Description:
Cairo is a generally cheap city to visit, but if you are on a super-tight budget, you’re still going to want to watch those pennies. This list of the top 10 budget activities in Cairo will help you plan a great trip, but without breaking the bank. Included in the top 10 budget activities for Cairo are some cheap eats, drinks and entertainment, free markets and religious sights, and – of course – the Pyramids. (It’s illegal to come to Cairo and not see them!) Also, save money in Cairo by getting around using the Metro and service taxis, rather than cabs.
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Khan el-Khalili Bazaar
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Location:
- Off Hussein Square
- (Across from El Azhar Mosque)
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Our Local Expert Says:
Khan el Khalili Bazaar is Egypt in microcosm – exotic, friendly, overwhelming and chaotic! Try the fateers at the Egyptian Pancake House next to Al Azhar street for an authentic taste of Egypt, and make sure you check out the many local markets that spiral out from the main part of Khan el Khalili bazaar.
Description:
Established in the 14th Century, and in constant use since then, Khan al-Khalili (or more simply, The Khan) is Egypt at its most intoxicating. Cairo has always been an important trade centre, and this tradition continues today in the bustling maze of alleys that forms Khan al-Khalili Bazaar.
The Khan itself is relatively small, and is largely devoted to tourists. There are souvenirs here for every taste and budget: spices, jewellery, inlaid mother-of-pearl boxes and backgammon sets, water pipes, scarves, lamps, delicate perfume bottles (and the perfume to go in them)… you can even get yourself a singing, dancing camel!
Be warned, though, the traders here are black belts at haggling - so be firm, but maintain your sense of humour and enjoy the experience for what it is: the raucous, beating heart of commerce the old-school way.
When the banter gets too much, relax in al-Fishawi Coffee Shop with a water pipe and a strong Turkish coffee. This café has been open 24 hours a day since 1773, and Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz is said to have visited every day up to his death in 2006.
At the east end of the Khan is al-Hussein Square, home to the beautiful al-Hussein Mosque. The western... read more -
The Religion Compound
Contact:
- +20 2 285 4509 (Tourist Information)
Location:
- Mari Girgis Street
- Old Cairo
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Our Local Expert Says:
The Religion Compound has a uniquely serene atmosphere, and it’s easy to while away a few hours lazily exploring the cobbled streets and religious buildings.
Description:
The Religion Compound is one of the most picturesque and charming areas in the whole of Cairo. It consists of a small area built around the remains of the old Roman fortress of Babylon on the Nile, and contains pretty much all of the tourist sights of Old Cairo (also known as Coptic Cairo, and Fustat).
The Religion Compound is littered with monuments from all three of the main monotheistic religions, as well as the Coptic Museum and the Coptic Cemetery. Some of the more famous churches here include the Greek Church of St George (one of the few round churches still in existence in the region) and the Hanging Church (with its famous suspended nave). The Amr Ibn el-Aas Mosque is located just north of the compound, and was the first mosque ever built in Egypt (although it has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times).
Make sure you head down the passageway to the left of the Church of St George: it takes you in to a maze of exquisite cobbled lanes that wind past numerous other religious buildings. Must-see monuments here include the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (believed to be the oldest in Cairo, and built on the spot where Jesus and his family rested after their flight to... read more -
Ibn Tulun Mosque
Contact:
- +20 (0)2 391 3454 (Tourist Information)
- visit website
Location:
- Off 'Abd al-Magid al-Labban (Al-Salbiyya) Street
- Ibn Tulun Street
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Our Local Expert Says:
Ibn Tulun Mosque is the most interesting mosque in Cairo, with stunning architecture and a serene atmosphere.
Description:
This beautiful mosque is considered to be the oldest in Cairo that has survived in its original form, and is the third largest in the world by area. Completed in 879 AD, Ibn Tulun Mosque was built by Ahmed ibn Tulun, founder of the Talunid dynasty that was ruling Egypt at the end of the 9th Century.
The mosque consists of a huge open courtyard, including fountain, and is surrounded on three sides by enclosed wings known as ziyadas. The art and architecture of Ibn Tulun Mosque has a distinct Iraqi flavour (Ahmed Ibn Tulun was born in Baghdad) - make sure you check out the crenulated tops of the walls, which look like the paper-chain dolls that children cut out.
Interestingly, a local legend claims the mosque was built on the hill where Noah's Ark landed after the flood, and that the floral frieze that runs around the arches was originally carved on to the ark. Finally, a trip to Ibn Tulun Mosque is not complete without climbing its minaret. With the staircase spiralling up the outside of the tower, the minaret is unique in Cairo, and offers fantastic views of the city.
