• Khan el-Khalili

    Our favourite

    A caravanserai from 1382 turned into a labyrinth of trades. On foot, and without a watch.

    CairoGamaliya

    BudgetHandmade
  • Wekalet el-Ghouri

    Off the beaten track

    An early sixteenth-century Mamluk wikala, now a courtyard of craftspeople and musicians.

    CairoAl-Azhar, Gamaliya

    BudgetUNESCO
  • Aquarium Grotto Garden

    Off the beaten track

    Rockwork grottoes built under Khedive Ismail, an aquarium opened in 1902, in the shade, in mid-Zamalek.

    CairoZamalek

    BudgetHistoric venue
  • Al-Muizz Street

    The spine of Fatimid Cairo, from Bab al-Futuh to Bab Zuweila, and best walked.

    CairoGamaliya

    BudgetOpen late
  • The Nile river bus

    Public transport on the river: crossing Cairo by water, for the price of a bus fare.

    CairoCorniche el-Nil

    BudgetNile view
  • Tower cranes above unfinished high-rise buildings, backlit.

    The New Capital's business district

    Off the beaten track

    Twenty towers in the desert, including Africa's tallest: a skyline out of nowhere.

    CairoNew Administrative Capital

    BudgetFamily-friendly
  • The Nile bank laid out in planted terraces, bougainvillea in flower in front of the river.

    The renovated Nile corniche

    Kilometres of riverbank given back to walkers, with benches, lighting and cafés.

    CairoFrom Qasr el-Nil bridge to Maadi

    BudgetNile view
  • The Cairo monorail

    An elevated line above Greater Cairo — the ride is worth it for the view.

    CairoEast and west of Greater Cairo

    BudgetFamily-friendly
  • A white dome and stone minarets of Islamic Cairo, above the city's rooftops.

    The City of the Dead

    Off the beaten track

    A necropolis kilometres long where people have lived among the tombs for centuries.

    CairoQarafa, Islamic Cairo

    BudgetHistoric venue
  • The red driving wheels of an old steam locomotive, with its coupling rod.

    The Railway Museum

    Off the beaten track

    The khedives' locomotives, including Ismail Pasha's gilded saloon carriage.

    CairoRamses station

    BudgetHistoric venue
  • Aisha Fahmy Palace

    A 1907 palace on the Nile, now an art centre — painted ceilings and original parquet.

    CairoZamalek

    BudgetHistoric venue
  • A whole tree trunk turned to stone, lying on desert gravel.

    The Petrified Forest of Maadi

    Off the beaten track

    Tree trunks turned to stone thirty million years ago, on Cairo's doorstep.

    CairoSouth-east of Maadi

    BudgetBest in the morning
  • Identical rental bicycles, lined up side by side.

    Cairo Bike

    Public bike hire in Cairo — the idea nobody thought possible.

    CairoDowntown, Zamalek, Garden City

    BudgetBudget
  • A passenger boat moored on the Nile, in front of a palm-lined bank.

    The Nile river bus

    Our favourite

    Crossing Cairo by river for the price of a bus ticket.

    CairoFrom Old Cairo to Warraq

    BudgetNile view
  • Three visitors sitting with their backs to us on a wooden bench, facing a large yellow wall in an exhibition room.

    Cairo's art galleries

    A contemporary art scene showing for free, in flats and workshops.

    CairoZamalek, Downtown, Garden City

    BudgetBudget
  • The Nile in Cairo, its banks planted with palms and a flame tree in bloom.

    The Ahl Masr promenade

    Kilometres of pedestrian riverbank, lit and planted, open until late.

    CairoNile west bank, Cairo

    BudgetNile view
  • A pair of white figure skates, blades resting on scored ice.

    ICE Planet — Family Land

    A real ice rink on the Maadi corniche, inside a leisure complex that has aged around it.

    CairoMaadi, Nile Corniche

    BudgetFamily-friendly