Cairo

Understand

Cairo is on the Nile, and has ancient origins in the vicinity of the Pharaonic city of Memphis. The city started to take its present form in 641 CE, when the Arab general Amr Ibn Al-Ase conquered Egypt for Islam and founded a new capital called Misr Al-Fustat, "the City of the Tents". The legend is that Al-Ase, on the day he was leaving to conquer Alexandria, found two doves nesting in his tent. Not wanting to disturb them, he left the tent. Upon returning victorious, he called his soldiers to pitch their tents around his, and this became the site of the new city in what is now Old Cairo. The name may have been a pun – Misr/Masr is the Arabic word for city, but it is also the Arabic name of the entire country of Egypt. The Tunisian Fatimid dynasty captured the city in 969 CE and founded a new city, Al-Qahira ("The Victorious") just north of Al-Fustat. Al-Qahira gave the city its English name, Cairo, but the locals still call it MàSr (مصر), which is also the Arabic name of the entire country of Egypt (similar to Mexico City in Mexico).

Climate See also: Egypt#Climate

The best time to visit Cairo is during the winter from November to March, when daytime highs mostly stay below 26°C (79°F), with night time lows around 10°C (50°F) with occasional rain showers clearing the air, but still, you do not need an umbrella, even the rainiest months of the year rarely top 10 mm (0.4 in). If visiting during winter, be aware that not all buildings are equipped with heaters, including some hotels and hostels. Visitors should always pack a few warm jumpers (sweaters) and a warm jacket for evening wear. In Cairo, in indoor buildings without air-conditioning, temperatures are about 15°C (59°F) in the coldest winter days and about 34°C (93°F) in the hottest summer days. The brief spring from March to May can be pleasant as long as there are no sand storms, but summer temperatures, on the other hand, can reach a searing 38°C (100°F). In September and October, the period of late summer and early autumn, farmers burn rice husks to ash after sunset near Greater Cairo and this makes the air smokey.

Orientation Today's Greater Cairo is a city with at least 20 million inhabitants (2018), where skyscrapers and fast food restaurants nestle up to world heritage monuments. Cairo used to be the designated name of the city on the eastern bank of the Nile, and this is where you'll find both the modern Downtown, built under influence of French architecture, today the centre of commerce and popular life, as well as historic Islamic and Coptic sights. Outside the core on the eastern

Getting there

For more information on visa requirements, see the Egypt article.

By car

By plane Cairo International Airport (CAI IATA), in Heliopolis, to the northeast of the city around 15 km from Cairo's city centre – The busiest airport in Africa with more than 16 million passengers per year, it is also the largest in Egypt and is the main hub for the flag carrier EgyptAir and Nile Air as well as several other airlines and the primary entry point to the country.

Other airports Borg el Arab (HBE IATA) near Alexandria has far fewer flights and poor ground connections. 1 Sphinx International Airport (SPX IATA). As of 2025 it is served mainly by budget airlines, including Air Arabia, Air Cairo, Condor, EasyJet, Edelweiss Air, Flydubai, Flynas, Jazeera Airways, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Pegasus Airlines, SalamAir and Wizz Air. (updated Jun 2024) 2 Capital International Airport (CCE IATA). The airport in the New Administrative Capital sees very limited flights. As of 2025 it has only seasonal charter services operated by Smartwings. (updated Jun 2025)

By train

Cairo is the hub for railways in Egypt, almost all trains start and terminate here. The governmental Egyptian National Railways (السكك الحديدية المصرية‎), often abbreviated as ENR, operates all trains. One exception is the private company Watania that operates high-end trains between Cairo, Luxor and a few other cities. There are up to 30 departures per day from Alexandria, with the fastest trains called Specials running non-stop at 2 hr 40 min. Express trains are slightly slower at around 3 hours. These trains are clean and comfortable, air-conditioned, and with snacks available. Some will variously refer to these fast trains as "Spanish", "French" or "Turbo" because of their rolling stock. Travelling along the Nile to and from Aswan and Luxor is very popular. At least one daytime and one overnight train per day offers superior quality and is generally recommended for tourists. Journey time is 10 hours from Luxor and another four from Aswan. Ordinary trains ply the same route, some commence in Alexandria, but they are much less comfortable with hard seats and squalid toilets. Lights stay on all night and you'll probably be woken several times for ticket checks. Numerous 3rd and 2nd class trains operates to and from most cities in Lower Egypt and along the Mediterranean coast to and from El Alamein.

