Cairo
Cairo travel guide
Pharaonic treasures, medieval mosques and the Nile.
Cairo, Egypt's vast capital, combines the Egyptian Museum, Islamic Cairo's mosques and the Citadel, Coptic Cairo and the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, with the Pyramids of Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum next door. Visit from October to April and allow 3 to 4 days. It is good value, and many nationalities can get an e-Visa or visa on arrival.
Cairo, Egypt's capital and the largest city in the Arab world, sprawls along the Nile just south of the delta. Historic (Islamic) Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is packed with medieval mosques, madrasas and the Citadel of Saladin, while Coptic Cairo holds some of the oldest churches in Egypt and the Khan el-Khalili bazaar has traded for centuries.
The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square and the Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza hold the world's greatest collections of pharaonic art, and the Pyramids of Giza are on the city's western edge. Cairo is busy and noisy but endlessly fascinating, best visited between October and April.
Best experiences in Cairo
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Cairo at a glance
Season, budget, visa, money, language and plugs for Egypt's capital, summed up before the detail.
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Top things to do in Cairo
Museums, mosques, bazaars and Nile sights across Cairo.
Cairo
Al-Muizz Street
Al-Muizz Street is a one-kilometre medieval street in the walled historic city of Cairo, Egypt, running from Bab al-Futuh to Bab Zuwayla and lined with 29 monum...
Cairo
National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) is Egypt's museum of the whole sweep of the country's history, from prehistory to the present, on Al-Fustat...
Cairo
Mosque of Muhammad Ali
The Mosque of Muhammad Ali stands at the highest point of the Citadel of Saladin in Cairo, and its domes and slender minarets are visible across much of the cit...
Cairo
Mosque of Ibn Tulun
The Mosque of Ibn Tulun stands in the Sayeda Zeinab district of Cairo, below the Citadel and close to the Gayer-Anderson Museum. It is part of Historic Cairo, a...
Cairo
Egyptian Museum (Tahrir)
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known as the Egyptian Museum or Cairo Museum, stands on the north side of Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. It is run by Egyp...
Cairo
Khan el-Khalili
Khan el-Khalili is a large market district in the historic centre of Cairo, between Al-Hussein Mosque and Al-Muizz Street, in the area of the old Fatimid city....
Cairo
Al-Azhar Mosque
Al-Azhar Mosque stands in the historic heart of Islamic Cairo, across the road from the Khan el-Khalili bazaar area. The Fatimid general Jawhar al-Siqilli began...
Best time to visit Cairo
October to April is the comfortable window; summer means early starts and long midday breaks.
Warm, sunny days and mild evenings.
Hot, often 35°C; sightsee early.
Khamsin winds can bring dust storms.
Mosques close to visitors during Friday midday prayers; plan Islamic Cairo visits for other times.
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Cairo travel tips
Nine short answers on entry, money, health, safety, hotels, transport, SIM cards and dress in Cairo.
Visas and entry
e-Visa or visa on arrival
Most visitors need a visa for Egypt, and citizens of many countries can buy an e-Visa online before travel or get a visa on arrival at major airports. Travellers flying straight to Sharm El Sheikh and other South Sinai resorts can enter on a free stamp valid only for that area for up to 15 days.
- Apply online
- visa2egypt.gov.eg (official)
- Passport validity
- At least 6 months
Getting there
Cairo International
Fly into Cairo International Airport (CAI), Egypt's main hub, about 20 km north-east of the centre in Heliopolis. The metro does not reach it, so take a ride-hailing car, a limousine from the terminal or the shuttle to the Cairo Airport Bus Terminal.
- To the centre
- Uber, Careem or taxi, 45–90 minutes
- Trains
- Ramses station for Alexandria, Luxor and Aswan
Money and costs
Pounds, tips and cards
Carry Egyptian pounds in small notes and use cards for the bigger bills. Cards work at hotels, large restaurants and the ticket offices at the main sites, many of which are now card-only, while tipping (baksheesh) is part of daily life for guides, drivers and anyone who does you a favour.
- Many major sites accept only card payments for tickets.
- Agree prices for camel and horse rides before you start.
Health and vaccines
Heat and water
Drink bottled water in Egypt, avoid raw salads where hygiene is doubtful, and protect yourself from strong sun, which stays intense even in winter. Carry a hat, sunscreen and water on every sightseeing day, and plan outdoor sites for the early morning in the hotter months.
- Hospitals
- Good private hospitals in Cairo and resort towns
Staying safe
Touts and advisories
Most visits to Egypt's tourist areas are trouble-free, and the main sites are heavily policed. Expect persistent touts at the big monuments and agree prices before any ride or service. Check your own government's travel advice before you go, as several governments advise against travel to parts of Sinai and the border areas.
- Tourist police
- 126
- Be firm and polite with touts; use licensed guides.
