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Cairo · Mixed

From the Paris of the Nile to the Great Bazaar

This mixed route links the city's two faces. It starts in the Cairo of boulevards and roundabouts that Khedive Ismail wanted to look like Paris, follows al-Muski Street between market stalls and ends at the most famous bazaar and mosque of medieval Cairo. It is the longest route, so take your time.

  • 6 stops
  • 4 km
  • 2 h 30 min
  • Free
Start with GPS Read about this stop 1
Mamluk arches and facades above a crowded lane in Khan el-Khalili

The route

Stop by stop

  1. 1 Tahrir SquareKhedive Ismail's square, renamed ‘Liberation’, where in 2011 eighteen days of protest brought down a president.
  2. 2 The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir SquareThe salmon-pink palace that held Tutankhamun's treasure for a century, with its founder's tomb in the garden.
  3. 3 Talaat Harb SquareA belle époque roundabout where a banker in a tarboosh replaced one of Napoleon's French officers.
  4. 4 Opera Square and the Statue of Ibrahim PashaHere stood the opera house where ‘Aida’ had its premiere; today its site is a car park, watched over by a bronze horseman pointing to the horizon.
  5. 5 Khan el-KhaliliCairo's great bazaar was born in the 14th century on top of the Fatimid caliphs' tomb, whose bones ended up on a rubbish heap.
  6. 6 Al-Azhar MosqueMore than a thousand years of prayer and study, five minarets and a revolt against Napoleon that began in its courtyard.

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Start with GPS

Guide mode

Walk it with GPS.

Open guide mode on your phone: you’ll see your position and the distance to each stop, and we’ll let you know when you arrive. Then read or listen.

Start with GPS

  1. Turn on your location

  2. Walk to the spot

  3. Check the photo and listen

What you’ll discover

From the Paris of the Nile to the Great Bazaar

Two cities in one

From the 19th-century downtown to the medieval maze in a single walk.

Must-see sights

Tahrir Square, the Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili and al-Azhar.

Opera, cafés and revolutions

The premiere of ‘Aida’, the Groppi tea room and the eighteen days of 2011.

Keep exploring

More routes in Cairo

Back to Cairo
HistoryCaliphs and Sultans: from Bab al-Nasr to Bab Zuwayla Mysteries & legendsMoving Mountains and Cradles on the Nile