Tickets

The most common way of getting tickets is to buy them in advance at stations. However, buying tickets in advance via a booking agent or from Abela Trains assures your seat and avoids hassle at sta

Getting around

You will find that it's useful to have several maps handy if you are looking to get around Cairo on your own. Spellings of street and place names can vary from map to map and from map to actual location, and not every street will appear on every map.

By metro

Cairo is home to Africa's first and largest metro system. While modern and sleek, the three lines are all too limited in scope. As of October 2024, a single trip ticket ranges from LE8-20, depending on the number of stations covered:

LE8: up to 9 stations (yellow ticket) LE10: 10-16 stations (green ticket) LE15: 17-22 stations (purple ticket) LE 20: more than 23 stations (beige ticket) It is a crowded subway, but no more than Tokyo, Paris or London. If you are used to the metro in big cities and/or can deal with the crowding (be extra careful to avoid pickpocketing), it is the best way of avoiding traffic jams while travelling. The key interchanges are Shohadaa (Martyrs) (formerly Mubarak) at Midan Ramses, Sadat at Midan Tahrir, and Attaba (Ataba; عتبة). You'll need to be assertive (but not stroppy) when trying to buy tickets - Egyptians don't queue. First get your small change ready in a quiet area, so you're not fumbling with wallet and big notes and dropping your passport amidst the crowd. Then steadily press through the crowd to the ticket window, as they are doing. If you intend to make a return or future trip, buy multiple tickets, so you only have to scrummage once. There are ticket vending machines available, though sometimes they're low on change. The Cairo Metro has stations in Dokki and Maadi, among other places. To reach the Giza Pyramids, take the metro to Giza town then pick up a bus or taxi for "Al-Haram". You can also reach Heliopolis (Masr el-Gedida) using line 3, at the stations: Al Ahram (Korba) and Koleyet El Banat (Merghani). The extension of this line to the airport was due in 2020 but still isn't finished yet. As of June 2025, line 3 has one branch ending in Adly Mansour. The station to the airport is still under construction. Two cars in the middle section of each train are reserved for women. One of them is for women only till 9PM, while the other is for women all the time. The metro stops running at around 12:20AM and starts up again around 5:15AM. There are no timetables for lines 1 and 2, but departures are very frequent. Line 3 runs every 8 minutes.

By bus The large red, white and blue public buses cover the entire city and are much cheaper, costing LE4-6, but are usually crowded and slow. However, there are the similar air-conditioned buses that charge LE7-12. T

See

Cairo is a vast metropolitan cityscape. It includes an array of modern skyscrapers, mosques, bazaars and ruins of associated ancient monuments outside the city. Cairo has an overwhelming array of attractions, listed under their individual districts along with transport and other practicalities. Some highlights:

Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. The oldest and only surviving monuments of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it is the country's most famous tourist attraction. See it now before the hordes return. 1 Grand Egyptian Museum (المتحف المصري الكبير al-Matḥaf al-Miṣriyy al-Kabīr), El Remayah Square, Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, Giza (2 km northwest of the Pyramids), ☏ +20 235317344, [email protected]. 09:00-18:00, W and Sa 09–21. The Grand Egyptian Museum is the primary replacement for the venerable Egyptian Museum in Midan Tahrir, with much bigger exhibition, storage and workplace areas. Not to be confused with the Egyptian Museum or the Museum of Egyptian Civilisation. The main galleries cover Egyptian history from prehistory to the Greco-Roman period. The highlight is the Tutenkhamun gallery. At least four hours are needed to see the whole museum at a comfortable pace. LE1490. (updated Apr 2026) 2 Egyptian Museum (250 m north of Tahrir square), ☏ +20 2 25796948. Much of its collections were moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum in 2022. Adult 550 LE, student: 275 LE; photography (personal use) free; video 300 LE. (updated Oct 2025) Citadel and Mosque of Mohamed Ali Pasha, in Islamic Cairo. A grand castle built by Salah Al-Din. Also parts of the water pipes (Majra Al-Oyouon) are still there, these pipes used to carry the water from the Nile River to the citadel. Mohamed Ali is considered to be the founder of modern Egypt, the ancestor of the last King of Egypt, King Farouk. Al-Azhar Mosque. One of the pillars of Islamic thought and home to the world's oldest university. 3 National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC). Daily 9AM-5PM. A relatively small museum, with a main hall, a textile hall, and a Royal Mummies Hall. The main hall covers Egyptian culture including prehistory, the dynastic period, Greco-Roman period, Islamic period, the modern and contemporary era, as well as exhibits of Coptic art and traditional art. The highlight is the underground hall of mummies. LE550 (students LE300). (updated Oct 2025) Ibn Tulun (مسجد أحمد بن طولون) (close to Sayida Zeinab). Arguably the oldest mosque in Cairo, built between 868-884. The Coptic Quarter, in Coptic Cairo, notably the museum and the "Hanging Church" (Church of the Virgin Mary

Do

Coffee and shisha Have a coffee, mint tea or Cola at El Fishawy's coffee shop in Khan El-Khalili. Smoke a shisha water pipe (try the "double apple" flavor) and watch the world go by. Great cheap entertainment.

Felucca Ride a felucca along the Nile River. A great way to relax and enjoy a night under the stars in Cairo. Feluccas are available across from the Four Seasons Hotel in Garden City. Pay after your ride, or you may get much less than you bargained for. Public boats with loud noisy music and a giggling crowd are also available for 1/2 hour, but are very uncomfortable.

Parks Cairo has a shortage of parks, but a few of them exist.

The most famous is the Giza Zoo, which is in front of the Four Seasons Hotel in Giza. This is one of the oldest zoos in the world, opened in 1891. Hadiqat Al Orman (English: Al Orman Gardens), Giza. This is a fairly large park near the Giza Zoo. It can be entered by paying a daily ticket at the gate. It contains a variety of trees and flowers and is a nice place to escape the noise and traffic of the city. However, it may be very crowded with locals, especially on weekends and public holidays like Eid. Hadiqat Al Azbakiya (English: Al Azbakieya Gardens). Another nice park to enjoy the greenery and scenery of trees and gardens, while remaining inside the city. It is located in the Azbakiya area of Cairo, and the best option is to take a taxi. Genenet El Asmak (English: Garden of the Fish), Zamalek. A nice park, which also includes several large caves containing water aquariums, where you can see different species of fish and underwater life through glass windows. Like other parks, a very cheap ticket enables you to enter and enjoy the day there. Merryland (Arabic: Genenet El Merryland), in Heliopolis district near Roxy Cinema. Again, another park with trees and gardens and nice scenery, and there are restaurants and cafes in the park. El Hadiqa El Dawliya (English: the International Garden), in Nasr City district. It was opened when Nasr City district was built in the 1960s. Sections of the park contain copies of famous buildings from around the world (i.e. the Eiffel Tower of Paris, Great Wall of China, the windmills of Holland). The copies are much smaller of course, similar to small statues. Interesting to see. Al-Azhar Park - has restaurants and entertainment available. It has a good vantage point of Islamic Cairo and the city skyline. You can also take a stroll along the Corniche el-Nil, and there is a river promenade on Gezira Island. Desert Park. Wadi Digla Protected Area is a 60-km² environmentally protecte

