to the flames.

    Assalah evenings

    Campfires, acoustic music and cushions by the water: night in Dahab.

    SinaiAssalah, Dahab

    BudgetSea view
  • Wooden skin drums set down in the evening light.

    Nubian evenings in Gharb Soheil

    Drums, songs and dancing in the village houses, after dinner.

    AswanGharb Soheil, Aswan

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • Summer open-air cinemas

    Screenings on rooftops and in gardens, from June to September.

    CairoCairo and the coast

    BudgetFamily-friendly
  • A mosque strung with lights at night, a dense crowd filling the square in front of it.

    The mawlid of Sayyid al-Badawi

    Off the beaten track

    Egypt's largest Sufi gathering: a week of sleepless nights in Tanta.

    The Delta and the north coastTanta

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • A hand plucks the strings of an oud, above the carved rosettes of its soundboard.

    The ahwas of Mohamed Ali street

    Off the beaten track

    The street of instrument makers and wedding musicians, and its waiting cafés.

    CairoMohamed Ali street, Cairo

    BudgetWhere locals go