Cairo is one of the world's great megacities and capital of Egypt. Holiday to Cairo tends to be a city that travellers love to explore as it is famous for its own history andis best known for preserving the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but the city contains infinite treasures beyond the Pyramids of Giza.
Book your holiday to Cairo at best price with Plenty Holidays. At its heart is Midan Tahrir Square and the vast Egyptian Museum, a trove of antiquities including royal mummies and gilded King Tutankhamun artifacts. Nearby, Giza is the site of the iconic pyramids and Great Sphinx, dating to the 26th century BC.
Discover the world’s largest collection of pharaonic antiquities the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities,Tutankhamun’s tomb and sip on Egyptian-style coffee in the bustling Khan El-Khalili souk which is the largest and most vibrant tourist area with collections of shops to chose from. A trip to Cairo Tower bejeweled with colorful lights is the best way to get a bird’s-eye view of the city and wind up the day with traditional Egyptian street food like shish taouk, hamammahshi as at night the entire streets are lightened up.
CAIRO INFORMATION
Currency
Egyptian Pound
Language
Arabic
Time Zone
GMT+02.00
Avg. Flight Time
5h 20m
Peak Travel
May-October
Price of a pint
£2.20
MORE ABOUT CAIRO
Pyramids of Giza
The Pyramids of Giza are Cairo's number one half-day trip and a must-do attraction on everyone's itinerary. Right on the edge of the city, on the Giza Plateau, these fourth dynasty funerary temples have been wowing travellers for centuries and continue to be one of the country's major highlights.
The Pyramid of Cheops (also called the Great Pyramid or Pyramid of Khufu) is the largest pyramid of the Giza group, and its interior of narrow passages can be explored, although there isn't much to see, except a plain tomb chamber with an empty sarcophagus.
Directly behind the Great Pyramid is the Solar Boat Museum, which displays one of the ceremonial solar barques unearthed in the area that has been painstakingly restored to its original glory.
The Egyptian Museum
The absolutely staggering collection of antiquities displayed in Cairo's Egyptian Museum makes it one of the world's great museums depicting ancient Egypt's glorious reign, Mummies, sarcophagi, pottery, jewellery and of course King Tutankhamen's treasures.
The museum was founded in 1857 by French Egyptologist August Mariette and moved to its current home — in the distinctive powder-pink mansion in Downtown Cairo — in 1897.
The Egyptian museum in Cairo houses a great and enormous collection of artifacts, mummies, coffins, stones, ancient belongings, and even food types that used to be buried with the kings before death to use in the afterlife.
Al-Azhar Mosque
Al-Azhar Mosque is the finest building of Cairo's Fatimid era and one of the city's earliest surviving mosques, completed in AD 972. It's also one of the world's oldest universities Caliph El-Aziz bestowed it with the status of university ,Al-Azhar University is still the leading theological center of the Islamic world.
The main entrance is the Gate of the Barbers on the northwest side of the building, adjoining the neo-Arab facade built by Abbas II.To your right is the El-Taibarsiya Medrese, which has a mihrab dating from 1309. From the central courtyard, you get the best views of the mosque's five minarets, which cap the building.
The Citadel
In a commanding location at the foot of the Mokattam Hills, Cairo's citadel was built by Saladin in 1176. The original structure he laid out has long disappeared except for the eastern outer walls, but a legacy of rulers has made their own additions here.
The Mosque of Muhammad Ali is the most famous monument and the main reason for visiting. Nicknamed the "Alabaster Mosque," its white stone and tall, disproportionately slender minarets are one of Cairo's great landmarks. The other big reason to come up here are the views across the city; head to the Gawhara Terracefor the best panorama in town.