Buy

ATMs are found in various places throughout downtown. A more secure option are the ATMs in the five star hotels. There also are numerous places that handle currency exchange, or you can try any major bank such as HSBC or Commercial International Bank. Foreign currencies can also be exchanged for Egyptian pound in all the Egyptian banks like Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt, Banque de Caire, Arab African Bank, the United Bank, or the large branches of Bureau de Change. Many merchants will try to scam you out of as much as they possibly can. A particularly common trick are the papyrus museums. They come in many different flavours, but they often call themselves galleries, museums or workshops. You will be given a brief talk or demonstration on how papyrus is made, and warned against cheaper shops that make their papyrus from banana leaf (though no matter where you go, no one has a sample to show you, questioning the legitimacy of this "warning"). The prices will be in the hundreds, and you will be offered what appears to be an excellent discount. If you look around, however, you will see most of what they offer is worth very little. Tour guides, taxi drivers and hotel staff are all in on this, and will often get a 50% commission if they lead an unwitting tourist into this trap.

The Khan El-Khalili bazaar is a giant souq in Islamic Cairo. The merchants here are ravenous and skilled, so don't fall for the hard sell and be prepared to haggle. This is a great place to buy rustic glassware and perfume bottles. Be choosy. Zamalek has a number of small, but high-end shops, along with shops selling crafts, jewelry and other items. Fair Trade Cairo in Zamalek is a great shop selling high quality crafts made by local artisans. Nefertari, also in Zamalek, has wonderful organic cotton linens, skin care products, and the like. There is also Nomad, that has a small, charming second floor showroom in Zamalek, as well as Nagada, and Khan Misr Taloun. Diwan, in Zamalek, is a very nice primarily English-language bookstore. Midan Talaat Harb and surrounding streets, including Talaat Harb Street, are home to countless shops, selling everything from shoes and books to sweets. The Midan Ataba area in Downtown Cairo is home to large bookseller markets, where you can find inexpensive books, as well as electronics and clothing markets, but be aware of the over crowding, as it is easier to pickpocket.

Eat

Individual listings can be found in Cairo's district articles Cairo has an enormous number of restaurants, catering to most needs. Ironically though, one may want to avoid any restaurants listed in popular guidebooks. Egyptian restaurants have a habit of after being listed, cooking up a special English menu with vastly inflated prices. That said, cheap food can be found everywhere in street restaurants and snack stalls. The top notch restaurants are often, but not always, found in hotels and Nile boats. The borders between restaurants and cafes are not crystal-clear in the Egyptian capital. In many places it is perfectly acceptable to just have a drink or sheesha. Medium and high-range outlets might have a minimum charge. Cheaper restaurants will normally not serve alcohol as well as some more expensive outlets. In general, downtown is good for budget eating, while for higher quality eating you should head to Zamalek, Mohandiseen or any of the other more affluent parts of town.

Egyptian and Middle Eastern food

Traditional Egyptian staples are available almost everywhere. In stalls and street restaurants you will find traditional dishes like fūl (bean paste), falāfel, moussaka, koshari (rice, macaroni, lentils, chick peas and tomato sauce), feTīr (pancakes with different fillings) and shawarma (an import from Lebanon and Syria — pieces of roasted meat usually wrapped in bread). Cheaper places will only serve up vegetables and maybe beef hot dogs or corned beef. Eggs, fried potatoes and salads are also usually available. Hygiene varies wildly and the best advice is to go for the most visited places. Avoid empty restaurants as the food will be less fresh. Especially downtown, you can find many good koshari shops, including many outlets of the excellent Koshari Tahrir chain. Delicious and cheap fūl, falāfel, and shawarma sandwiches can be bought at the many outlets of popular Gad fast food chain dotted around Cairo. In the medium and upper price range your choice of traditional Egyptian food will be more limited. Although the situation is improving, traditionally Egyptian gastronomical experiences are still mostly restricted to private homes. Quality chain restaurants like Felfela (several outlets), Abou El Sid (Zamalek, Maadi and Dokki), Cairo Kitchen (Zamalek and Maadi), and Abou Shakra offer authentic Egyptian food. Otherwise oriental or Middle Eastern restaurants tend to mix styles or completely go for more Lebanese-style eating, considered more stylish by rich Cairenes. The good side of this is that Cairo is blessed with many quality Lebanese outfit

