How many days, and in what order
Three days is the honest minimum, and they split by neighbourhood rather than by theme: the city is too big to cross the same bridge twice in a day. Day one in Islamic Cairo — al-Muizz, Khan el-Khalili, the Ibn Tulun mosque with its outside-staircase minaret, tea at El-Fishawy, the oldest café in town. Day two in Old Cairo and Fustat: the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and its royal mummies hall, the Coptic churches, then the river bus back along the Nile. Day three between Downtown and Zamalek: koshari at Abou Tarek, belle-époque façades, the old cafés, and a terrace on the river in the evening. The guide lists 203 addresses in Cairo — there will always be some left for the next trip.
Where to base yourself
The guide does not list hotels; it knows the neighbourhoods. Zamalek is the simplest choice: an island in the Nile, quiet at night, terraces, and thirty of the guide's addresses on foot. Downtown is cheaper and louder, with the old cafés, the Azbakeya book market and the façades of Khedivial Cairo — you are at the centre of everything, traffic included. Maadi breathes: residential, green, easy with children, but far from Islamic Cairo. New Cairo, to the east, carries the rising scene — restaurants, specialty coffee — and assumes a car for everything else.
Eating: what not to miss
Seventy-five restaurants and thirty-two cafés in the guide, and half of Cairo fits in four dishes. Koshari first — Abou Tarek for the institution, El Tahrir for the neighbourhood version. Charcoal kebab and kofta at Sobhy Kaber, in the north of the city. Alexandrian-style liver at Kebdet El Prince, on pavement tables until the middle of the night. And street sandwiches — taameya, foul, aubergine in baladi bread — everywhere, for next to nothing. Zööba rereads all of it with a designer; the Syrian tables of 6th of October and Nasr City add Syria to the plate.
- Seventy-one addresses are marked “budget”: you eat very well for very little.
- Thirty-five take cash only: always carry notes, a card will not save a dinner.
- Thirty-two recommend booking — mostly in the evening, and in Zamalek.
Evenings
Cairo lives late: forty-six of the guide's addresses stay open late into the night, and a Cairo evening starts at an ahwa — Zahret el-Bustan, behind Talaat Harb, the one of students and insomniacs. Makan, downtown, hosts the zar and Nubian music nights in a small hall. Twenty-seven addresses are filed under “nightlife”, but only eighteen serve alcohol: this is not a city of bars, it is a city of terraces, mint tea and conversations that run long.
Getting around
Traffic is the real constraint of the trip: it decides the order of your days more than any guidebook. Islamic Cairo is done on foot, and without a watch. Between neighbourhoods, ride-hailing apps spare you the haggling. And to get back from Old Cairo, the Nile river bus crosses the city by water for the price of a bus ticket — it is also the best view of Cairo, at water level. Our “Getting around without losing your day” advice covers the rest.
With children
Twenty-two addresses are filed under “family outings”. The three that work at every age: Al-Azhar Park, thirty hectares of green facing the Citadel; the river bus, which turns the journey into the attraction; and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, whose mummies hall impresses without frightening. Maadi, for sleeping, spares the youngest the noise of the centre.
The classic mistakes
- Trying to see everything. Three days are not enough, and that is fine: the guide is here to choose.
- Crossing the city twice in a day. Group by neighbourhood — the traffic does not forgive.
- Going out without cash. A third of the addresses do not take cards.
- Paying without having heard the price. At the market as in a taxi, the price is stated first — see our advice on money and scams.
- Walking into a mosque in beachwear. Shoulders and knees covered, shoes in hand: that is all that is asked.