---
title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Cairo, Egypt | Wimup"
description: "The 10 best things to do in Cairo: the Giza pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili and Islamic Cairo, mapped, with fares, opening hours and the dates worth planning around."
url: https://wimup.com/city/cairo
type: City guide
updated: 2026-10-07
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Top 10 Things To Do in Cairo

Cairo, Egypt · Africa · By Wimup Editorial, 17 min read

Cairo holds the last standing wonder of the ancient world, a museum built to show Tutankhamun whole, and a thousand years of Islamic architecture inside one metro network. Below are the ten experiences worth your time (each mapped, with a Wimup video guide), plus the fares, opening hours and dates to sort before you land.

## Quick answer

The best things to do in Cairo are the Giza pyramids at opening time, the Grand Egyptian Museum, the medieval lanes of Khan el-Khalili and Al-Muizz Street, and the view from the Citadel. Give the city four to five days, come between October and April, and move by metro and ride-hailing app rather than by street taxi.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** Oct–Nov · Mar–Apr
- **Ideal length:** 4–5 days
- **Budget per day:** $60–110
- **Language:** Arabic
- **Getting around:** Metro & ride-hailing
- **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://www.egypt.travel/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## The 10 best things to do in Cairo

### 1. Stand under the Great Pyramid at Giza

Landmark · Al Haram, Giza Governorate

The plateau opens early in the morning, and that first hour is the only one without coaches. General entry covers the three pyramids, the Sphinx enclosure and the causeway; going inside Khufu is a separate ticket and a hot, stooped climb to an empty granite chamber. Walk out to the panorama point for the view that lines all three up at once.

- **Time:** 3–4 hrs
- **Cost:** Plateau ticket
- **Best at:** Early opening
- **Tip:** Interiors are ticketed separately

Links: [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 2. Give the Grand Egyptian Museum a full morning

Museum · Alexandria Desert Road, Kafr Nassar, Al Haram, Giza

The GEM opened on 1 November 2025 beside the plateau, and it shows Tutankhamun's burial complete for the first time: more than 5,000 objects in one sequence rather than the highlights reel Tahrir used to run. The grand staircase alone takes an hour. Slots are timed and sold online, so book before you travel.

- **Time:** 3–4 hrs
- **Cost:** Timed ticket
- **Best at:** First slot
- **Tip:** Book online, the gate no longer sells

Links: [Website](https://tickets.gem.eg/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 3. Get lost in Khan el-Khalili

Market · El-Gamaleya, El Gamaliya, Cairo

A trading quarter since the late fourteenth century, and still a working one: coppersmiths and gold dealers behind the lantern stalls the coaches stop at. Shops open around 09:00 and run late; the lanes are calmest before 11:00 and best after dark. Prices open high, so settle in and expect to land near half.

- **Time:** 2–3 hrs
- **Cost:** Free to walk
- **Best at:** After dark
- **Tip:** Some shops shut for Friday prayers

### 4. Walk Al-Muizz Street after sunset

Historic street · Al Muizz Li Din Allah St, El-Gamaleya, Cairo

One kilometre of medieval Cairo left largely intact: the Qalawun complex, Sultan Barquq's madrasa, sabils, covered markets and minaret after minaret. The northern stretch is pedestrianised and lit from below in the evening, which is when to walk it. Enter at Bab al-Futuh and go south towards Bab Zuweila.

- **Time:** 2 hrs
- **Cost:** Free to walk
- **Best at:** Evening
- **Tip:** Individual monuments are ticketed

Links: [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 5. Climb to the Citadel for the whole city at once

Fortress · Salah Salem St, El-Abageyah, Cairo

Salah al-Din started the fortress into Mokattam hill in 1176 and it stayed the seat of government for seven centuries. One ticket covers the Muhammad Ali Mosque of 1830, the mosque of al-Nasir Muhammad, and the military, police and carriage museums. The terrace looks over the whole of Islamic Cairo to the pyramids on a clear day.