Ibn Tulun Mosque is next to the Gayer-Anderson Museum, and a short hop from the Citadel and the other sites of... read more -
Street of the Tentmakers
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Location:
- Souq Al-Khiamiyya
- Bab Zwayla
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Our Local Expert Says:
The Street of the Tentmakers is one of the most fascinating markets in Cairo, and well worth the short walk from Khan al-Khalili.
Description:
The Street of the Tentmakers is a beautiful covered market that extends a hundred yards or so south of Bab Zwayla. Souq al-Khiamiyya, as the Street of the Tentmakers is also known, is the only covered market left in Cairo, and dates back to the 17th Century.
Walking down the narrow alleyway feels like stepping back into medieval Cairo, with each simple stall hewn in to solid stone walls, and fronted by a wooden shutter. The tentmakers here have plied their trade for hundreds of years, hand-crafting the colourful appliqué wall-hangings that were traditionally used to decorate Arabic tents. With the demise of the nomadic lifestyle, this noble craft is also dying out, but the Street of the Tentmakers is one of the few places in the Arab world where it still survives.
There aren't so many actual tents on sale now, but this is the best place in Cairo to buy wall hangings, cushion covers, bedspreads and the like. As well as more traditional geometric patterns, you can also find pharaonic designs and other pictures. Almost everything here is bold, brightly coloured, and made by hand.
Best of all, although you are only about a twenty minute walk from the bustle of Khan al-Khalili, prices... read more -
Al Azhar Park
Contact:
- +20 2 510 3868 / +20 2 510 7378
- visit website
Location:
- Salah Salem Street
- Al Darassa
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Map
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Our Local Expert Says:
Not many tourists end up here, but it’s well worth the effort for the view, and the chance to see the locals at play. Try to be here at sunset, and experience the haunting beauty of the call to prayer coming simultaneously from hundreds of mosques.
Description:
Covering an area of about 30 hectares, al-Azhar Park is the largest expanse of green in Cairo. Established by the Aga Khan Trust For Culture in 1984, it was built over the top of a huge pile of rubble that had been turned in to a rubbish tip. Don't let this put you off: al-Azhar Park is a peaceful oasis on the edge of the chaos that is Islamic Cairo.
Paths meander through idyllic gardens, and you are never far from one of the many water features. It's a great place to relax, and many people take a picnic. If you'd rather be waited upon, there are four restaurant/cafes located in the grounds. Because al-Azhar Park is on a hill, you get amazing views all over Cairo. On a clear day you can even see the Pyramids!
As with much of Cairo, the best bit is people-watching: old men reminiscing on benches, children playing leapfrog, and daring young lovers holding hands as they stroll through their own little world. If history is your thing, then check out the 800 year-old Ayyubid wall that has been partially restored. If music is more your scene, then ask at the information desk about up-and-coming concerts; many of them are free!
Al-Azhar Park is a perfect place to chill out after you've... read more -
Al-Sawy Cultural Centre
Contact:
- +20 (0)2 27366178
- visit website
Location:
- 26 July St.
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Map
Our Local Expert Says:
Al-Sawy Cultural Centre has all sorts of music and exhibitions going on all the time
Description:
Al-Sawy Cultural Centre, at the west end of 26th July Street in Zamalek, is a gem. This progressive and modern cultural centre has a number of halls and exhibition areas given over to cultural activities.
Each month there are different art exhibitions, from traditional Arabic calligraphy to watercolour landscapes. They also host photography exhibitions and craft fairs, and run a number of courses. Fancy learning a bit of yoga, or how to play the tabla? Al-Sawy Cultural Centre is the place to ask, since even if they don't offer the course themselves, they'll know a place that does.
Al-Sawy Cultural centre also has live music each week, from local heavy metal to classical oud, and sometimes performers from abroad. The centre is open to non-members, and many exhibitions are free. You have to pay for the music and the courses, though prices are very low, and discounted for members.
Al-Sawy Cultural Centre also has a pleasant garden area, and a simple café with free Wi-Fi. Unusually for Cairo, the whole of the premises is non-smoking! -
Giza Plateau
Contact:
- +20 (0)2 385 0259
- visit website
Location:
- Sh. Al Ahram Road
- Old town of Giza, 5 miles into the desert
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Map
Our Local Expert Says:
The Giza Plateau must be the most famous, most fascinating and most mysterious archaeological site in the world
Description:
Situated about 25 km south west of the centre of Cairo, the Giza Plateau has been a necropolis since at least the start of the Pharaonic period. For many people, the chance to visit the Giza Plateau is a childhood dream come true, because this is where the most famous Egyptian Pyramids are situated.
