Cairo Travel Guide
Travel guide to Cairo, Egypt with comprehensive information about events, shopping, and major Cairo sporting events to help you enjoy your visit more.
Cairo Overview
To the people who call it home, Cairo is the mother of all cities. Famously the home of the incredible Pyramids at Giza, and the mysterious Sphinx; one of Cairo's most grandiose claims is as the birthplace of modern civilisation.
After the heat and grime, the first thing visitors notice is that Cairo is such a confusing and sprawling place. Life moves along at a stupefying pace, continuing 24 hours a day. Cairo is a place where the present and the past co-exist, and beside ancient ruins, you can see space age skyscrapers pointing into the sky; where pop music vies for attention with the call of the muezzin from the mosques.
With around 16 million people calling Cairo their home, the city itself is a vast place, spreading out from the River Nile into the desert, and measuring around 25 miles from one end to the other. The confusing almost amorphous structure of Cairo means that getting around can be difficult although the main tourist areas are fairly close together, and no matter where you go, you can always see the pyramids looming over the buildings if you can get high enough. Most of your time in Cairo will be spent in the part known as the Islamic City, which is where you will find almost all of the important museums, markets and other sights.
Cairo is growing in popularity as a short break destination and many tourists these days come for just three or four days, even though Cairo is a place that you probably spend months exploring and still not see everything that there is.
You can get cheap flights to Cairo and discount weekend breaks to Cairo when you book online, and with a choice of decent places to stay, it is a superb place to visit, and ideal for a short break with a difference.
Top Cairo Attractions
Aside from the city itself, the main attractions in Cairo are undoubtedly the remains of ancient Egypt that exist in the city. Whether you spend a day or two at the enormous museum of antiquities or make the journey to the outskirts of town to see the amazing pyramids, you will be astonished by the sheer majesty of the remains.
The best time to see the pyramids is in the (very early) morning, when the sun rises over them in the east, and the whole Giza plateau is illuminated. You can easily spend a whole day exploring the plateau - seeing the sphinx, the temples, and going inside the Great Pyramid of Cheops, as well as taking a camel ride.
Most evenings, there is a lightshow with music played over the pyramids, which is well worth seeing.
Shopping in Cairo
Although Cairo's shopping scene is most famous for the many souks and bazaars, there are also a number of more modern shopping malls where you can spank your credit cards.
The most famous of the large markets is the famous Khan-an-Kahlili market in Islamic Cairo. Behind the tourist centric outer stalls of the bazaar, where the stuffed camels and novelty shisha pipes are sold, you can find the aromatic treats of the perfume souk, and the traditional stalls where business has been conducted for generations.
Cairo Sporting Events
Cairo has a couple of football teams to check out if you can't spend time without watching a match - although the general standard is lower than you would find in the UK. There is horse racing available throughout the year at the Hippodrome, and an annual Pharaoh's Rally keeps petrol heads excited in October at the pyramids.
