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Our four days in Cairo and Giza began with a flight from Hurghada and ended with visits to the Citadel and Coptic Cairo. Between them came the pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum, dinner beside the Nile and a shopping trip that sent me looking for a Nefertiti statue I remembered from childhood.
We stayed in Giza, Villa Khufu Pyramids Hotel where our hotel had a large private terrace overlooking the Great Pyramid. That view became part of our mornings and evenings, even when the day itself took us across Cairo.
IN THIS ARTICLE
This is the itinerary we followed, including an arrival afternoon, two full sightseeing days and a final day in Cairo.
Is 4 Days Enough for Cairo & Giza?
Four days gave us time to visit the places we most wanted to see without putting the pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum on the same day. We also had evenings for restaurants, a walk beside the Nile and Khan el-Khalili.
It was enough for a first visit, although I could easily return to the museum alone. If you follow a similar itinerary, remember that our first day was mainly for arriving and settling in.
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Our 4-Day Cairo & Giza Itinerary
Day 1
| Arrival from Hurghada and check-in in Giza Local dinner and tea overlooking the pyramids |
Day 4
| Saladin Citadel and Coptic Cairo Packing, a final coffee overlooking the pyramids and airport transfer |
Day 1: Arriving in Giza
From Hurghada to Our Hotel
We flew from Hurghada to Cairo, a driver met us at the airport and took us to our hotel in Giza. After checking in and leaving our bags, we went out to find dinner.
Our hotel was in a modest residential neighborhood, about a ten-minute walk from the main road. Our first walk took a little getting used to.
As the sun went down, people were returning from work around the pyramids with their horses, camels and carriages. There was animal dung on the road and plenty of flies. The streets were cleaned in the morning, but that evening this was part of our first impression of Giza.
We became more familiar with the neighborhood over the following days. Still, it is something I would mention when choosing accommodation here: the view from your terrace and the streets outside your hotel can give you very different impressions.
Koshari, Falafel and Tea on the Terrace
We found a local restaurant Koshry Hikaya and ordered koshari and falafel for our first dinner.
Our first dinner in Giza: koshari and falafel at Koshry Hikaya, a local restaurant near our hotel.
Afterward, we returned to the hotel and made use of the feature I had been looking forward to most: our large private terrace.
We sat outside drinking tea, with the Great Pyramid in front of us. We had only arrived that afternoon, and we were already spending the evening looking at it.
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Day 2: The Giza Pyramids and Dinner Beside the Nile
Breakfast Before the Pyramids
Breakfast was included in our stay. I chose falafel, which was delicious, although the portion was much larger than I needed.
Then it was time for our visit to the pyramids.
We had bought our tickets through the official website. Pay close attention to what you select, because our visit involved three separate tickets:
- Admission to the Giza Plateau (about €12)
- Entry inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu (about €25)
- Entry to the Tomb of Queen Meresankh III (about €3)
*Students pay half price.
These were separate from the guided tour we booked.
Visiting the Pyramids with Nada
We found our guide through Viator. The listing offered different options, including lunch and a camel ride, but we chose hotel pickup and a guided visit without those extras.
Our guide, Nada, gave us plenty of information while leaving us time to absorb it. She answered our additional questions and took photos of us too. We came home with many pictures together, which we appreciated.
Inside the Great Pyramid and Meresankh III’s Tomb
We also went inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The passage was narrow and hot, but it was fascinating to enter the pyramid and explore this part of its history too.
We then visited the Tomb of Queen Meresankh III, where the wall reliefs still retain their colors. Her tomb contains the best-preserved wall reliefs in Giza’s Eastern Cemetery.
The scenes show bread making, beer brewing, bird hunting, herding and boats. There are also craftsmen making mats, working metal and sculpting statues. As someone who bakes sourdough bread, I was particularly interested in the bread-making scenes. Among the royal figures and offerings were people doing something I also do at home, thousands of years later.
Ten female figures are carved directly into one wall of the chapel. They are believed to represent Meresankh, her mother and her daughters. The scenes of food production and people bringing offerings were intended to keep the queen supplied in the afterlife.
