• Sailboat masts silhouetted against an orange sky as the sun sets over a marina.

    The tables of Marina

    The north coast's marina and its summer terraces.

    Marsa Matrouh and SiwaMarina, north coast

    €€€ High endSea view
  • The marina pontoons, boats moored in front of ochre houses.

    The tables of El Gouna marina

    Italian, Lebanese, Japanese, fish: the Red Sea's most international promenade.

    HurghadaAbu Tig Marina, El Gouna

    €€€ High endSea view
  • Long pasta with lobster in tomato sauce.

    El Fanar

    An Italian table at the foot of the lighthouse, on a reef beach.

    Sharm el-SheikhRas Umm Sid, Sharm el-Sheikh

    €€€ High endSea view
  • The tables of Tagamoa

    Cairo's contemporary dining, concentrated in the city's east.

    CairoNew Cairo / Tagamoa

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • An open-air wooden terrace in the evening, under a curtain of fairy lights and foliage.

    The tables of Sheikh Zayed

    Greater Cairo's west and its open-air restaurant galleries.

    Sheikh Zayed & 6th OctoberSheikh Zayed and 6th of October

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • A chef-plated dish: a piece coated in amber sauce, glazed pearls and edible flowers.

    Khufu's

    A fine-dining table set facing the Great Pyramid.

    GizaGiza plateau

    €€€ High endBooking advised
  • Whole sea bream laid on crushed ice, their eyes clear.

    Christo

    Fish by weight with the pyramids behind, since the 1970s.

    GizaPyramids road, Giza

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • A plate of hummus dusted with sumac, grilled chicken, rice and chopped salad.

    Sabaya

    Cairo's reference Lebanese table, in a hotel by the river.

    CairoGarden City, Nile side

    €€€ High endNile view
  • A plate of golden rice with pieces of meat and cloves of garlic.

    Osmanly

    Egypt's Ottoman cooking, served in a palace salon.

    CairoGarden City, Nile side

    €€€ High endHistoric venue
  • A mixed grill platter — chops, kofta and chicken — with flatbread, sauces and salad.

    Kebabgy

    Egyptian grills on a terrace set at the river's edge.

    CairoZamalek, Nile side

    €€€ High endNile view
  • Whole sea bream packed side by side on a fishmonger's stall.

    Fish Market — Cairo

    A moored boat where you pick your fish off the ice before sitting down.

    CairoAgouza, Nile side

    €€€ High endNile view
  • Zia Amelia

    The marina's Italian table, fresh pasta and a pizza oven.

    HurghadaAbu Tig Marina, El Gouna

    €€€ High endSea view
  • The tables of Zamalek

    Cairo's island and its restaurants per square kilometre.

    CairoZamalek

    €€€ High endNile view
  • Ski Egypt

    Seven thousand tonnes of snow at minus two degrees, inside a mall west of Cairo.

    Sheikh Zayed & 6th October6th of October City

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • A child's pedal fire engine parked on a driveway in front of a lawn.

    KidZania Cairo

    A children's city inside a mall: they hold down a job, they get paid — and the parents wait.

    CairoNew Cairo

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Four coloured slides running down to a pool, under thatched roofs.

    Jungle Aqua Park — Neverland

    Forty-five pools and eighty slides — but it is a hotel's park, and the day ticket takes some finding.

    HurghadaSafaga Road (Village Road), south of Hurghada

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Three dolphins in mid-leap above the blue pool.

    Dolphin World

    Dolphins, sea lions and a walrus, an hour of show — and captive animals, whether or not that sits well with you.

    HurghadaMakadi Bay, some thirty kilometres south of Hurghada

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • A striped inflatable ring on the clear water of a pool.

    Sliders Cable Park

    An inflatable course floating on the lagoon, and a cable tow for beginners — from age six and 110 cm.

    HurghadaEl Gouna, Sabina area

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • An infinity pool at the edge of a garden, two empty loungers and the blue sea on the horizon.

    Four Seasons San Stefano — pool day passes

    The one hotel in Alexandria that publishes, in black and white, the price of a day at the pool with no room booked.

    AlexandriaSan Stefano, on the Corniche

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • The three pools at Address Marassi

    Three pools facing the Mediterranean — behind the gate of a closed compound.

    Marsa Matrouh and SiwaMarassi, Km 129 Matrouh Road, El Alamein

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Two stainless-steel handrails at the entrance to a pool, clear water in front.

    The pools at Rixos Premium Alamein

    The only one on this coast to advertise indoor pools: you can still swim when the coast has shut.

    Marsa Matrouh and SiwaNew Alamein, Km 107 North Coastal Road

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Kempinski Nile Hotel — the Rooftop Pool

    A ten-metre pool on the roof, above the corniche: a day pass at EGP 1,940, gym and jacuzzi included.

    CairoGarden City

    €€€ High endPaid entry
  • Palms and clouds mirrored in the blue water of a pool, white loungers along the edge.

    Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah — pool day use

    EGP 3,000 for the day — pool, sauna, hammam and gym included — and the hotel publishes the price itself, which is rare.

    CairoZamalek, Gezira Island

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • A large resort pool, white loungers and closed parasols among the date palms.

    Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh — the day pass

    The only Red Sea day pass where the resort itself sets out the price, the hours and what is included.

    Sharm el-SheikhSharm El Sheikh, seafront

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly