When you need a break from city life, try horse racing at the Gezira Club or visit the Zoo and the Botanical Gardens. Take a trip down the Nile in a felucca or ride on horseback from the Giza Pyramids to Sakkara. Just outside Cairo is the Haraniyya village which is famous for its beautiful tapestries.

Cairo comes alive at night, which is the best time to shop, eat delicious Middle Eastern cuisine, or simply watch the world go by from a pavement cafe. You can dine in a floating restaurant on the Nile, sample an apple flavored shisha water pipe at a coffee-shop or see oriental dancers and cabarets.

The splendid Opera House complex houses several galleries (including the Museum of Modern Art), restaurants and concert halls. Listening to Arabic music under the stars, in the open-air theater, is a magical experience.

At El-Ghuriya, in the heart of Islamic Cairo, you can watch folk musicians and whirling dervish dancers. And don't forget the most essential after dark experience, the Sound and Light show at the Pyramids, a dramatic fusion of light and music recounting the story of antiquity.

Our program allows you plenty of time to discover your new country, culture and customs. Below are some of our recommended highlights. Some tours and packages can be organized when booking your program, please see the program price page for more information.

city tour
With its layers of history and density of streets, one could spend months walking around Cairo and still not manage to see - or even find - all of its mosques and minarets, Coptic churches, souks, small museums and other places of interest. Even the top attractions will require several days' stay.

Some sections of the city are attractions in themselves: the narrow streets of Old Cairo and Islamic Cairo are lined with ancient homes and buildings that can provide hours of fascinating (if frenetic) wandering.

The Khan al-Khalili, the city's main market (see the Shopping section), with its silk and spice merchants, haggling and steady stream of Cairenes from all walks of life, is one of the best places to soak up the local colour of Cairo. People-watching is one of the most rewarding activities. Western women may feel self-conscious at the many sidewalk cafés, as Egyptian women do not frequent them (apart from those in the market), but there are plenty of restaurants with outdoor dining that afford a respite from the bustle of the streets and the chance to watch the world go by.

The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities is located downtown near the central square, Midan Tahrir. To the north is Bulaq, a district with interesting mosques and medieval back streets along the Nile, which butts up against the modern offices of the World Trade Centre. To the south, is the suburb of Garden City, a tree-lined former British enclave in the wartime years. Most of the main attractions are situated in Old Cairo, the Coptic quarter where the Coptic Museum and Hanging Church are located, and Islamic Cairo, a huge maze-like medieval quarter peppered with domes and minarets that lies to the east of central Cairo and downtown. The towers of Bab Zuwayla, the Citadel, the Gayer Anderson House and the Islamic Art Museum are among the sights here. Note that most museums are closed during midday prayers on Fridays, approximately 1130-1330.

the pyramids of giza
The famous Pyramids are located in Giza, 18km (11 miles) from the city centre. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world and now one of the wonders of the modern world too, the Pyramids of Giza are Egypt's prime tourist attraction. First impressions can disappoint, partly because many visitors find them smaller than anticipated. But the longer the visit, the more powerful the pyramids become.

The Great Pyramid of Cheops was completed in about 2600BC and is the oldest on the site, and the largest in Egypt. It stands 136.4m (447.5ft) high and is made from an estimated 2.5 million limestone blocks. It was built to house the sarcophagus of King Cheops (or Khufu to give him his proper Egyptian name), although it is not known whether he was ever actually buried here.

Nearby are three smaller pyramids built for the king's queens, and beyond are the two other large pyramids, those of Chephren and Mycerinus. Chephren was the son of Cheops and popular belief has it that he had the idea of building the Sphinx, to stand close by his own tomb and that of his father. Some archaeologists say that this is not the case, and the Sphinx may even be some 2600 years older than the pyramids themselves.

egyptian museum of antiquities
With more than 100,000 artefacts spanning Egyptian history from the earliest dynasties to the Roman era, the Egyptian Museum represents the largest collection of its kind in the world. It would take several months to see every exhibit. A minimum of three to four hours is necessary to take in the highlights, and if time allows the museum is best appreciated on successive half-day visits.

The collection was first assembled by the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette in 1858. The top attractions are the Tutankhamun Galleries, which display the gold and gem-inlaid funerary mask and 1700 other treasures found in the tomb of the Boy King, and the Royal Mummy Room, which contains the corpses of 11 of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs including Seti I and his son Ramses II. Room 27 displays intricate models of ancient life on the Nile during the Middle Kingdom, while the Old Kingdom Rooms contain beautiful statues and death masks from Giza and Saqqara. The Akhenaten Room, Jewellery Rooms and animal mummies are also fascinating.

coptic museum
Situated in a lovely garden within the former Roman fortress of Babylon-in-Egypt, the Coptic Museum features Coptic art from the Christian era (AD300-1000). Among the highlights are the exquisite Coptic textiles, carved ivories, papyri (ancient paper) with text from the Gnostic gospels of Nag Hammadi, and Nubian paintings from the flooded villages of Lake Nassar. The ornate rooms are decorated with beautiful mashrabiyya (carved wood) screens, fountains and painted ceilings.

el-muallaqa church (the 'hanging church')
Possibly dating back as far as the fourth century, el-Muallaqa is the oldest Christian place of worship in Cairo. It is called the 'Hanging Church' because it is built on top of a Roman gate and reached by a stairway that leads to the courtyard. The beautiful interior features three barrel-vaulted aisles, altar screens of inlaid ivory and bone, and an exquisite, carved marble pulpit supported by 13 pillars representing Christ and his disciples.

bab zuwayla
The southern gate of Bab Zuwayla is all that remains of the Fatimid city of el-Qahira. Executions took place here in Mamluk times, but in the nineteenth century it acquired a happier reputation when a local saint, Mitwalli, performed miracles near the gate. To this day, people seeking healing nail a lock of hair or piece of clothing to the gate in hopes of receiving divine aid. Rising above the gate are the minarets of the Mosque of el-Muayyad, which offer some of the finest panoramic views in Cairo from the top. The mosque contains the mausoleum of the Sultan el-Muayyad and his son, who began building the mosque in 1415, as well as a shady courtyard.

bayn al-qasryn
In medieval times, Bayn al-Qasryn was the leading public square in Cairo, bustling with market stalls and entertainers. Today, it is lined with three Mamluk palace complexes, which form a harmonious and impressive façade. The finest, the Madrassa and Mausoleum of Qalaun, is also the earliest, completed in 1279.

The mausoleum is stunningly decorated with an elaborate stucco arch bearing stars and floral motifs, ornate coffered ceilings and stained glass. The Mausoleum of an-Nasir Mohammed (1304) and the Madrassa and Khanqah of Sultan Barquq (1386) also boast fine architecture and decoration. Incidentally, a madrassa is a theological school while a khanqah is a monastery.

bayt el-suhaymi
Behind an unassuming façade is one of Cairo's finest houses, Bayt el-Suhaymi. Dating from the Ottoman era, it offers a glimpse of the lifestyle of well-to-do merchants during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The maze of rooms on different levels feature an ornate first-floor harem with mashrabiyya screens overlooking the garden, and an impressive ground-floor reception room where men were entertained with music and dancers.

citadel (el-qal'a)
Nothing remains of Salah ad-Din's original twelfth-century palace, but the mosques and palaces atop this limestone outcrop reflect 700 years of Cairo history. The fortifications were first built to repel the Crusaders, and became the royal residence for sultans well into the nineteenth century. The Mohammed Ali Mosque, with its huge central dome and four semi-domes, towers over the city. The enclosure also contains the Mosque of al-Nasir, Yusuf's Well and several small museums. The views over Cairo from the Citadel are outstanding.

islamic art museum
This museum houses one of the world's largest and finest collections of Islamic art, dating from the seventh to the nineteenth centuries. The rooms contain carved woodwork and columns, mosaic fountains, metalwork and other architectural exhibits salvaged from crumbling mosques and mausoleums throughout Egypt. Some of the finest pieces are located in the central hall.

wikala of al-ghouri
A wikala, also known as a caravanserai, is a medieval merchants' hostel that catered for travelling traders. They stabled their animals on the ground floor, slept in the rooms above and haggled with their clients in the courtyard. This is the best preserved of the handful of Cairo's remaining wikalas. The stables now house artists' studios, while the courtyard is used for theatre and concerts. Around the corner is the striking striped al-Ghouri complex, with its mosque-madrassa and mausoleum. Part of the mausoleum now serves as a cultural centre, offering twice-weekly Sufi dancing performances.

city of the dead
Many students may feel squeamish at the thought of visiting the City of the Dead, but dozens of 'tomb squatters' have made it their home and other Cairenes come to visit and picnic at the graves of their relatives, an ancient tradition. This huge necropolis is divided into the northern and southern cemetery on either side of the Citadel, and contains some outstanding Islamic architecture. The finest monuments are in the northern cemetery. The Mosque of Qaitbey, a Mamluk ruler, has an intricately carved dome, the finest in the Muslim world, while the splendidly decorated interior surrounds a peaceful courtyard. Visitors are advised to stick to the main streets in the cemeteries for safety reasons.

other excursions
Other areas worth exploring include the two Nile islands. Roda includes the residential Manial district on its northern end, while Gezira, the largest island, is split into two distinct districts: Gezira proper with its Opera House and art museums, and Zamalek, home to diplomats, wealthy foreigners, luxurious villas and trendy bars and restaurants. The Mediterranean port of Alexandria, named after Alexander the Great, and the setting for Lawrence Durrell's The Alexandria Quartet, is a popular day trip from Cairo. Locals make the 225km (140-mile) journey to enjoy the beaches, the main promenade and the slightly cooler temperatures. Memphis and Saqqara: These two historic sites are about three kilometres (two miles) apart, some 24km (15 miles) south of central Cairo, and easily reached by bus, rented taxi, coach excursion or even by horse or camel. However, a full day should be allowed as Saqqara alone extends for a good seven sq kilometres (three sq. miles).

birqash camel market
The biggest camel market in Egypt takes place just outside the village of Birqash, which is about 35km (22 miles) northwest of the city centre. Each Monday and Friday morning, camel traders come from all over Egypt and as far afield as the Sudan, to sell their beasts in a hubbub of sights, sounds...and smells.