Things to do in Cairo

Cairo is not a single sight but a megacity best read one district at a time: Downtown, Zamalek, Garden City and Heliopolis each have their own pace, and Islamic Cairo and Coptic Cairo carry so much history that they get their own guides rather than a rushed paragraph here.

Most visitors land at Cairo International Airport (CAI) in Heliopolis, northeast of the centre, then face 45-90 minutes to a Downtown or Zamalek hotel, or on to Giza, depending on traffic that stays heavy most of the day. A private driver is the practical way to string together day trips to Giza, Saqqara or further afield without losing hours to gridlock.

Inside the city, the three-line metro, Uber and Careem cover shorter hops between neighbourhoods.