Twenty million people either side of one river, and three cities' worth of history stacked underneath. Plan two things a day, not five, and keep the afternoon for shade.
Cairo in 4 parts
Grand Egyptian Museum
A museum about ancient Egyptian civilisation about 2 km from the Giza pyramids, with the Tutankhamun galleries and Khufu's Boats Museum.
Pyramid of Khufu
The Great Pyramid, built for King Khufu and the oldest and largest of the three Giza pyramids.
The Great Sphinx
A colossal statue carved from the Giza bedrock, which the evidence dates to the reign of King Khafre.
Cairo Citadel
A fortress on the Muqattam Hills begun under Saladin in 1176, later the official residence of Egypt's rulers.
Ibn Tulun Mosque
A mosque built between 876 and 879 that kept most of its original form, with a spiral minaret.
Al-Rifa'i Mosque
A mosque finished in 1912 beside Sultan Hassan, where Kings Fuad I and Farouk and the last Shah of Iran are buried.
Al-Azhar Mosque
A congregational mosque founded in 970 for the new Fatimid city and still in use today.
Al-Muizz Street
The walk through the old walled city: one street from Bab al-Futuh in the north to Bab Zuweila in the south.
Bayt al-Suhaymi
A Cairo house begun in 1648 in a lane of Al-Muizz Street, with a sizable courtyard and wooden mashrabiyya windows.
Al-Azhar Park
A park opened in 2005 on a 30-hectare site beside the 12th-century city walls, with a small lake and alleys pointing at the Citadel.
El Fishawy Cafe
A coffeehouse in an alley of Khan el-Khalili where you sit with shisha in the middle of the market, open past midnight.
Khan el-Khalili
Cairo's bazaar district, a centre of trade since the Mamluk era, home to artisans' workshops and a goldsmiths' souq.
This page shows 12 of 31 places. The app has all of them, with hours, maps and a plan for your days.