• Cairo Opera House

    Three halls on Gezira island, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra — and no main hall without a jacket.

    CairoGezira, Zamalek

    €€ Mid-rangeHistoric venue
  • Cairo Tower

    One hundred and eighty-seven metres midstream, and the city readable at a glance. Go up at dusk.

    CairoGezira, Zamalek

    €€ Mid-rangeNile view
  • An exhibition wall: twelve framed prints and a bench, in black and white.

    Darb 1718

    Off the beaten track

    A contemporary art centre in Old Cairo, with evening concerts and exhibitions.

    CairoFustat

    €€ Mid-rangePaid entry
  • The Windsor Hotel bar

    A 1900s lounge bar with leather armchairs, left exactly as it was.

    CairoDowntown

    €€ Mid-rangeHistoric venue
  • A mezze plate: hummus with olives, flatbread, falafel and salad.

    Estoril

    A Downtown tavern where journalists, artists and regulars have met since 1969.

    CairoDowntown

    €€ Mid-rangeHistoric venue
  • A singer's silhouette at a microphone under purple stage light.

    After Eight

    Downtown's live music club, in an alley behind Talaat Harb.

    CairoDowntown

    €€ Mid-rangeAlcohol served
  • A row of high stools along a white-tiled bar counter.

    Cairo Cellar

    A basement bar in Zamalek, discreet and full of long-standing regulars.

    CairoZamalek

    €€ Mid-rangeAlcohol served
  • Le Grillon

    A hidden courtyard terrace behind a busy street, a refuge for writers and journalists.

    CairoDowntown

    €€ Mid-rangeAlcohol served
  • Manasterly Palace

    An Ottoman pavilion at water level on the Nile, now an Arabic music hall.

    CairoRhoda island

    €€ Mid-rangeHistoric venue
  • The Cairo Jazz Festival

    Three days of concerts, with Egyptian bands and guests from all over.

    CairoCairo

    €€ Mid-rangePaid entry
  • Two hands cut into a tomato-topped toast beside a glass of beer on a dark table.

    Amphitryon

    A Greek brasserie in Heliopolis, open since between the wars.

    CairoHeliopolis

    €€ Mid-rangeHistoric venue