- **Time:** 2–3 hrs
- **Cost:** One ticket, all museums
- **Best at:** Late afternoon
- **Tip:** The mosque closes to visitors at prayer times

Links: [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 6. Sit in the courtyard of Ibn Tulun

Mosque · Ibn Tulun, El-Sayeda Zeinab, Cairo

Finished in 879 and the oldest mosque in Egypt surviving in something close to its original form: a vast empty courtyard, arcades of pointed brick arches, and an outer spiral minaret you can climb. Entry is free and a donation is expected. The Gayer-Anderson Museum shares the wall, so do both in one stop.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** Free, donation expected
- **Best at:** Mid-morning
- **Tip:** Pair it with the Gayer-Anderson house next door

### 7. Trace Coptic Cairo inside the Roman walls

Historic quarter · Mar Girgis, Old Cairo, Cairo

The Hanging Church sits on top of a Roman gate tower, the Ben Ezra synagogue held the Cairo Geniza, and the Coptic Museum keeps the textiles and icons from both traditions. The churches and synagogue are free; the museum is ticketed. Mar Girgis metro station is at the gate, which makes this the easiest quarter to reach.

- **Time:** 2–3 hrs
- **Cost:** Churches free
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** Cover shoulders and knees throughout

Links: [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 8. Meet the pharaohs at the Museum of Egyptian Civilization

Museum · Ain El Sira, Old Cairo, Fustat, Cairo

Twenty-two royal mummies moved here in 2021, Ramses II and Hatshepsut among them, and the hall they lie in is deliberately dark and quiet. The rest of the NMEC does what no other museum here attempts: all of Egypt in one thread, from prehistory through the Coptic and Islamic centuries to now.

- **Time:** 2–3 hrs
- **Cost:** Museum ticket
- **Best at:** Afternoon
- **Tip:** The Royal Mummies Hall is its own quiet wing

Links: [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 9. See where pyramids were invented, at Saqqara

Archaeological site · Saqqara, Badrshein, Giza Governorate

Djoser's Step Pyramid is the first monumental stone building anywhere, and it reopened after a restoration that ran fourteen years. The draw beyond it is the mastaba tombs: the reliefs in Ti and Mereruka are the best preserved near Cairo. Dahshur and Memphis are minutes away, so treat the three as one day.

- **Time:** Half day
- **Cost:** Site ticket
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** Do Dahshur the same day, not on another trip

Links: [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 10. Take the sunset hour in Al-Azhar Park

Park · Salah Salem St, El-Darb El-Ahmar, Cairo

Thirty hectares built by the Aga Khan Trust on what had been a rubbish mound for five centuries, opened in 2005 and now the green space the city actually uses. The upper terrace faces the Citadel and the minarets of Darb al-Ahmar straight on, which is the reason to come at the end of the day. Entry is a few pounds and it stays open late.

- **Time:** 1–2 hrs
- **Cost:** Small entry fee
- **Best at:** Sunset
- **Tip:** Last entry is an hour before closing

## Best restaurants in Cairo (2026)

From a koshari counter to the region's most booked dining room, where Cairo actually eats.

1. **Khufu's** (Fine dining · Book weeks ahead · Nazlet El-Semman, Giza): Egyptian tasting menus on a terrace with the floodlit Great Pyramid behind them. Ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa in 2026. [Website](https://khufus.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Abou El Sid** (Egyptian · Reserve at weekends · 26th of July St, Zamalek): Molokhia, stuffed pigeon and mahshi in a low-lit salon of brass and rugs. The Egyptian sit-down meal at full length.
3. **Koshary Abou Tarek** (Koshari · Counter service · Downtown, off Talaat Harb): Several floors dedicated to one dish: rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas, fried onion and a hot tomato sauce you add yourself.
4. **Felfela** (Egyptian · Downtown institution · Hoda Shaarawy St, Downtown): Open since 1959 and still the gentlest introduction to Egyptian mezze on the first evening, taameya and all.
5. **Zooba** (Street food · Counter service · 26th of July St, Zamalek): Street food rebuilt for a bright modern kitchen: taameya, hawawshi and koshari, ordered at a counter and eaten fast.
6. **Kazoku** (Japanese · New Cairo · Swan Lake, New Cairo): Japanese cooking in Swan Lake, and twenty-fifth in the region in 2026. The night off from Egyptian food.

## Best cafes and coffeehouses in Cairo (2026)

Cairo runs on tea, coffee and a chair on the pavement. These four have been at it longest.

1. **El Fishawy** (Coffeehouse · Open 24 hours · Khan el-Khalili): Mint tea, Turkish coffee and shisha in the same Khan el-Khalili alley since the late 1700s, run by the same family and open around the clock.
2. **Café Riche** (Café · Since 1908 · Talaat Harb St, Downtown): Downtown's literary café, pouring since 1908. Naguib Mahfouz sat here often enough to write its regulars into a novel.
3. **Naguib Mahfouz Café** (Café · Khan el-Khalili · El-Badestan Lane, Khan el-Khalili): The air-conditioned version of the bazaar, opened in 1989 and named for the Nobel laureate. Useful when the alleys get too much.
4. **Granita** (Café · Garden seating · All Saints Cathedral, Zamalek): A courtyard café in the grounds of All Saints Cathedral, and the quietest coffee on the island.

