Things to Do in Cairo

About Cairo

The smell hits first: diesel and roasted coffee beans before you clear customs. 2 AM, 28°C (82°F), air thick enough to chew. Honking starts before your taxi leaves the airport parking lot. Downtown's Talaat Harb Square glows, neon Arabic and English signs flicker above 19th-century buildings leaning toward 21st-century traffic like exhausted old men. The Nile moves slower than Cairo wants, feluccas with rainbow sails drift past Zamalek's concrete towers while the 6th October Bridge traps three lanes of traffic that spot't moved since 2008. Khan el-Khalili's 700-year-old bazaar clatters with copper pots in narrow alleyways. Cardamom and cumin drift from spice shops older than most countries. The pyramids hide 25 kilometers west in Giza, not visible from downtown. But their limestone blocks glow white-hot at sunset while evening calls to prayer echo from a hundred minarets. Abou Tarek on Champollion Street serves koshary for 30 EGP ($1): lentils, pasta, fried onions, chili sauce. Construction workers and businessmen eat elbow-to-elbow. The city's edges dissolve into informal neighborhoods where donkey carts share roads with BMWs. Traffic will break you, until you learn to cross streets like a local. Confidence and a prayer. Cairo doesn't apologize for being intense. That is exactly why people come back.

Travel Tips

Transportation: The Cairo Metro from Heliopolis to Tahrir costs 8 EGP ($0.26). That's it. Faster than any taxi, blessedly air-conditioned. Women ride in the pink-marked car, it's theirs alone and mercifully less crowded. Never take white taxis from the airport. They'll demand 400 EGP ($13) for a 150 EGP ($5) trip downtown. Total scam. Uber exists but drivers will call to confirm where you're going, many can't read maps. Download Careem too. Locals use it more than Uber for short hops.

Money: Street food costs 15-50 EGP ($0.50-$1.60). Museum entrance: 200 EGP ($6.50). A decent hotel starts at 1,200 EGP ($39). Simple. ATMs beat exchange offices, every time. Most places take cards. Small shops on El Moez Street and Khan el-Khalili? Cash only. No exceptions. HSBC and CIB ATMs let you pull 8,000 EGP ($260) per transaction. The highest limits in town.

Cultural Respect: Scarves wait at Al-Azhar Mosque's entrance, 20 EGP ($0.65) if you didn't bring your own. Women cover hair and arms. Men ditch shorts above the knee. During Ramadan, daylight snacking won't get you arrested, just stared at. Legal. Rude. The left hand stays off food and out of greetings. Dirty. In Khan el-Khalili, open with one-third the asking price. You'll land near half.

Food Safety: Queue where locals queue, street stalls only. Abou Tarek's koshary turns over every few minutes. Cut fruit from street vendors? Skip it. The water isn't always filtered. Bottled water costs 5 EGP ($0.16) everywhere. Mohamed Ahmed's liver sandwiches on El Alfy Street are legendary. Go early, they sell out by 11 AM. Need a break? Cilantro and Costa Coffee locations have reliable wifi and clean bathrooms. 5 EGP/$0.16 to use.

When to Visit

October through April is Cairo's sweet spot, temperatures drop to 20-25°C (68-77°F) during the day and 12-15°C (54-59°F) at night. The air clears after summer's dust storms. Hotel prices drop 35-40% from their August peak. November brings the Cairo International Film Festival downtown. December's Coptic Christmas lights up Old Cairo's narrow streets with actual candles. January and February can bring surprise rain, usually just a day or two. But enough to flood the city's inadequate drainage. March is perfect: 24°C (75°F) days, 14°C (57°F) nights, and the khamaseen winds spot't started yet. These 50-day sandstorms start in April and make everything beige, including your lungs. May through September is brutal, 35-42°C (95-108°F) daytime temperatures that turn walking into a full-contact sport with the sun. Hotel rates hit their absolute bottom in July and August (sometimes 60% off), but you'll spend your savings on overpriced bottled water and air-conditioned taxis. Ramadan shifts earlier each year, in 2025 it runs from late February to late March. The city slows down during daylight hours, then explodes after sunset with iftar tents and endless tea. The two Eid holidays (typically June and September in 2025) mean three-day weekends when Cairenes flee to Alexandria or the North Coast, leaving traffic blissfully light but many restaurants closed. If you're heat-sensitive, skip May through September entirely. If you're budget-sensitive, July and August might be worth it, just plan museum visits for early morning and siestas for 1-4 PM when the city essentially shuts down.