You are here: Home › Destinations › Africa › Egypt › Cairo
Cairo
About Cairo
Cairo is the capital of the Egypt and the largest city of Africa. It is located on the banks and islands of the Nile River in the north of Egypt. Cairo is both a very old city with fabulous Pharaonic monuments, Coptic churches and medieval mosques, yet also a modern city dominated by government buildings and modern architecture. Cairo is a chaotic, hustling and bustling city with congested streets, donkey carts, busy coffee houses and contemplating people over smoking water pipes. Nearby, travelers can find the famous pharaonic attractions of Giza and Saqqara.
Local highlights
Explore the city
- Go shopping in the Khan el-Khalili souk
- The churches of Old or Coptic Cairo
- Visit Islamic (medieval) Cairo-a Unesco World Heritage site
- Tour on the river Nile
Explore its museums and historical sights, such as
- Egyptian Antiquities Museum with Tutankhamun’s tomb
- Islamic Museum
- Al-Azhar Mosque
- Coptic Museum
- The Hanging Church
- The old Babylon fortress
- The Citadel-grand castle built by Mohamed Ali
Highlights in the vicinity
- Great Pyramids of Giza only 18 km to the south of Cairo
- Memphis
- Sakkara, necropolis or city of the dead, best known for the Step Pyramid, the oldest known of Egypt's 97 pyramids built for King Djoser
Good to know
- No. of inhabitants: 15 Million
- Timezone: UTC +2
- Weather: Best period to visit is from September to April with comfortably warm temperatures except for January and February when temperatures drop to 10-20°C. Between March and April occasionally the very dusty Khamseen wind storms blow. During summer the city gets very hot:35-38°C
- Police tel.nr. 0
- Driving can be overwhelming: road signs, lanes, right-of-ways, etc. are not adhered to
Local transport
- Taxis-black-and-white, meters are usually turned off or “broken”
- Metro-two lines with an estimated 2.5 million daily commuters
- Buses: The large red, white and blue public buses are crowded. Special air-conditioned buses are better but more expensive. They can be found in the main squares in Cairo.
- Mini-buses
Inbound transport
- Nearest airport: Cairo International Airport with a 20 minutes drive to the centre of town
- Train: services to most other cities in Egypt. Cairo’s main train station is at Midan Ramses in the north part of down town
Travel tips
There are no Travel tips yet
Add a Travel tip
