Cairo

Cairo is the largest city in the Arab world and one of the densest places on earth. It sits astride the Nile at the point where the valley opens into the delta, with the Giza plateau and its pyramids on the western edge: close enough that the city has grown up to meet them, which surprises people expecting isolated monuments in empty desert.

The city is really several: the medieval Islamic core of mosques and markets, Coptic Cairo with churches older than Islam, the nineteenth-century downtown built in a European style, and the modern sprawl of Zamalek, Maadi and the new satellite cities in the desert.

Nowhere else concentrates this much of the ancient world in one place: the last standing wonder of the ancient world on one side of the river, and a museum holding the contents of Tutankhamun's tomb on the other.

But the reason to stay more than two days is Islamic Cairo: hundreds of medieval monuments still in use, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a street life that has not been arranged for visitors.

• The Giza pyramids and Sphinx, at opening. The site is on the city's edge and reachable in half an hour from central Cairo. Going in early avoids both the heat and the coach parties; the interior chambers require a separate ticket and are hot, narrow and not for the claustrophobic.
• The Grand Egyptian Museum beside the plateau, built to house the Tutankhamun collection together for the first time. Allow half a day at minimum.
• Islamic Cairo on foot. The stretch from Bab Zuweila north along al-Muizz Street past the Qalawun complex is the densest concentration of medieval Islamic architecture anywhere.
• Khan el-Khalili. A working bazaar since the fourteenth century. Bargaining is expected; El Fishawy café in its lanes has been open for generations.
• The Citadel and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, on a limestone spur with the whole city below it — the best view of Cairo on a clear day.
• Coptic Cairo. The Hanging Church, the Ben Ezra Synagogue and the Coptic Museum within a few hundred metres, in the old Roman fortress quarter.
• Saqqara and Dahshur. The Step Pyramid of Djoser, older than Giza, and the Bent and Red Pyramids: quieter and, for many visitors, more affecting than Giza itself.

October to April is the comfortable season: warm days, cool evenings, and the sites walkable through the middle of the day. December to February are the coolest months and the busiest.

May to September is hot, regularly above 35°C and often higher, which makes open desert sites punishing after mid-morning. Prices fall accordingly, and an early-start schedule makes it workable.

The khamsin, a hot sand-carrying wind, blows occasionally in spring and can cut visibility for a day or two. Ramadan shifts each year and changes daytime hours substantially, with the city coming alive after sunset.

Zamalek, on Gezira island in the Nile, is the most comfortable base: leafy, calmer, full of restaurants and galleries, and central without the intensity.

Garden City and the Corniche hold the large river hotels, convenient for the museums and the downtown.

Downtown (Wust el-Balad) is the belle époque quarter: cheaper, noisy, atmospheric and close to Tahrir Square.

Giza, near the plateau, suits a short trip focused on the pyramids, with hotels advertising pyramid views; it is far from Islamic Cairo and the traffic between them is the constraint.

Maadi is a quiet residential suburb south of the centre, popular with long-stay visitors and reachable by metro.

Islamic Cairo: al-Muizz Street, Khan el-Khalili, the Al-Azhar mosque and university, and hundreds of medieval monuments in a compact area.

Coptic Cairo (Old Cairo): churches, a synagogue and a museum inside the Roman walls of Babylon, reachable by metro.

Downtown: Khedive Ismail's nineteenth-century European quarter, with Tahrir Square, cafés and the old Egyptian Museum.

Zamalek: island neighbourhood of embassies, bookshops, galleries and good restaurants.

Garden City: curving streets and grand villas along the Nile.

Giza: the plateau, the Grand Egyptian Museum, and the city that has grown to its edge.

Al-Muqattam and the City of the Dead: the hills above the city and the vast historic cemetery where people live among the tombs.

Traffic is the defining fact of moving around Cairo; a short distance on the map can take an hour at the wrong time of day.

The metro is the best-kept secret: cheap, fast, air-conditioned and it bypasses the congestion entirely. It has carriages reserved for women, marked on the platform.

Ride-hailing apps are widely used, inexpensive and remove the fare negotiation that street taxis require. If you do take a white street taxi, agree the fare first or insist on the meter.

Crossing roads is done by walking steadily and predictably into gaps so traffic can flow around you; hesitating mid-road is what causes accidents. Following a local across is the standard technique.

From the airport, use a prepaid transfer or a ride-hailing app rather than the touts in the arrivals hall.

Cairo eats cheaply and well. Koshari — rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas, fried onions and tomato sauce — is the city's own dish, vegetarian, filling and served in dedicated shops. Ful medames and ta'ameya, the fava-bean falafel, are the standard breakfast from street carts.

Beyond that: hawawshi, spiced meat baked in bread; mahshi, stuffed vegetables; molokhia soup; and grilled meats at the kebab houses around Hussein and downtown.

Drink black tea heavily sweetened, or karkadeh, the hibiscus infusion served hot in winter and iced in summer. Fresh sugarcane juice comes from street presses.

Practical notes: do not drink the tap water, be cautious with ice and raw salads in cheaper places, and expect small tips (baksheesh) to be part of nearly every service interaction.

Saqqara, Dahshur and Memphis: the older pyramid fields south of the city, easily combined into one day and far quieter than Giza.

Alexandria: two to three hours north by train: the Mediterranean corniche, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the catacombs and a completely different atmosphere.

Wadi El Rayan and Fayoum: lakes, waterfalls, the fossil site of Wadi Al-Hitan (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and pottery villages, southwest of the city.

Al-Fustat and the pottery quarter, technically within Cairo but a world away in pace.

Cairo is inexpensive by international standards for food, transport and everyday costs. Metro fares, koshari and street food, and local restaurants all cost very little.

The costs that add up are site admissions, which are charged monument by monument with separate tickets for interiors, and guides, though at the archaeological sites a good Egyptologist guide genuinely changes what you understand.

Budget explicitly for tipping. Baksheesh is embedded in daily life: small notes for the person who opens a gate, carries a bag or points out a detail. Carrying a supply of small denominations smooths most interactions and avoids awkwardness.

Start early. The heat, the light and the crowds all favour being at Giza or Saqqara by opening time.

Expect persistent selling at the pyramids and around Khan el-Khalili: camel rides, souvenirs, unsolicited guiding followed by a demand for payment. A firm la shukran and continuing to walk is the local response and is not rude.

Dress modestly. Shoulders and knees covered for everyone; women should carry a scarf for mosques, where shoes also come off.

Use the metro for anything along its lines. It is the one form of transport that traffic cannot slow down.

Carry small notes and check your change, particularly with taxis and street vendors.

Women travelling alone should expect street harassment, particularly downtown; ride-hailing, the women-only metro carriages and conservative dress all reduce it.