7 Things to See in Cairo, Egypt

Shuttle from the Airport – We had booked a shuttle before our travel through Cairo Shuttle Bus. You can meet their representatives right outside the terminal. You can also take an Uber (which is what we did on our way back to the Airport after the trip).

Stay – Meramees Hostel. They were a good bunch of people who are ready to help you in any way they can. We also had our guide for the Egyptian Museum from here. It is at a great location in Downtown Cairo with everything near it.

Guide – We booked for this tour – Get Your Guide Cairo: Giza Pyramids & Sphinx, Saqqara & Dahshur. It was great except for 1 thing that I’ve mentioned under Giza Pyramids.

Transportation in and around Cairo – Uber. Your best bet – no trying to make drivers understand where you want to go, no haggling.

Also read the general guide to Egypt for some general tips – Egypt Travel Blog and Guide

Let’s begin!

1)  Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx

This is perhaps what most people come to Cairo for. And for a reason. No pictures can do justice to what you see and feel when you stand in front of the pyramids gazing at their grandeur and wondering how the workmen built such massive structures. The tour guide that I mentioned above dropped us off at a stable without even asking us if we wanted a camel ride. And the guy there just started off with prices and put us in a spot. We did ride the camels. It was the most uncomfortable thing we did in Egypt with our groins crying about it for 2-3 days to come. The camel ride took us to a Panorama point for a good view of all the pyramids and just rode past them on actually reaching the pyramids. Like, what?! We didn’t come here to just take panoramic pictures. We want to see the pyramids, feel their presence, imagine what used to happen around them. I also wanted to go inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu (the largest of them all). He gave an option of either stopping to admire the pyramids or getting into the pyramid. I didn’t want to not go inside so we chose the latter. Everybody told us not to go inside, that there is nothing much to see inside. But climbing up through the small tunnel into the burial chamber in the darkness and staring at the sarcophagus – it was an amazing feeling. I mean this right in front of us is what the pyramid was built for!

We were so disappointed about not being able to spend some time around the pyramids that we came back here on our last day just before our flight back home. It was early in the morning – It was just us on foot with our backpacks, the pyramids & some dogs and camels. It was pure bliss!

Spot my husband as a human scale 🙂

That’s how big each stone is!

2) The Step Pyramid of Djoser (Saqqara)

This is how pyramid building started. The architect stacked 6 mastabas (bench like tombs) of decreasing size atop each other.

3) Pyramid of Unas (Saqqara)

Nothing much of the outside remains, but once you climb inside, you come face to face with beautiful pyramid texts and the sarcophagus.

4) Bent Pyramid of Sneferu (Dahshur)

The unique bent structure is because the pyramid started cracking and collapsing with the initial high angle and because of an unstable ground. So the architects were forced to reduce the angle to reduce the weight of the top part. Another milestone in the history of pyramid building.

The dress is from Roving Mode. You can buy it here.

5) Red Pyramid of Sneferu (Dahshur)

Having learnt the correct angle, the first true pyramid with smooth sides was built. It is called red because of the iron oxide in the inner limestone.

The dress is from Roving Mode. You can buy it here.

Just us in the vast desert

6) Cairo Museum / Museum of Egyptian Antiquities

With over 1 lakh items and 42 rooms, it is not a small museum. Being with a guide is a good idea to see all the important items and get a description about them as not all items are captioned. I especially loved the Amarna section (I have a special soft corner for Akhenaten), the Tutankhamun section (because you get to see what Egyptian riches and treasures really looked like. The details are out of the world! Photography is not allowed.) and the Royal Mummies Room (it was unbelievable to stand and stare into the faces of the greatest pharaohs like Seti I, Ramesses II and Thutmosis III).

7) Khan el-Khalili Market and El-Fishawi Cafe

Khan el-Khalili Market is the best place to buy souvenirs – jewelry, magnets, statues all at a really cheap price compared to the tourist sites. Bargain well! After the shopping, sip on some amazing Egyptian Mint tea at the El-Fishawi Café which is on the roads in between the market and watch time fly by.

Bonus: Food

Eat yummy Koshary at Koshary El Tahrir, Abdeen and oriental sweets like Basbousa, Baklava, Kunefe from Abdel Rehim Koueider, Qasr an Nile

We were in Cairo for 3 days after which we took an overnight train to Aswan (for Abu Simbel) and then to Luxor. More info on trains in the general guide.