Home to 23 million people, magical and maddening Cairo is the largest urban area in Africa and the Middle East.
This huge city knows no bounds and continues to gobble up the surrounding desert – even the soon-to-be new capital (the as-yet-unnamed New Administrative Capital) on Cairo’s eastern edge.
Greater Cairo sprawls over more than 1000 sq miles, meaning that it’s important for travelers to choose wisely when it comes to deciding where to stay and how to spend their days on a trip to the Egyptian capital. Here are the best neighborhoods in Cairo for accommodations, activities and more.
1. Downtown Cairo and Garden City
Best neighborhood for hotels
Equidistant from Cairo International Airport and the Pyramids of Giza, the Nile-side neighborhood of Downtown Cairo sits at the heart of the action. The focal point of the area is the Egyptian Museum, the historic salmon-pink palace stuffed full of treasures, on Tahrir Sq. This district is a veritable buffet of great cheap eats and authentic Egyptian street food – if you’re not sure where to start chowing down, sign up for the Downtown Cairo Food Tour with Bellies En-Route.
Along the river south of downtown is Garden City, developed in the early 20th century and modelled after an English suburb. In both areas, upscale international chain hotels line the river banks – the Nile Ritz-Carlton is a particularly good choice for easy access to the Egyptian Museum, as it nearly backs onto the museum entrance.
2. Giza
Best neighborhood for visiting the Pyramids
Though this area is often what travelers first think of when they imagine Cairo, Giza is technically a separate governorate, encompassing the land on the western side of the Nile. The iconic Pyramids of Giza understandably absorb most travelers’ time, and the pyramids at Saqqara and Dahshur – which are even older than those at Giza – are also within easy reach. With more European flights landing at Sphinx International Airport and the soon-to-open Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza is set to see an even bigger boost in visitor numbers.
However, the hotels in Giza are mostly lackluster, with the exception of the historic digs at Mena House. Constructed in 1869 as a hunting lodge for Khedive Ismail, this spot has close-up views of the pyramids from the pool, restaurant and – if you’re willing to shell out for it – your room.
3. Islamic Cairo
Best neighborhood for stepping back in time
Despite its name, Islamic Cairo is not necessarily more religious than other neighborhoods – its name comes from its position as one of the power centers of Egypt’s many Islamic empires. This district has a wonderful concentration of mosques, madrassas (religious schools) and historic Arab architecture, and is certainly a big contributor to Cairo’s nickname of the “city of a thousand minarets.”
Get lost in the labyrinthine lanes of Khan Al Khalili, Cairo’s medieval market that promises to bend (and maybe break) your sense of direction. Make a coffee or mint tea stop at Fishawi’s, open since the time of Napoleon, with copper-top tables and patina-dotted wall mirrors. See the scene from above by climbing up Bab Zuweila, an 11th-century gate that once guarded the old walled city. Continue your admiration of architecture at the magnificent Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan and from the hilltop perch of the Citadel.
4. Gezira and Zamalek
Best neighborhood for a quieter – but still central – Cairo
Chaos runs in Cairo’s DNA, but for a slightly calmer experience, stay on Gezira, an oblong island in the Nile. Originally developed by Khedive Ismail in the late 1800s as his private residence and gardens – his palace is now the Cairo Marriott Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino, which retains many stunning architectural features, such as the arched entryway and grand staircase – this district is now a hub for expats and embassies. Zamalek, the leafy district on the northern side of the island, is an artsy enclave with a cluster of galleries and the Aisha Fahmy Palace, a cultural center housed inside an elegant 1907 mansion of frescoes and fireplaces built for a 20th-century Egyptian aristocrat.
5. Coptic Cairo and Fustat
Best neighborhood for Cairo old and new
Some of Cairo’s southern neighborhoods are engaged in a tug of war, the eternal battle of history and heritage versus hip new happenings. Fustat is the oldest urban area of Cairo, and it was the country’s capital after the Arab conquest of Egypt in 641 CE. Many of the gems of the next-door neighborhood of Coptic Cairo are enclosed within the walls of an ancient Roman fortress called Babylon, including the Coptic Museum, the Church of St George and the Hanging Church.
In these neighborhoods, travelers can visit Cairo’s oldest church, oldest mosque and oldest synagogue, but parts of Fustat and Coptic Cairo are in the crosshairs of bulldozers and new development. A cache of 22 royal mummies was transported from the Egyptian Museum to the newly opened National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in 2021 with huge pomp and circumstance, in nitrogen-filled capsules aboard specially designed vehicles made to look like ancient Egyptian funerary boats. Meanwhile, other important modern cultural spots, such as the wonderful arts center Darb 1718, are at risk of being controversially cleared away in the name of “new.” Don’t miss the pottery workshops, photography courses and the rest of the creative program on your visit.
6. Heliopolis
Best neighborhood for staying close to Cairo International Airport
If you’re making only a flying visit to Cairo – or if you’re in town longer term and prefer a quieter suburb – Heliopolis makes a good alternative to staying central. Established in 1905 by Belgian industrialist and railroad baron Édouard Empain, Heliopolis was conceived as a “garden city” for the colonial officials ruling Egypt, and today, it knocks at the entrance to Cairo International Airport. Impressive hotels continue to pop up here, including the 2023-opened Waldorf Astoria, the first from the brand on the African continent.
Heliopolis is a long way from Cairo’s main tourist attractions, but it has a few sights up its sleeve. The unique style of the neighborhood blends European neoclassical architectural elements, such as grand avenues and arcades, with Egyptian, North African and Persian features, including wooden balconies and arched windows. The Egyptian president has had an office here, in the building that was formerly Empain’s Heliopolis Palace Hotel, since the 1980s. That’s off limits to the public, but you can peek inside Empain’s eccentric mansion, inspired by the temples of Angkor Wat.
