Sights & Attractions in Cairo

Cairo is big: just how big you'll see on the drive in from the airport. And what you see on the way into town, amazingly, is only half of it—Cairo's sister city, Giza, on the west bank of the Nile, stretches to the pyramids, miles from Downtown. But if you are the sort of person who navigates by compass points and you think of the Nile as a giant north-south needle running through the center of the city, exploring the city can be a breeze.

The city's evolution has left it conveniently divided into districts, which, while they may blur together at the edges, become relatively straightforward targets for a day's exploration on foot.

Much of the city was built in the 1960s, and the new areas hold relatively little of historical or cultural interest; they do, however, have the highest concentrations of hotels, restaurants, and shops. The older districts hold the most interesting sights. With the exception of Giza's pyramids, they are all on the east bank and easily accessible by taxi or metro.

Old Cairo, also known as Mari Girgis, was the city's first district; it's on the east bank a couple miles south of most of current-day Cairo. Just north of it is Fustat, the site of the 7th-century Arab settlement. East of that is the Citadel. North of the Citadel is the medieval walled district of al-Qahira that gave the city its name. It is better known as Islamic Cairo. West of that is the colonial district. Known as Downtown, it is one of several districts—including Ma'adi, Garden City, Heliopolis, and Zamalek—laid out by Europeans in the 19th and 20th centuries. (The west-bank districts of Mohandiseen and Doqqi, by comparison, sprouted after the 1952 revolution.)

Giza, a suburb of Cairo, is 12 km (8 mi) southwest of the city, a 45-minute taxi ride from Downtown, depending on traffic. It is here that the monuments most closely identified with Egypt stand: the timeless Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza. The three pyramids of Khufu (Greek name: Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), and Menkaure (Mycerinus) dominate the Giza plateau. Surrounding this father-son-grandson trio are smaller pyramids belonging to their female dependents, and the mastabas (large, trapezoid-shape tombs) of their courtiers and relatives. A museum south of Khufu's Pyramid contains one of the most extraordinary artifacts of ancient Egypt, his own royal boat. The great Sphinx crouches at the eastern edge of the plateau. The pyramids, Sphinx, and some of the mastabas all date from the 4th Dynasty, while other mastabas date to the 5th and 6th Dynasties.

Twenty-five km (16 mi) southwest of Cairo, Saqqara is best known as the site of the earliest stone pyramid constructed in Egypt, the Step Pyramid of Djoser. The site encompasses at least four other pyramid complexes of different dates, countless tombs from all eras of Egyptian history, and several animal necropolises. Saqqara is large, sprawling, and best covered on foot and by car.

Dahshur, 33 km (21 mi) southeast of Cairo, is one of the most tranquil and awe-inspiring pyramid sites. Opened to the public in 1998, it contains five pyramids dating from the Old and Middle Kingdoms. Only one—the North, or Red, Pyramid—can be entered.

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