Everyday life carved into the walls of Meresankh III’s tomb, from working with boats and tending birds to making bread. As someone who bakes sourdough, I especially enjoyed seeing the bread-making scenes.
The excursion took around three hours, including transport. We stopped for a quick coffee, although we kept it short because our driver was waiting.
After the pyramids, the outing continued with several shop visits. These included a papyrus demonstration showing how the sheets are made, followed by shops selling tea, spices, dried fruit and nuts.
If you book a similar tour, check whether shopping stops are part of the schedule, especially if you have other plans afterward.
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Sunset Dinner at El Mohamdy
For the evening, we wanted to go into Cairo and asked Nada for a restaurant recommendation. She suggested El Mohamdy beside the Nile.
I liked it before we had even ordered. At the entrance were the words “Every flavor has a story.” With Navadala’s “Every place has a story” in mind, I had to smile.
I ordered molokhia, a traditional green soup made from finely chopped jute leaves, with rice and grilled vegetables.
Once again, the portions were generous. We sat beside the Nile as the sun went down, and I would happily recommend the restaurant for the setting alone.
The restaurant was close to Maadi Island, so we spent the rest of the evening there, walking among the greenery before returning to Giza.
Day 3: The Grand Egyptian Museum and Khan el-Khalili
A Museum Visit That Begins Outside
Our third day was reserved for the Grand Egyptian Museum, usually shortened to GEM. We booked a guided visit here too.
The building made an impression before we entered. Its modern design includes triangular forms and references to ancient Egyptian architecture.
Outside stands the Hanging Obelisk of Ramesses II. It is raised on a platform supported by four large pillars, allowing visitors to look underneath and see the royal cartouches carved into its base.
Details of GEM’s facade: royal cartouches and triangles echoing the shape of the pyramids.
Inside, Ramesses II greets you again.
His 11.35-meter-tall granite statue stands in the Grand Hall. Before I had read a label or heard an explanation, its size had already made me stop and look up.
Everyday Objects and Details I Would Have Missed
We arrived a little late and missed the beginning of our tour. Luckily, we soon found our group.
Among the objects on display were clothing, vessels and tools. These smaller things helped me picture everyday life alongside the enormous statues and royal monuments.
Our guide also pointed out the colors used for people in ancient Egyptian paintings. Men were often shown with reddish-brown skin, while women were painted in lighter, frequently yellow tones.
The people and everyday objects of ancient Egypt: the clothes they wore, their jewelry and the bowls and vessels they used.
This was an artistic convention rather than a literal record of each person’s complexion. Once our guide pointed it out, we could recognize the pattern in other painted figures.
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Hatshepsut and the Role of a Pharaoh
We also saw a kneeling statue of Hatshepsut holding offering vessels for the god Amun-Re. These monumental figures once lined the processional path in her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri.
She ruled as a pharaoh, and many of her images use the familiar symbols of Egyptian kingship, including the royal headcloth and false beard. These represented the office she held.
Her kneeling images also need that context. A pharaoh shown kneeling with offering vessels is making an offering to a god. The pose expresses the ruler’s relationship with the divine.
Hatshepsut’s reign is also remembered for the trading expedition she sent to Punt. Reliefs at her temple at Deir el-Bahri record the people, goods and plants associated with that journey.
The Canopus Decree and the Mystery of Hieroglyphs
We also saw the Canopus Decree, issued by priests in honor of Ptolemy III and his family. Its text is carved in three scripts: hieroglyphs, Demotic and Greek.
Our guide explained how comparing texts in different scripts helped scholars decipher hieroglyphs. The crucial breakthrough came from the Rosetta Stone. By comparing its inscriptions and identifying royal names, scholars established that hieroglyphs could represent sounds as well as ideas.
Tutankhamun’s Collection
A major part of GEM is dedicated to Tutankhamun and the objects found in his tomb. When Howard Carter and his team discovered it in 1922, it was still largely intact, preserving around 5,000 objects.
The collection includes his famous gold burial mask, coffins, gilded shrines and richly decorated throne. Alongside them are clothing, jewelry, furniture, chariots and other belongings prepared for his afterlife.