## Best museums in Cairo (2026)

Beyond the Grand Egyptian Museum, six collections that reward an afternoon each.

1. **The Egyptian Museum, Tahrir** (Antiquities · Tahrir Square · Tahrir Square, Downtown): The 1902 original. Tutankhamun has moved to Giza, but the Narmer Palette, the Tanis gold and the crowded old cases are still here, and it is quieter for it. [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Museum of Islamic Art** (Islamic art · Bab al-Khalq · Bab al-Khalq, Downtown): One of the world's great Islamic collections, restored after the 2014 bombing next door. Opens in the afternoon on Fridays. [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Coptic Museum** (Coptic art · Old Cairo · Mar Girgis, Old Cairo): Textiles, icons, stonework and manuscripts from Egypt's Christian centuries, held inside the walls of the Roman fortress. [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Gayer-Anderson Museum** (House museum · Beside Ibn Tulun · El-Sayeda Zeinab): Two seventeenth-century houses knocked together and furnished by a British officer who left the lot to Egypt. The best domestic interior in the city. [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
5. **Manial Palace** (Palace · Rhoda island · Al Manial, Rhoda): Prince Mohamed Ali's estate on Rhoda island, where Ottoman, Moorish and Persian rooms sit in one garden without agreeing on anything. [Website](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
6. **Abdeen Palace Museum** (Palace · Closed Fridays · Abdeen, Downtown): The royal palace of the khedives, now showing the arms, silver and diplomatic gifts of the monarchy. Closed on Fridays and public holidays.

## Best mosques and madrasas in Cairo (2026)

Five that are worth planning around, all open to visitors outside prayer times.

1. **Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan** (Mamluk · Combined ticket with Al-Rifa'i · Salah El-Din Square): Finished in 1363 and still the most imposing interior in Cairo: a courtyard with four vaulted halls, almost bare, and walls that swallow the noise of the square.
2. **Al-Rifa'i Mosque** (Royal tombs · Same ticket · Salah El-Din Square): The nineteenth-century reply directly across the square, built to match its neighbour. Egypt's last kings and the last Shah of Iran are buried inside.
3. **Al-Azhar Mosque** (Founded 970 · Free entry · El-Darb El-Ahmar): Founded in 970 and the seat of Sunni learning ever since. Free to enter outside prayer times, and the courtyard is the coolest place in the quarter at midday.
4. **Mosque of Al-Hakim** (Fatimid · By Bab al-Futuh · Al-Gamaleya): A Fatimid mosque against the northern wall, restored by the Bohra community, with the emptiest courtyard in Islamic Cairo.
5. **Aqsunqur, the Blue Mosque** (Mamluk · Darb al-Ahmar · Bab El-Wazir St): Named for the Damascene tiles added in the 1650s to a Mamluk mosque three centuries older. Rarely more than a handful of visitors.

## Best bazaars and shopping in Cairo (2026)

Four places to buy something made in Egypt rather than imported for the coaches.

1. **Souq al-Fustat** (Crafts · Old Cairo · Mar Girgis, Old Cairo): Around fifty artisan workshops in one courtyard by the Coptic quarter, set up with UNESCO so the crafts had somewhere to sell. Watch the work, then buy it.
2. **Souk al-Khayamiya** (Textiles · Bab Zuweila · Al-Khayamiya St, Bab Zuweila): The Street of the Tentmakers, Cairo's last covered market, and the only place the appliqué khayamiya panels are still stitched by hand.
3. **Fair Trade Egypt** (Crafts · Fixed prices · Yehia Ibrahim St, Zamalek): A thousand-odd pieces from workshops across the country, priced on the label and certified fair trade, so the haggling is somebody else's problem.
4. **City Stars** (Mall · Heliopolis · Omar Ibn El-Khattab St, Heliopolis): The mall Cairo actually shops in: Egyptian labels, a cinema, a food hall and reliable air conditioning in August.

## Best neighborhoods in Cairo (2026)

Six quarters that each read as a different city, and all six are worth an afternoon.

