THE WEEKEND
Someone’s visiting Cairo.
You have two days.
Please don’t spend both of them in traffic.
DAY ONE
Start with the Cairo they came for.
Pyramids early.
Long lunch.
Then disappear back to the hotel before everyone becomes exhausted and starts hating each other.
Dress up later.
Dinner somewhere that shows them contemporary Cairo—not somewhere selected solely because you can see a pyramid from the table.
DAY TWO
Slow breakfast.
Then give them another version of the city.
Architecture. Old Cairo. Downtown. Design. Egyptian brands. Coffee somewhere beautiful.
Finish beside the Nile.
The mistake people make with Cairo is trying to prove how much there is to see.
There is too much.
You don’t need to show someone everything.
You need to make them want to come back.
THE CURATOR SAYS: A good itinerary isn’t the one with the most stops. It’s the one nobody wants to end.
For two days I would give Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum their own block of time, with pyramids early and a Khufu's lunch only if I had a reservation. A separate day around Al-Muizz Street, Khan el-Khalili and the Citadel brings a completely different perspective. I wouldn't try to see every neighbourhood in one afternoon.