Cairo
Currency
EGP
Language
Arabic
Timezone
Cairo
Continent
Africa
Discover Cairo
Cairo is not so much visited as absorbed — twenty million people, permanent din, and at the end of an ordinary avenue, the Great Pyramid of Giza. The three pyramids and the Great Sphinx sit on a plateau the city reached by sprawling. Two museums share the pharaonic inheritance: the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, and the Grand Egyptian Museum out by the pyramids. The Salah El Din Citadel commands the skyline, and the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, the oldest surviving in its original form, offers a calm nothing else here does.
When to go
October to April, without hesitation. Summer, June to August, regularly passes 38 °C and makes the Giza plateau punishing by mid-morning. Spring brings the khamsin, a sand wind that veils the sky for days at a time. Ramadan changes the city's rhythm — slow days, very lively evenings — and its dates shift each year.
Getting around
The metro, three lines, is the only reliable way to escape traffic that has no real equivalent; some carriages are reserved for women. Ride-hailing apps are widely used and spare you the standing negotiation that taxis require. Walking works badly — distances are long and crossing the road is a skill. Islamic Cairo and Coptic Cairo, on the other hand, are walked once you are there.
Where to eat
Koshari — lentils, rice, pasta, tomato sauce and fried onions — is the national dish and costs next to nothing. Ful medames and taameya, the Egyptian broad-bean falafel, make up breakfast. Karkadé, hibiscus infusion, is drunk hot or iced. Our data lists only five explicitly halal addresses, which means nothing here: in an overwhelmingly Muslim city the label is rarely applied because it goes without saying.
Good to know
The Egyptian pound is the currency and cash still rules outside the larger establishments. Bargaining is expected in markets and for a good share of services. Covered clothing is required in mosques and makes life easier everywhere else. The Egyptian weekend falls on Friday and Saturday. Allow generously for journey times: traffic turns a short distance into an hour.
Top Activities in Cairo
museumEgyptian Museum
from €26
landmarkFustat
from €17
landmarkPyramid of Khafre
from €1
landmarkGreat Pyramid of Giza
from €29
museumGrand Egyptian Museum
from €23
landmarkPyramid of Menkaure
from €18
landmarkSite of the birth of 2011 Egyptian Revolution
from €24
landmarkEl Tahrir Square
from €20
landmarkGiza Pyramids
from €28
landmarkMosque of Ibn Tulun
from €18
landmarkSalah El Din Citadel
from €16
landmarkAmr Ibn Al-As
from €16
landmarkMosque of Muhammad Ali
from €16
landmarkCairo Tower
from €14
landmarkSultan Hassan Mosque
from €14
landmarkHanging Church
from €14
landmarkAbdin Palace
from €13
museumNational Museum of Egyptian Civilization
from €17
museumThe Coptic Museum
from €16
landmarkBen Ezra Synagogue
from €13
landmarkBab Zuweila
from €12
museumNational Museum of Egyptian Civilisation
from €17
landmarkAl-Rifa'i Mosque
from €13
landmarkCoptic Cairo
from €12
Restaurants in Cairo