1. **Zamalek** (Nile island · Galleries · Gezira island): An island of embassies, galleries and bookshops, quiet by Cairo standards and walkable end to end. The easiest first base.
2. **Downtown (Wust el-Balad)** (Khedivial core · Cafés · Talaat Harb to Tahrir): Khedive Ismail's Paris on the Nile: belle époque facades above shopfronts, Talaat Harb Square at the centre, and the loudest street life in Egypt.
3. **Al-Darb al-Ahmar** (Islamic Cairo · Workshops · Bab Zuweila to the Citadel): The medieval quarter between Bab Zuweila and the Citadel, still full of working workshops rather than souvenir stalls.
4. **Old Cairo (Misr al-Qadima)** (Coptic quarter · Line 1 metro · Mar Girgis): Coptic churches, the Ben Ezra synagogue and the Amr ibn al-As mosque within a few hundred metres, with a metro stop at the gate.
5. **Maadi** (Garden suburb · Line 1 metro · South of the centre): Leafy streets and Nile promenades a few metro stops south, with the Wadi Degla trailhead ten minutes further out.
6. **Heliopolis** (Belle époque · Al-Korba · Northeast, towards the airport): Baron Empain's desert suburb of 1905, where Moorish arcades and Art Deco blocks line Al-Korba. The palace itself reopened as a museum.

## Best day trips from Cairo (2026)

Five that work in a day from Cairo, in rough order of how little effort they take.

1. **Dahshur** (40 km south · Half day · Dahshur, Giza Governorate): The Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid, the two attempts that made Giza possible, and almost nobody standing in front of them.
2. **Memphis and Mit Rahina** (30 km south · 1 hr on site · Mit Rahina, Badrshein): Egypt's first capital, now an open-air museum built around a fallen colossus of Ramses II. An hour on site, and it slots between Saqqara and Dahshur.
3. **Fayoum and Wadi El Rayan** (100 km southwest · Full day · Fayoum Governorate): Waterfalls, dunes and the pottery workshops of Tunis village, an easy drive southwest. The oasis is farmland, not desert, which surprises most people.
4. **Wadi al-Hitan** (150 km southwest · Full day · Fayoum Governorate): The Valley of the Whales: skeletons of 40-million-year-old whales lying in open desert, on the UNESCO list since 2005. Go with a driver who has done it.
5. **Alexandria** (220 km north · Overnight is better · Mediterranean coast): Three hours by train each way, which makes it a long day and a better overnight. The Corniche, the catacombs and the library are the case for staying.

## Festivals & annual events in Cairo (2026)

- **Coptic Christmas** (7 January): Midnight liturgies fill the Coptic churches. A public holiday, so museums run holiday hours.
- **Cairo International Book Fair** (Late Jan to early Feb): The largest cultural gathering in the Arab world, at the exhibition centre in New Cairo.
- **Ramadan** (Moves 11 days earlier each year): Lanterns over the lanes, kitchens closed by day, and the old city awake until dawn.
- **Sham el-Nessim** (Monday after Coptic Easter): A spring holiday older than either church. Families picnic in every park and eat salted fish.
- **D-CAF, Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival** (Spring, over three weeks): Theatre, dance and installations staged in Downtown's arcades and empty buildings.
- **Moulid of al-Hussein** (Rabi' al-Thani, Islamic calendar): Cairo's biggest saint's festival closes the streets around the al-Hussein mosque for days.
- **Cairo International Jazz Festival** (Late October): Egyptian and international sets over a long weekend, mostly around Downtown and Zamalek.
- **Cairo International Film Festival** (November): The oldest competitive festival in the Arab world, screening at the Opera House on Gezira.

## Must-try dishes in Cairo, Egypt

- **Koshari**: Rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas and fried onion under a hot tomato sauce. Vegan by accident.
- **Ful medames**: Fava beans stewed overnight with cumin, oil and lemon. Breakfast, from a cart, with flat bread.
- **Taameya**: Egypt's falafel, made with fava beans instead of chickpeas, so it is green inside and lighter.
- **Molokhia**: Jute leaves cooked down with garlic and coriander into a green soup, usually over rice with chicken or rabbit.
- **Hawawshi**: Spiced minced meat sealed inside baladi bread and blasted in a wood oven until the crust cracks.
- **Mahshi**: Vine leaves, courgettes and peppers stuffed with herbed rice. Every family claims the better version.
- **Feteer meshaltet**: Layered pastry pulled paper-thin and folded dozens of times, served sweet or savoury.
- **Om Ali**: Warm bread pudding with milk, nuts and raisins, and the only dessert worth ordering twice.

