Cairo 3-Day Itinerary: The Perfect Long Weekend in the Land of the Pharaohs

Cairo is one of the great cities of human history — the capital of an ancient civilisation whose monuments have defined the imagination of the world for three millennia. Begin day one at the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, which houses the world's most important collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts including the treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb: the golden death mask, the innermost coffin of solid gold, and thousands of objects buried with the boy king in 1323 BCE. Allow the full morning for the museum, then cross the Nile to Giza in the afternoon for first sight of the pyramids — arrive in time for the sunset light on the Great Pyramid of Khufu, when the limestone turns amber and the scale of what the ancient Egyptians achieved becomes comprehensible in a way no photograph or description prepares you for.

Day two belongs to Islamic Cairo, one of the largest medieval Islamic cities in the world. Begin at the Citadel of Saladin, the fortress built in 1176 that dominates the eastern skyline and contains the magnificent Muhammad Ali Mosque with its Ottoman domes and twin minarets visible from across the city. Descend through the bazaar quarter to Al-Azhar Mosque — founded in 970 CE and the oldest continuously operating university in the world — then plunge into Khan el-Khalili, the great medieval market that has traded continuously since 1382 and remains the commercial heart of historic Cairo, selling spices, perfumes, jewellery, textiles, and inlaid woodwork from thousands of stalls and shops in a warren of alleyways that time has barely altered.

On day three, return to the Giza plateau at dawn — when the crowds are minimal and the pyramids emerge from morning mist — for a closer exploration including the Sphinx, the Valley Temple, and the less-visited Pyramid of Menkaure. In the afternoon, visit Saqqara, the vast necropolis 30 kilometres south of Cairo where the Step Pyramid of Djoser — the world's oldest stone building, built around 2650 BCE — stands in a desert landscape of tombs, mastabas, and underground galleries that predates the Giza pyramids by over a century. Return to Cairo for dinner in Zamalek, the Nile island neighbourhood of embassies, galleries, and excellent restaurants where Cairo's professional class gathers in an atmosphere quite unlike the city's more frenetic streets.