Where to stay
Best areas
Choose a Cairo base by priorities. Downtown near Tahrir puts you by the Egyptian Museum and the metro hub at Sadat, Zamalek on Gezira Island has cafés and calmer streets, and the hotels facing the Giza plateau, covered in our Giza guide, suit a pyramids-first trip. A hotel near a metro station saves time in traffic.
- Zamalek
- Leafy island with cafés
- Downtown / Garden City
- Near the Egyptian Museum and the Nile
- Giza
- Pyramid views
- Heliopolis / New Cairo
- Near the airport
Getting around
Metro and ride-hailing
Ride the metro to beat Cairo's traffic and use Uber, Careem or inDrive for the rest. Metro fares rise with the number of stations, line 1 serves Mar Girgis for Coptic Cairo and line 2 Bab El-Shaaria for Islamic Cairo, and white taxis rarely use their meters, so agree the fare first.
- Metro
- Three lines; women-only carriages
- The three metro lines meet at Sadat (under Midan Tahrir), Shohadaa (beside Ramses station) and Attaba, running about 5:15AM to 12:20AM, with line 3 trains every 8 minutes.
- Cairo International in Heliopolis has no metro link; a shuttle bus runs from Adly Mansour station, and another links the terminals with the Cairo Airport Bus Terminal.
- Nobody queues at metro windows, so have small notes ready and buy several tickets at once.
- Pick your own white taxi, ignore drivers who approach you, sit in the back, and settle the fare first or hand it through the window after getting out.
- Buses and minibuses seldom show a destination, so ask other passengers; women are advised to use minibuses where standing is not allowed.
- Traffic lights are few and widely ignored, so cross roads alongside locals.
SIM and internet
Vodafone, Orange, Etisalat (e&), WE
Buy a tourist SIM at airport arrivals in Egypt from Vodafone, Orange, Etisalat (e&) or WE, registering it with your passport. A local number and data make ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Careem easier to use, and the same shops sell top-ups across the country.
- Networks
- Vodafone, Orange, e& (Etisalat), WE
Culture and etiquette
Conservative dress
Dress modestly in Egypt away from the beach resorts, covering shoulders and knees in towns, mosques and churches. Egypt is a Muslim-majority country with a large Coptic Christian minority, women may be asked to cover their hair inside mosques, and Friday midday prayers are the busiest time at mosques.
- Cover shoulders and knees in towns and at mosques
- Women cover their hair in mosques
- Photographing police, military sites or people without asking
- Public displays of affection
Things to know before visiting Cairo
What makes Cairo worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square.
- Islamic Cairo, the Citadel and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali.
- Khan el-Khalili bazaar.
- Coptic Cairo, with the Hanging Church.
- Felucca rides on the Nile at sunset.
Good to know
- Traffic is chaotic; allow extra time.
- Touts and scams target visitors; book through reputable operators.
- Dress modestly, especially in Islamic Cairo.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Cairo weather by month
Cairo has a hot desert climate: mild winters with cool nights and long, hot summers near 38°C. Figures are long-term averages for Cairo International Airport.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Cairo International Airport (NOAA 1991–2020 normals, via Wikipedia).
Four days in Cairo, one district at a time
Plan Cairo one district a day, because traffic can turn a ten-minute hop into an hour. Spend day one on Al-Mu'izz Street and in Khan el-Khalili, day two at the Citadel, Sultan Hassan and Ibn Tulun, day three in Coptic Cairo and the Egyptian Museum, and day four at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
The pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum and the hotels facing the plateau have their own Giza guide; the plan below stays in the city on the east bank.
On day one, walk Al-Mu'izz Street north from Al-Azhar Mosque to Bab al-Futuh, car-free from 8AM to 11PM, and end with tea in Khan el-Khalili. On day two, see the Mosque of Muhammad Ali in the Citadel, then watch the last light from Al-Azhar Park. On day three, ride metro line 1 to Mar Girgis for the Hanging Church, the Coptic Museum and Ben Ezra Synagogue. On day four, end in Zamalek on Gezira Island or on a felucca from the Garden City bank at dusk.
Heading south afterwards? Reserve the Watania sleeper to Luxor and Aswan, booked online and limited to one departure a night outside busy periods.
Ramses station handles almost every train out of town, with the non-stop Specials reaching Alexandria in 2 hours 40 minutes and the Nile line taking about 10 hours to Luxor.
Cool winters, spring dust and holiday crowds in Cairo
Visit Cairo from November to March, when afternoon highs mostly stay below 26°C and walking is a pleasure; January nights fall to about 10°C, and many cheap hotels have no heating. Saharan dust can blow in between March and May, and from June the heat reaches 38°C. Weekends and Eid holidays fill the parks.
On the coldest days an unheated room sits at about 15°C. Pack a warm jumper and a jacket. Monthly rain totals barely register, yet one sudden winter downpour can flood streets that were never built to drain it.
Between March and May hot winds can blow Saharan dust over the city, the sky turns beige and the air becomes very dry; travellers with sensitive lungs should carry a scarf or mask.
