One day in Cairo

Day by day

1. Day 1: Pyramids of Giza and Great Sphinx

   Pyramids of Giza, Great Sphinx, Grand Egyptian Museum and National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, then Khan el-Khalili in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Pyramids of Giza

      Arrive at opening to beat the heat and the tour buses, and agree the price, route and length of any camel or horse ride before you get on. Allow 3–4 hours.

   2. Late morning

      Great Sphinx

      Leave the Sphinx for the end of your plateau loop, and return for the evening sound-and-light show if you want to see it lit. Allow 1 hour.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Koshari

      Koshari restaurants across the city; Abou Tarek on Champollion Street Downtown is the best known.

   4. Afternoon

      Grand Egyptian Museum

      Allow at least half a day, head to the Tutankhamun galleries before they fill, and pair the museum with the pyramids on the same side of the city. Allow 4–5 hours.

   5. Late afternoon

      National Museum of Egyptian Civilization

      Go straight down to the Royal Mummies Hall first, and combine the museum with Coptic Cairo nearby. Allow 2 hours.

   6. Evening

      Khan el-Khalili

      Come in the late afternoon and stay into the evening, when the lanes and the square by Al-Hussein Mosque are at their liveliest; bargain firmly but politely.

Before you go

• Pyramids of Giza: Tickets for the Great Pyramid's interior are limited and sold separately from plateau entry; buy them early in the day or online.
• Grand Egyptian Museum: Buy timed tickets online in advance, especially for weekends and the winter high season.

If it rains

• Swap in Egyptian Museum (Tahrir) (Downtown): A guide helps make sense of the dense galleries, which are full of pieces you won't see elsewhere.
• Swap in Coptic Cairo (Old Cairo): Take Metro Line 1 to Mar Girgis station, which stops right outside, and dress modestly for the churches.
• Swap in Manial Palace (Roda Island): It is a short taxi ride from Garden City and makes a quiet break from the big sights.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 12–15 hours of visiting over one day, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10.2 hours in December to 14.1 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Metro. Three metro lines cross the city: Line 1 links Downtown (Sadat, under Tahrir Square) with Coptic Cairo (Mar Girgis) and Maadi, Line 2 runs west across the river towards Giza but not to the pyramids, and Line 3 serves Attaba near Islamic Cairo.

More or fewer days

• 2 days in Cairo
• 3 days in Cairo
• 4 days in Cairo
• 5 days in Cairo
• 7 days in Cairo

Questions travellers ask