A thousand years of minarets, a Roman fortress and a downtown that dreamed of being Paris.
Cairo is far more than the gateway to the pyramids. On foot you can walk the street of the Fatimid caliphs and Mamluk sultans, slip into the Coptic quarter that grew up inside a Roman fortress, and cross the khedival downtown to the bustle of Khan el-Khalili. Three free routes to explore it at your own pace.
Choose your free tour
All routes are free and can be combined. If it’s your first visit, start with the mixed route.
Al-Muizz Street end to end: walls from 1087, Fatimid mosques, a Mamluk hospital that ran for five centuries and the gate where the last sultan was hanged.
A mountain moved by faith, a fortress named Babylon, the Holy Family's cave, Moses' basket and a dove that chose a capital.
Cairo's highlights in one walk: Tahrir Square, the Egyptian Museum, the belle époque downtown, Opera Square, Khan el-Khalili and al-Azhar.
The map
The routes cross in the old town. Tap a point to see which story awaits you there.
Filled points already have a published article; the rest are in the works.
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A day in the city
Link the three routes and you will see the best of the city on foot, for free: the mixed route in the morning, history in the afternoon and legends as the sun goes down.
Morning
Afternoon
Early evening
Where to eat. Try Koshari at Koshary Abou Tarek.
What to eat
The dishes you can’t leave without trying, and the classic spots that have been serving them for years.
Rice, lentils, short pasta and chickpeas under a garlicky, vinegar-sharp tomato sauce, crowned with crisp fried onions. It is Cairo's great everyday dish, and on Champollion Street Abou Tarek has served it since he started out with a street cart in the mid-20th century.
Where to try it
Slow-cooked fava beans dressed with oil, cumin and lemon, alongside taamiya, the green fava-bean fritters that Egyptians prefer to chickpea falafel. It is the classic Cairo breakfast, and Felfela has been making it downtown since 1959.
Where to try it
Chilled rice pudding in clay bowls, and umm ali, a hot pudding of puff pastry, milk, cream and nuts. El Malky has sold them next to the al-Hussein Mosque since 1917, when it opened as a dairy.
Where to try it
Very sweet black tea with fresh mint leaves, or ruby-red hibiscus karkadé, served in a glass on a brass tray. Drinking it among the mirrors of El Fishawy, open since the late 18th century according to the family, is a Cairo ritual.
Where to try it