In September and October farmers around Greater Cairo burn rice husks after sunset, and the evening air in town can turn smoky. Daytime sightseeing is unaffected, and October highs reach about 30°C.
The big museums are quieter on weekday mornings, and Al Orman Gardens near the zoo fills with families at weekends and over Eid.
Fūl, koshari and the ahwa coffee houses of Cairo
Eat like a Cairene, cheaply and often standing up: fūl and falafel for breakfast, at Al-Gahsh near Al-Azhar, and koshari for lunch at Koshari Tahrir. For sit-down Egyptian home cooking, go to Felfela, Cairo Kitchen or Abou El Sid, and spend an evening in an ahwa coffee house such as El Fishawy.
Fūl is slow-cooked bean paste scooped up with bread, and koshari is rice, macaroni, lentils and chickpeas under tomato sauce. Near Khan el-Khalili, the Egyptian Pancake House makes feteer: pancakes folded around sweet or salty fillings.
Pick the stall with the queue. Food turns over fast there, and hygiene elsewhere varies a great deal. Abou El Sid has branches in Zamalek, Maadi and Dokki. Downtown is where to eat on a budget; Zamalek and Mohandiseen are where Cairenes go to spend. Be wary of any place that hands foreigners a separate English menu, since its prices are often inflated. Smarter cafés may set a minimum charge. Cheap restaurants rarely serve alcohol.
Expect plastic chairs on the pavement, Turkish coffee or shai, and a water pipe filled with mu'assal (plain tobacco) or tofâh (apple). El Fishawy, behind Midan Hussein, was a regular haunt of the novelist Naguib Mahfouz. These have long been male spaces, and foreign women are welcomed but may feel conspicuous in backstreet ones.
Away from the tea glass, look for kerkedeeh (hibiscus; warm or cold by season), sahleb (a milky winter drink), sugarcane juice and tamr hindi made from tamarind.
Travelers are asking
Both are worth visiting: the Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza holds Tutankhamun's treasures, while the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir keeps many other masterpieces.
Our travel desk answers questions about Cairo
How We Research This Guide
Experience Egypt, the Egypt e-Visa portal and Egyptian Meteorological Authority normals are the sources behind this Cairo guide, with metro hours and the Watania sleeper confirmed separately.
Last updated . Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Checked against trusted sources:
Experience EgyptEgypt e-Visa portalEgyptian Meteorological Authority climate normals
See all 3 sources
- Experience Egypt (Egyptian Tourism Authority)
- Egypt e-Visa portal
- Egyptian Meteorological Authority climate normals
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Cairo.
Timing & weather
October to April, when the weather is warm but not too hot.
Cars are kept off Al-Mu'izz Street between 8AM and 11PM, so you can walk it slowly from Al-Azhar to Bab al-Futuh.
Cairo winters are mild by day, with highs mostly below 26°C, but January nights fall to around 10°C and many cheaper hotels have no heating, so pack a warm jumper.
Booking
Three to four days covers Giza, the museums, Islamic and Coptic Cairo.
Health & safety
Most visits are trouble-free; be wary of touts and scams, use ride-hailing, and read your government's travel advice.
General
Mar Girgis on metro line 1 drops you at the Coptic quarter. The Hanging Church, the Coptic Museum and Ben Ezra Synagogue are a few minutes apart.
Yes. Much of its collection moved to Giza in 2022, but it is still worth an afternoon.
White taxis have meters, but drivers often ignore them. Settle the fare first, or use Careem, inDrive or Uber.
El Fishawy, behind Midan Hussein, is the best known; the novelist Naguib Mahfouz was a regular. Expect Turkish coffee or tea, a water pipe and pavement seating.
bookingMentor lists 7 things to do in Cairo, each with its category, rating and a short description. Open one for the full details, such as opening hours and how to get there.
Ride the metro to beat Cairo's traffic and use Uber, Careem or inDrive for the rest. Metro fares rise with the number of stations, line 1 serves Mar Girgis for Coptic Cairo and line 2 Bab El-Shaaria for Islamic Cairo, and white taxis rarely use their meters, so agree the fare first.
Getting there
The non-stop Special trains from Ramses station reach Alexandria in 2 hours 40 minutes, and the Nile line takes about 10 hours to Luxor. Book the Watania sleeper to Luxor and Aswan online well ahead.
Fly into Cairo International Airport (CAI), Egypt's main hub, about 20 km north-east of the centre in Heliopolis. The metro does not reach it, so take a ride-hailing car, a limousine from the terminal or the shuttle to the Cairo Airport Bus Terminal.
Prices & payment
Daily travel costs in Cairo are good value. Site entry tickets are the biggest cost.
Visa & documents
Most visitors need a visa for Egypt, and citizens of many countries can buy an e-Visa online before travel or get a visa on arrival at major airports. Travellers flying straight to Sharm El Sheikh and other South Sinai resorts can enter on a free stamp valid only for that area for up to 15 days.