The throne has a scene of Tutankhamun with his wife, Ankhesenamun, on its backrest. It is made of wood covered in gold and decorated with colored glass, faience and semi-precious stones.
Tutankhamun’s golden mask and throne. On the throne’s backrest, his wife Ankhesenamun reaches towards him, a small scene worth taking a closer look at.
Having so much of one royal burial preserved makes this an especially important part of the museum. There is far more here than the gold mask most of us recognize from photographs, which is another reason to leave plenty of time for the visit.
Leave Plenty of Time for GEM
We spent around three to four hours in the museum. Eventually, my concentration began to fade, even though there was still more I wanted to see.
That is why I would leave most of the day available for GEM. You may not spend every hour inside, but it helps to have time for the visit, a meal and a rest afterward.
I would happily return for the sections we missed, including the crocodile mummy I did not get to see.
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A Late Lunch with a Pyramid View
After the museum, we went to 139 Pyramids Lounge for a late lunch.
Its rooftop terrace had a view of, as you have probably guessed, the pyramids. After several hours of listening and looking closely at museum exhibits, we were ready to sit down and eat.
We then returned to our hotel for a short rest before calling an Uber to Cairo.
An Evening at Khan el-Khalili Bazaar
By evening, we were at Khan el-Khalili.
Lights, crowds, bargaining, marriage proposals, souvenirs and clothes filled the streets. There was plenty to look at, but I had something quite specific in mind.
As a child, I remembered a Nefertiti statue in my grandmother’s house. My aunt had brought it back from a trip to Cairo around fifty years earlier. Now that I was here myself, I wanted to find one.
I did not find the Nefertiti I was looking for. Instead, I found a beautiful vase made from the stone commonly sold as Egyptian alabaster.
I was delighted with it, even if it meant returning to the hotel with a different purchase from the one I had imagined.
Day 4: Saladin Citadel, Coptic Cairo and One Last Coffee
Exploring the Citadel
We spent our final morning at the Saladin Citadel, visiting three mosques: Muhammad Ali, Al-Nasir Muhammad and Sulayman Pasha.
Inside, we looked up at the decorated domes and hanging lights. Outside, the dogs had found their spot for a nap.
We also visited the Police Museum and stopped at the Military Museum, although we only explored its outdoor courtyard.
The Citadel’s hilltop location gives you a wide view across Cairo, with the Sultan Hassan and Al-Rifa’i mosques standing side by side below. From up here, we could see their domes and minarets among the buildings stretching across the city.
After visiting the mosques and museums, we took some time to enjoy the view before continuing to Coptic Cairo.
Lunch and the Hanging Church in Coptic Cairo
After the Citadel, we went to Coptic Cairo for lunch in Old Cairo restaurant and visited the Hanging Church. This was our last sightseeing stop of the trip. Our flight was late that evening, so we still had time to return to Giza, pack and try to get some sleep before leaving.
We kept the rest of the afternoon free rather than adding another visit to the schedule.
One last falafel lunch at Old Cairo Restaurant before heading back to our hotel to pack.
One Last Coffee with Khufu
Back at the hotel, we packed our bags and sat down for one last coffee on our private terrace, overlooking the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It was the same view we had enjoyed with tea on our first evening. This time, our bags were almost ready and we would soon be heading home.
We tried to get a little sleep before the flight. For the journey to the airport, we had arranged a transfer through the hotel.
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Practical Tips from Our Trip
Final Thoughts
We spent much of these four days exploring ancient Egypt, from entering the Great Pyramid and Meresankh III’s tomb to seeing the objects displayed at GEM. We also visited the Citadel and the Hanging Church, had dinner beside the Nile and spent an evening shopping at Khan el-Khalili.
I liked having time for those evenings too, with a meal, a walk or tea on our terrace after the main visits.
For a return trip, I would put Downtown Cairo on the list. We spent so much time visiting historical sites that I would like to explore more of the modern city, sit in its cafés and get a better feel for everyday life there.
And I would keep looking for that Nefertiti statue. The alabaster vase came home with me this time, but I still have a place in mind for her.