• City Stars

    Nasr City's big mall: brands, cinemas and an indoor children's park.

    CairoNasr City

    €€ Mid-rangeFamily-friendly
  • The atrium of a modern shopping mall: several levels, potted palms and a pool.

    Cairo Festival City Mall

    New Cairo's mall, its dancing fountains and its big brands.

    CairoNew Cairo / Tagamoa

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Mall of Egypt

    The mall with an indoor ski slope, west of Cairo.

    Sheikh Zayed & 6th October6th of October

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Arkan Plaza

    An open-air centre in Sheikh Zayed, shops and restaurant terraces.

    Sheikh Zayed & 6th OctoberSheikh Zayed

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Coloured wool woven by hand on a wooden loom.

    Wissa Wassef Art Centre

    Off the beaten track

    Hand-woven tapestries since 1952, in a village of mud-brick workshops.

    GizaHarraniya, Giza

    €€€ High endHandmade
  • 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 fruit stall loaded to the edge: pineapples, papayas, pomegranates, oranges and bananas, prices handwritten on scraps of paper.

    Bab el-Louk market

    Downtown's food market: fruit, cheese, spices and fishmongers under a hall.

    CairoBab el-Louk, Downtown

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • The Muski

    The shopping street linking Attaba to Khan el-Khalili, where Cairo buys everything.

    CairoMuski, Islamic Cairo

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • The bookshops of Talaat Harb

    Downtown's Arabic bookshop windows, and the second-hand stalls on the pavement.

    CairoDowntown

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • Wooden cages stacked one on top of another, each with a bird behind its bars.

    The bird market of Sayeda Zeinab

    Off the beaten track

    A Friday morning market selling birds, pigeons and poultry, as it always has.

    CairoSayeda Zeinab

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • Cones of spices in their basins, and baskets of seeds

    The Attarine souk

    Our favourite

    Alexandria's antiques market: furniture, chandeliers and china from houses that closed.

    AlexandriaAttarine, Alexandria

    €€ Mid-rangeHandmade
  • Rolls of fabric in every colour, stacked one on top of another.

    Zanket el-Settat

    "The women's lane": a one-metre-wide alley, packed from morning to night.

    AlexandriaManshiya, Alexandria

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • Crates of silver fish on the stall

    The Anfoushi fish market

    The fishing port's auction at dawn, before the city wakes.

    AlexandriaAnfoushi, Alexandria

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • City Centre Alexandria

    Alexandria's big mall, with a hypermarket and international brands.

    AlexandriaCairo road, Alexandria

    €€ Mid-rangeFamily-friendly
  • Luxor souk

    The souk's covered street: spices, galabiyas, statuettes and a great deal of bargaining.

    LuxorEast bank, Luxor

    BudgetHandmade
  • A stone carver at the chisel, on a pale block

    The alabaster workshops of Gurna

    Vases and lamps cut from translucent stone, on the road to the tombs.

    LuxorWest bank, Luxor

    €€ Mid-rangeHandmade
  • Hand-woven baskets with their handles, stacked one against another.

    Nubian crafts in Gharb Soheil

    Woven baskets, necklaces and spices sold in the painted houses of the Nubian village.

    AswanGharb Soheil, Aswan

    BudgetHandmade
  • The pottery workshops of Tunis

    Our favourite

    Some twenty ceramic workshops in a village perched above the lake.

    FayoumTunis village, Lake Qarun

    €€ Mid-rangeHandmade
  • Woven rugs with geometric patterns hung above clothes in a craft shop.

    Siwan crafts

    Siwan embroidery, Berber silver, palm baskets and oasis olive oil.

    Marsa Matrouh and SiwaSiwa

    €€ Mid-rangeHandmade
  • The bazaars of Masbat

    Bedouin jewellery, textiles and dive gear, along the promenade.

    SinaiMasbat, Dahab

    BudgetHandmade
  • The shops of El Gouna

    Egyptian designers, homeware and beachwear in a pedestrian resort town.

    HurghadaDowntown El Gouna

    €€€ High endHandmade
  • A pencil line on the board, shavings and chisel

    The furniture workshops of Damietta

    Off the beaten track

    Egypt's furniture capital: whole streets of cabinetmakers and wood carvers.

    The Delta and the north coastDamietta

    €€ Mid-rangeHandmade
  • The fish market of Lake Burullus

    Lagoon fish sold straight from the boats, in the northern Delta.

    The Delta and the north coastBurullus

    BudgetWhere locals go
  • Open sacks of spices and grains on the stall

    Marsa Matruh market

    The coastal town's market: figs, dates, Bedouin wool and beach goods.

    Marsa Matrouh and SiwaMarsa Matruh

    BudgetWhere locals go