5 Best Shopping in Downtown Cairo, Cairo

The Swiss expat who founded this store in the 1950s originally stocked it with used books he gathered from Europeans leaving Egypt. Subsequent owners have continued to maintain a good inventory of books in French and English as well as Arabic. It also sells prints, lithographs, and antique maps and postcards.

In the early 20th century, travel writers and photographers Rudolf Franz Lehnert and Ernst Heinrich Landrock explored North Africa, documenting scenes from Bedouin life, before making their way to and settling in Cairo, opening this bookshop in 1924. It's a wonderful place to browse: typewriters, cameras, telephones, and other vintage items are neatly organized within glass cases; the walls are hung with the duo's black-and-white photos; and the shelves are stocked with an international selection of books, many of them on Egypt's history.

This gallery is on the tree-lined Shar'a Champollion (the street named after the Frenchman who broke the hieroglyphic code), and it's one of Cairo's best contemporary art galleries. The space itself is not much to look at, but the quality of work is sometimes exceptional. Be on the lookout for exhibitions by Adel al-Siwi, Mohamed Abla, Rehab al-Sadek, Hamdi Atteya, or Awad al-Shimy.

This family-run establishment, in business since the 1960s, is known for its excellent silver items. Most of their limited-edition designs are inspired by Egyptian cultural heritage, but you will also find more contemporary pieces, as well as some inlaid with semi-precious stones. Be prepared to rifle through the collection; the store’s inventory is huge, and the hunt is part of the shopping experience.

Located on the first floor of a busy building on an equally busy street, Oum El Dounia—which translates to Mother of the World, a nickname given to Egypt—sells stylish, vibrant items handcrafted by artisans from different parts of Egypt. It also has a section with books, many about the Arab world.