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Cairo itinerary

Every place in “15 Top Places to Visit in Cairo, Egypt”. Save places in the guide to make this list yours.

  1. 1

    Pyramids of Giza - Last standing wonder of the ancient world

    The Pyramids of Giza top every Cairo itinerary for good reason. Three colossal tombs built between 2580 and 2510 BCE for pharaohs Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure dominate the western desert plateau just 18 km from downtown…

    Address
    Al Haram, Nazlet El-Semman, Al Haram, Giza Governorate 12611, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Cairo Metro Line 2 to Giza station (15 min ride from Sadat), then Uber or microbus 7 km west (15-25 min)
  2. 2

    Sphinx of Giza - The guardian with a pharaoh's face

    Carved from a single limestone outcrop on the Giza Plateau, the Great Sphinx stretches 73 metres long and stands 20 metres tall, making it the largest monolithic statue on Earth. Most Egyptologists date the monument to…

    Address
    Al Haram, Nazlet El-Semman, Al Haram, Giza Governorate 12611, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Cairo Metro Line 2 to Giza, then 15-min Uber to Sphinx Gate (separate from main pyramid entrance)
  3. 3

    Great Pyramid Interior - Climb into Khufu's burial chamber

    Stepping inside the Great Pyramid is the closest most travellers get to time travel. After paying the separate 900 EGP interior ticket, you crouch through a 1.1-metre-high ascending corridor for 39 metres, climb the…

    Address
    Great Pyramid of Giza, Al Haram, Giza Governorate 12611, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Same as Pyramids of Giza - access via Tickets Office at the main Giza Plateau gate
  4. 4

    Egyptian Museum at Tahrir - The original treasure house

    Opened in 1902 on the north edge of Tahrir Square, the salmon-pink Egyptian Museum still anchors central Cairo even after the Grand Egyptian Museum took its golden Tutankhamun pieces. Around 120,000 artefacts remain…

    Address
    Meret Basha, Ismailia, Qasr El Nile, Cairo Governorate 11516, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Cairo Metro Line 1 or 2 to Sadat station - museum is a 3-minute walk on the north side of Tahrir Square
  5. 5

    Grand Egyptian Museum - The world's largest archaeological museum

    After two decades of construction, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) opened its full collection in late 2025 next to the Pyramids of Giza, and 2026 is the first calendar year it operates at capacity. The 500,000…

    Address
    Cairo - Alexandria Desert Rd, Kafr Nassar, Al Haram, Giza Governorate 12611, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Official shuttle from Ramses railway station and Tahrir (every 30 min, 80 EGP) or Uber 25-40 min from downtown
  6. 6

    Khan el-Khalili - Cairo's medieval bazaar

    Founded in 1382 by Emir Jaharkas el-Khalili and rebuilt by Sultan al-Ghuri in 1511, Khan el-Khalili remains the beating heart of Islamic Cairo. The covered alleys spread over roughly 0.4 square kilometres around…

    Address
    El-Gamaleya, El Gamaliya, Cairo Governorate 11511, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Cairo Metro Line 3 to Bab El Shaaria station, then 12-minute walk east; or Uber to al-Hussein Mosque
  7. 7

    Citadel of Saladin - 12th-century fortress with skyline views

    Saladin began the Citadel in 1176 to defend Cairo against Crusader threats, and the fortress on Mokattam spur stayed the seat of Egyptian government for nearly 700 years. The walled compound covers about 18 hectares and…

    Address
    Salah Salem St, El-Khalifa, Cairo Governorate 11638, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Cairo Metro Line 1 to Sayyida Zeinab, then 15-min Uber up the hill; or direct taxi from downtown
  8. 8

    Mosque of Muhammad Ali - The Alabaster Mosque on the citadel ridge

    Commissioned in 1830 by Muhammad Ali Pasha and completed in 1848, this Ottoman-style mosque inside the Citadel borrows directly from Istanbul's Sultan Ahmed silhouette: two slender pencil minarets flanking a central…

    Address
    Citadel of Saladin, El-Abageyah, El-Khalifa, Cairo Governorate 11638, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Inside Citadel of Saladin - same access as Citadel entry
  9. 9

    Al-Azhar Mosque - The world's oldest continuously running university

    Founded in 970 CE by the Fatimid general Jawhar al-Siqilli, Al-Azhar is the second-oldest continuously operating university on Earth and the most respected centre of Sunni Islamic scholarship. The mosque opens to…

    Address
    El-Darb El-Ahmar, Cairo Governorate 11511, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Cairo Metro Line 3 to Bab El Shaaria, then 10-minute walk; or Uber to Al-Azhar Square
  10. 10

    Coptic Cairo - Hanging Church and Saints Sergius and Bacchus

    Coptic Cairo packs the city's earliest Christian heritage into a 5-hectare walled enclave around the Roman Babylon Fortress. The Hanging Church (Saint Virgin Mary's, founded around the 7th century) suspends its nave…

    Address
    Mar Girgis St, Kom Ghorab, Old Cairo, Cairo Governorate 11638, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Cairo Metro Line 1 to Mar Girgis station - the entrance is directly across the street
  11. 11

    Saqqara Step Pyramid - The world's first stone monument

    Architect Imhotep designed the Step Pyramid of Djoser around 2670 BCE, stacking six mastabas to 62.5 metres and inventing monumental stone construction in the process. Saqqara stretches 7 km along the desert ridge and…

    Address
    Saqqara, Badrshein, Giza Governorate 12519, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    No metro - Uber from Giza takes 35 minutes (around 250 EGP), or join a Cairo day tour combining Saqqara and Memphis
  12. 12

    Mosque of Ibn Tulun - Cairo's oldest mosque in original form

    Built between 876 and 879 CE for Ahmad ibn Tulun, this mosque is the oldest in Cairo to retain its original layout and the third-largest by area in the world at 26,318 square metres. The fired-brick construction borrows…

    Address
    Sayyida Zeinab, El-Sayeda Zinab, Cairo Governorate 11638, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Cairo Metro Line 1 to Sayyida Zeinab, then 12-minute walk east through Tulun Square
  13. 13

    Cairo Tower - 187-metre lotus-shaped landmark

    Cairo Tower opened in 1961 on Gezira Island and held the title of tallest structure in Africa for ten years. Architect Naoum Shebib clad the concrete shaft in a latticework recalling lotus petals - a deliberate…

    Address
    El Borg, Zamalek, Cairo Governorate 11211, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Cairo Metro Line 3 to Opera station, then 8-minute walk across the bridge to Gezira Island
  14. 14

    Tahrir Square and Downtown - Belle Epoque architecture and 2011 history

    Tahrir Square sits at the centre of Khedive Ismail's 19th-century downtown grid, modelled on Haussmann's Paris and lined with neo-classical, Art Deco and Moorish revival facades. The 2011 revolution put the square on…

    Address
    Tahrir Square, Qasr El Nile, Cairo Governorate 11516, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    Cairo Metro Lines 1 and 2 converge at Sadat station directly under the square
  15. 15

    Memphis (Mit Rahina) - The lost capital of the Old Kingdom

    Founded around 3100 BCE by the unifier-king Menes, Memphis served as Egypt's capital for the entire Old Kingdom and held political weight for almost 2,500 years. Most of the mud-brick city eroded into the Nile…

    Address
    Mit Rahina, Badrshein, Giza Governorate 12519, Egypt
    Nearest transit
    No metro - Uber from Giza takes 30 minutes (around 220 EGP); usually combined with Saqqara on a private driver day

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