## Cairo transport & airports

- **Cairo International** (CAI): Three terminals, 22 km northeast of Downtown and 30 to 45 minutes in without traffic. There is no direct rail link from the terminals, so take a ride-hailing car or a pre-booked transfer.
- **Metro** (3 lines): Three lines, air-conditioned and immune to the traffic above. Fares go by station count, from LE 10 up to LE 20 for the longest trips. The first two carriages of every train are reserved for women. [Website](https://www.cairometro.gov.eg/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Rail** (Ramses): Egyptian National Railways runs from Ramses station to Alexandria in about three hours, and south to Luxor and Aswan overnight. Book the air-conditioned classes ahead; the sleeper sells out. [Website](https://www.enr.gov.eg/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Ride-hailing** (Uber & Careem): Both work across Greater Cairo and quote the fare before you accept it, which street taxis will not. Cheaper than a hotel car by a wide margin, and it removes the argument at the end of the ride. [Website](https://www.uber.com/eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Cairo at a glance

- **Country:** Egypt
- **Region:** Greater Cairo, on the Nile
- **Population:** About 10 million in the governorate, 23 million across Greater Cairo
- **Founded:** 969, as al-Qahira, by the Fatimids
- **Nickname:** The City of a Thousand Minarets
- **Language:** Arabic. English is widely used in tourism
- **Currency:** Egyptian pound (EGP)
- **Time zone:** EET, UTC+2 (UTC+3 from late April to late October)
- **Calling code:** +20 2
- **Airports:** Cairo International (CAI), 22 km northeast
- **Power:** 220V, type C and F plugs
- **Emergency:** 122 police, 123 ambulance, 180 fire

## Interesting facts

- The Great Pyramid was the tallest structure on earth for roughly 3,800 years, until a cathedral spire passed it in the fourteenth century.
- Al-Qahira means the Vanquisher. The Fatimids founded it in 969 as a walled royal city, and the walls still stand at Bab al-Futuh.
- Egypt's ministries have moved 45 km east to the New Capital, built from scratch since 2015. Cairo is still the capital.
- The first two carriages of every metro train are reserved for women, and the platforms are marked for them.
- The Cairo Geniza, a storeroom found in the Ben Ezra synagogue, held hundreds of thousands of medieval manuscripts.

## Watch

[48 Hours in Cairo](https://wimup.com/watch/cairo.md), 1:10:20

## Cairo travel FAQ

### How many days do you need in Cairo?

Four to five. Give Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum a day each, Islamic Cairo one, the Coptic quarter and the Museum of Egyptian Civilization one, and keep the last for Saqqara and Dahshur.

### When is the best time to visit Cairo?

October to April. November and March are the sweet spot: warm days, cool evenings and bearable sun on open sites. July and August regularly pass 35°C, and neither the plateau nor the old city offers much shade.

### Is Cairo safe for visitors?

Yes, with ordinary big-city caution. The persistent nuisance is commercial rather than criminal: touts, camel handlers and unmetered taxis around the pyramids. Agree every price first, and use a ride-hailing app instead of hailing off the street.

### Do you need a visa for Egypt?

Most visitors do. A single-entry tourist visa costs $30, bought online before you fly or on arrival at the airport, and the fee rose in March 2026. Check your own nationality before booking.

### Can you get around Cairo without a car?

Yes. The metro handles the north-south spine for LE 10 to LE 20 a ride, ride-hailing covers everything it misses for very little, and each historic quarter is walkable once you are inside it.

## Nearby guides

- [Aqaba](https://wimup.com/city/aqaba.md): Jordan · 10 picks
- [Luxor](https://wimup.com/city/luxor.md): Egypt · 10 picks
- [Tiberias](https://wimup.com/city/tiberias.md): Israel · 10 picks
- [All of Africa →](https://wimup.com/africa): 54 cities

Part of the [Egypt guide](https://wimup.com/country/egypt.md) · [Africa](https://wimup.com/africa.md)

## Sources

- [Cairo tourism board](https://www.egypt.travel/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Stand under the Great Pyramid at Giza (official site)](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Give the Grand Egyptian Museum a full morning (official site)](https://tickets.gem.eg/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Walk Al-Muizz Street after sunset (official site)](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Khufu's (official site)](https://khufus.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Metro (official site)](https://www.cairometro.gov.eg/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Rail (official site)](https://www.enr.gov.eg/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Ride-hailing (official site)](https://www.uber.com/eg/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.