Itinerary · 5 days · 23 places
5 Days in Cairo
Five days in Cairo: settling in on the Nile island of Zamalek, a full day on the Giza Plateau including the Grand Egyptian Museum, the treasures of the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, Islamic Cairo between the Citadel and Khan el-Khalili, and finally the Coptic quarter before the flight home.
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Photo: Ahmed Aziz · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arriving in Zamalek
Arrival in Cairo
Hotel check-in
Zamalek sits on the Nile island of Gezira and is the quietest district in the centre: shady streets, embassies, bookshops and the water just ten minutes away.
Cairo Tower on Gezira
From the viewing platform of the 187-metre tower you can see the Nile, downtown and, when the air is clear, the Pyramids of Giza on the western horizon.
Evening: 26th of July Street in Zamalek
The island's main street, with patisseries, juice bars and small bars, stays lively until late and makes a good first stroll with no agenda.
Day 2Giza — Pyramids and Grand Egyptian Museum
Great Pyramid of Khufu
The largest of the three pyramids is 4,500 years old; the narrow, steep passage to the burial chamber inside requires an extra ticket and a head for heights.
Pyramid of Khafre
The original limestone casing still clings to the top — here you can see how smooth the pyramids once looked.
Great Sphinx of Giza
The lion's body with a king's head guards the causeway to Khafre's Valley Temple, whose granite pillars you can walk among right next to it.
Grand Egyptian Museum
The new building on the edge of the plateau houses the Grand Staircase lined with royal statues and the complete tomb treasure of Tutankhamun in its own hall.
Desert panorama at the plateau's edge
From the south-western viewpoint behind the Queens' Pyramids, all three pyramids stand in a line — the classic late-afternoon view.
Evening: Sound and Light Show at the Sphinx
After dark the Sphinx and pyramids are lit up while a narration tells the story of their builders.
Day 3Egyptian Museum and downtown
Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square
The red building from 1902 packs its cases with mummy portraits, Old Kingdom statues and the treasure of Tanis — an old-school museum.
Tahrir Square
The great traffic circle with an obelisk in the middle was the scene of the 2011 protests; around it stand the Mogamma building and early modernist façades.
Talaat Harb Square
A star-shaped square at the heart of khedival Cairo, lined with Art Nouveau buildings, old cinemas and Café Groppi with its mosaic entrance.
Abdeen Palace
The khedives' seat of government is now a museum: silverware collection, royal arms collection and a hall of decorations in heavy European splendour.
Museum of Islamic Art
On Bab al-Khalq Square lies one of the world's largest collections of Islamic art — Mamluk lamps, woodcarving and carpets spanning a thousand years.
Evening: downtown bars and cafés
Around Talaat Harb and Champollion streets, old haunts such as Café Riche and beer halls from the 1930s open up in the evening.
Day 4Islamic Cairo — Citadel to Khan el-Khalili
Saladin Citadel with the Mosque of Muhammad Ali
The Alabaster Mosque with its two pencil minarets stands on the fortress hill; from the terrace you look out over the entire old city as far as Giza.
Mosque of Sultan Hassan
A Mamluk building from 1356 with a vast courtyard and four iwans — the city's most impressive sacred space, with the Al-Rifa'i Mosque opposite.
Bab Zuweila
You can climb the southern gate of the Fatimid wall: narrow spiral staircases lead up to the minarets and a view over the rooftops.
Al-Muizz Street
The old main axis of the Fatimid city lines up mosques, madrasas and sabils, including the Qalawun complex with its painted dome.
Khan el-Khalili
The 14th-century bazaar quarter has lanes for copper, spices and jewellery; at El Fishawy coffee house mint tea has been served for generations.
Evening: Al-Azhar Park
This terraced park on a former rubble mound stays open until late and offers the finest night-time view of the illuminated Citadel.
Day 5Coptic Cairo and departure
Hanging Church
The Church of St Mary rests on the towers of the Roman fortress of Babylon — hence its name; inside, cedarwood screens are inlaid with ivory.
Ben Ezra Synagogue
In this synagogue's genizah, hundreds of thousands of medieval documents were found that record everyday Jewish life on the Nile.
Coptic Museum
Textiles, wooden doors and stonework show the transition from pharaonic to Christian art, along with pages of the Nag Hammadi codices.
Departure from Cairo
Make it your trip
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