• Giza Plateau

    Unmissable

    The only one of the seven ancient wonders still standing. Arrive at opening.

    GizaNazlet el-Semman

    4.9Ratingour own rating€€ Mid-rangeUNESCO
  • Dahshur

    Two of Snefru's pyramids, one of them changing angle halfway up, and nothing like Giza's crowds.

    GizaDahshur

    €€ Mid-rangeBest in the morning
  • Memphis

    A capital of three thousand years, down to a fallen colossus and an alabaster sphinx. Come warned.

    GizaMit Rahina

    €€ Mid-rangeHistoric venue
  • Birqash camel market

    Cairo's camel market, early in the morning: animals, sticks and dust.

    GizaBirqash

    €€ Mid-rangeBest in the morning
  • Three whole chickens browning on the spit, lined up over the heat.

    Andrea Mariouteya

    Charcoal-grilled chicken in a garden, on the edge of Cairo, since the 1960s.

    GizaMariouteya road, Giza

    €€ Mid-rangeFamily-friendly
  • Brass lanterns hanging in the half-light

    The bazaars of Nazlet el-Semman

    The shops at the foot of the pyramids: papyrus, alabaster, statuettes — and the art of bargaining.

    GizaNazlet el-Semman, Giza

    €€ Mid-rangeHandmade
  • A road crosses the desert plateau, a few vehicles in front of the three pyramids.

    The new access to the Giza plateau

    A visitor centre, electric shuttles and the end of the horse touts.

    GizaGiza plateau

    €€ Mid-rangePaid entry
  • Two hands shaping a small jug on a turning potter's wheel.

    Fagnoon Art School

    A workshop farm near Saqqara, where a child makes things instead of watching them.

    GizaSaqqara Road

    €€ Mid-rangeFamily-friendly