The Giza Plateau is home to the Great Pyramid of Khufu (known to the Greeks as Cheops), the Pyramid of Khafre (Chephren), and the Pyramid of Menkaure (Mycerinus), and also the Great Sphinx and the Valley Temple, and the Solar Boat Museum.
As well as these famous attractions, there are numerous secondary pyramids that were built for queens and children of the pharaohs. All are believed to have been built during the Fourth Dynasty, over four thousand years ago! However, there are also numerous mastaba tombs dotted about the Giza Plateau, some of which date back to the First Dynasty and the beginning of the Pharaonic period.
The Giza Plateau has been intensively and systematically studied since the end of the 18th Century, but new discoveries are still being made. No-one knows how many of ancient Egypt's secrets are still locked up beneath the shifting desert sands. For many visitors,... read more -
Horeya
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Location:
- Midan el-Falaki
- Bab el-Louk
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Our Local Expert Says:
Meeting point for Cairo's wannabe artists and writers. The high ceilings and walls lined with (now cracked) mirrors still evoke the original 1930s atmosphere.
Description:
Horeya is without a doubt one of the coolest bars in Downtown Cairo. It is not, however, somewhere you come for a quiet drink in nice surroundings! It's essentially an old coffee shop that also serves Stella beer. It has high ceilings, vomit yellow walls and pillars, and a dirty grey stone floor that is littered with fag butts and bean casings the same colour as the walls.
Horeya is crammed full of Stella-sponsored tables and rickety wooden chairs, and patrolled by a handful of serving staff who almost aggressively thrust bottle after bottle of Stella at you. These bottle stay on the table, and are used to calculate your tab when you finally stagger out.
The best thing about Horeya is the clientele: you literally rub shoulders with Egyptians from all walks of life, expats, the occasional tourist, and lots of earnest students from the American University in Cairo practising their Arabic. Even if there were music, you wouldn't be able to hear it over the chaotic hubbub of conversation. Talking to random punters is compulsory!
The most bizarre part of Horeya is that in the corner, separated from the beer drinkers by an imaginary force-field, are groups of old men drinking Turkish... read more -
Zizo's
Contact:
- 2025926530
Location:
- 1 Midan Bab al Futuh
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Map
Our Local Expert Says:
Zizo serves the best (and spiciest) medieval sausage sandwiches in Cairo
Description:
Zizo's, situated opposite one of the north gates ( Bab al Futuh) of Islamic Cairo, is one of the city's best kept secrets.
Founded by colourful owner Abdel-Aziz Mustafa Hamzah (aka Zizo) in the 60's, Zizo's specialises in spicy sogoq (beef sausage) sandwiches, Alexandria style. The sandwiches are incredibly tasty, and dirt cheap, though be warned that they have quite a kick. Zizo's is also renowned for the quality of its offal, and the brains are particularly well regarded. For dessert, grab a halawa bil eshta sandwich (halawa is a sweet made of sesame paste and sugar, and eshta is cream) for the ultimate sugar rush!
Zizo himself still runs this tiny, spit and sawdust-type restaurant, as well as making the amazing pickles that accompany his food. He's a very friendly character, that loves to welcome and chat with his guests.
Zizo's is very near Khan el Khalili, so is the perfect place to refuel after a spot of shopping, perhaps before heading to the nearby cities of the dead. read more -
Abou Tarek Koshary Restaurant
Contact:
- +20 (0)2 2577 5935 / +20 (0)2 2576 1911
- visit website
Location:
- 16 Champollion Street, on corner of Maarouf Street
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Map
Our Local Expert Says:
One of the most popular and famous Koshary restaurants in Cairo
Description:
Abou Tarek is one of the most famous restaurants in Cairo, if not the whole of Egypt. It's not the sort of place you go to for a lingering, four course meal, because it really serves only one thing: koshary.
Koshary is the best contender for Egypt's national dish, and it's certainly the food that Egyptians living abroad miss the most. Koshary is a carbohydrate bomb: a mixture of different types of pasta, mixed with lentils, chickpeas, fried onions and a sort of tomato salsa. You then season it to taste, with a combination of chilli sauce and a surprisingly fiery lime juice and garlic concoction. It's fast food at its best: cheap, filling, and surprisingly tasty.
While you can get koshary on pretty much any street corner in Cairo, the koshary at Abou Tarek is particularly tasty. There's a high turnover of customers, so it's always freshly made, and pleasingly moist. As befits this no-frills dish, Abou Tarek restaurant is a simple affair: long metal trestle tables, with a splash of greenery about the walls.
Service is very quick, and the staff are used to tourists and are pretty welcoming. The only choice you have to make is whether you want a small or large dish of koshary, and... read more
- Destination(s): Cairo
- Type: Best of...,Budget
- 1 DAY
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