Drink & nightlife

Individual listings can be found in Cairo's district articles

Cairo has a wide range of drinking options from the very traditional to fashionable and modern. At the other end of the scale, almost any street in Cairo has a traditional coffee house, ´ahwa, a traditionally male institution of social life tracing many hundreds of years back in history. Besides that you'll find everything from fruit stalls to patisseriés and bakeries and modern cafés whipping up all varieties of modern European coffee. In addition to the traditional Turkish coffee and shai tea, virtually everywhere you'll find drinks like hibiscus tea kerkedeeh, served warm or cold depending on season, sahleb, a milk-based drink usually served in winter, fakhfakhenna (a kind of fruit salad), sugarcane juice, mango and tamarind juice, Tamr hindi.

Traditional coffee houses Cairo remains one of the best cities in the world to sample the traditional coffee house culture of the region. They are called maqhâ in Standard Arabic, but in the local dialect this is turned into ´ahwa. The Turkish coffee remains an invariable ingredient in any Cairene coffee house, and water pipe (sheesha) and tea is even more popular. While considered "old fashioned" for a time, these places are again turning fashionable among younger crowds and even smoking a water-pipe is no longer a male-only pastime. Places vary from just a small affair—plastic chairs and tables put out on the street—to more elaborate cafes especially in upscale and tourist areas.

For many, the sheesha or water pipe, is the main attraction of any visit to a Cairene coffee house. It is usually available in at least two varieties, mu´assal, pure tobacco, and tofâh, apple-flavored. Other fruit varieties are sometimes available. Coffee houses range from the more elaborately decorated to a simple counter and some plastic chairs and tables spread out in the street. Foreigners are invariably made welcome, although women might feel uncomfortable visiting coffee houses in traditional, poor areas of the city. However, in downtown and the tourist areas of Islamic Cairo single or women-only groups should not expect anything more than the ordinary hassle. Turkish coffee (´ahwe turki) is served either sweet (helwa), medium sweet (masbout), with little sugar (sukr khafeef) or no sugar (sâda). Sweet means very sweet. Tea (shai) is served either as traditional loose tea (kûshari, not to be confused with the Cairo macaroni-rice stample kushari), known as dust tea in English, or in a tea bag. Most coffee shops usually offer fresh mint leaves to put in your tea, up

Sleep

Cairo has a tremendous range of accommodation, from low-rent budget hotels downtown to five-star palaces along the Nile. See individual district articles for hotel listings. You can also stay in an accommodation in Giza directly at an entrance to the pyramid area. Many of these accommodations have a pyramid view.

Go next

The Japanese Gardens in Helwan are a 20-min drive from Downtown or by Metro. They're a good spot for an afternoon picnic away from the city. Alexandria can be done as a day-trip, though it deserves longer. Top sights are the new library, the national museum, and Qaitbey fortress; then enjoy a fish dinner on the Corniche and maybe a drink. The train takes about 2½ hours, see section on "Get in by train" above for times and fares. Ain al-Sukhna is the closest Red Sea resort to Cairo and easily reached on a day trip. This place is growing rapidly to become the getaway for Cairo's moneyed elite. To get here, hire a taxi for the day. Fayoum is another popular place for Egyptians to picnic. While the city offers little in itself, the Qaroon lake and Wadi Al-Rayyan both offer scenic spots for relaxing and the area also contains some of the first pyramids in history. Get there by bus and then get a taxi to drive you around for the day. It's possible to stay overnight at the scenic Tunis village. Siwa and Bahariyya are oases in the desert, far from the city hubbub. The other major centres in Egypt, needing several days to visit, are Luxor and Aswan for antiquities, and the Red Sea resorts such as Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.